I needed a room where Brian wasn't.
The bond hummed between us constantly now—open, raw, impossible to ignore. Every time I passed him in a corridor, I felt the weight of his nightmares pressing against my mind. Every time I caught his scent, Luna stirred with possessive hunger. Every time our eyes met, I remembered the feel of his head on my shoulder, the four hours of peace I'd given him.
It was too much. Too close. Too dangerous.
I needed space to think. Space to breathe. Space to figure out who "the first one" was and why Marcus thought I'd be dead within the month.
So I did the last thing anyone expected.
I reported for work.
The contract Brian had drawn up in the diner—a lifetime ago, when I'd been nothing but a waitress with good instincts—had included a position. Legal operat
