The private jet touched down just after noon.
Selene stared out the window, fingers clenched in her lap, bracing for impact that never came. No excitement. No smile. Just quiet exhale.
Austin watched her. “You okay?”
She nodded, then shook her head, then let out a small, tired laugh. “I don’t know… I missed you.”
He exhaled through his nose. “We’ll take that.”
No one knew where they were. Not Diana. Not his parents. Not even Adam. The location was quiet, carefully chosen—another state, another city, another breath for Selene without fear shadowing every step.
The car ride from the airport started silent. Unfamiliar streets rolled past. Selene watched people move freely—coffee cups in hand, phones to ears, normal lives.
“I used to think freedom was leaving the city,” sh
