The estate gates swung shut, Tate led them back into the main house, his hand anchored firmly at the small of Grace’s back as if the slightest distance might cause her to vanish again.
Rose was already waiting. The second her eyes landed on Grace's bruised face and disheveled clothing, a choked gasp escaped her lips. She lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Grace tightly, pulling her into a fierce embrace that nearly knocked both of them off balance.
The contact broke something fragile within them, and the two burst into tears, their shoulders shaking in a shared, frantic release of tension. Rose buried her face in Grace’s tangled hair, whispering incoherent words of comfort.
But the relief didn't last. The memory of the empty safehouse, the betrayal, and the agonizing confusion of
