Chapter 26: Morning Light and Lingering Shadows
Sunlight cuts through the blinds in sharp, golden bars across the bedroom floor. I wake first, the way I always do now—listening for Bella’s breathing before I even open my eyes. She’s curled on her side facing me, one arm tucked under her pillow, the other hand resting open on the sheet between us like she reached for me in her sleep and didn’t quite find me.
Her face is soft in the morning light. No tension in her jaw, no crease between her brows. For the first time in days the lines around her mouth are gone. She looks peaceful. Almost fragile. But I know better. The woman who put a bullet through Ethan’s knee last night isn’t fragile. She’s just resting.
I don’t move yet. I watch her chest rise and fall, count the slow rhythm until my
