BELLA'S POV
Viktor is back by midnight.
I'm not asleep. Haven't been able to sleep properly since they left three days ago, despite Katya's company and the carefully maintained routines even the compound's reassuring wall of security.
I hear the gates open and the low rumble of vehicles in the courtyard below. And without thinking it twice, I'm at my window watching the cars roll in...there are fewer vehicles than left, and the men are moving with exhaustion they must have pushed hard and come back with nothing to show for it.
Viktor steps out of the lead SUV.
Even from this distance, I can read him. The controlled set of his shoulders that means he's containing something. The way he stands for one moment in the courtyard before moving, like he's recalibrating his steps.
He looks up.
