And I didn’t want to wait anymore.
“You should come with me,” I said. “Stay. Just for a little while.”
Her brows pulled in, and she let out a tired sigh. “Harlan...”
“I’m not asking you to disappear,” I cut in. “I just… I have a place. My dad had a cabin up north. It’s quiet. Off-grid enough, we can regroup. Figure out what we’ve got, what we’re still missing. I think after this shit show, Internal Affairs is going to take over the precinct... to make sure I am clear before moving forward with any action against Erin or the others.”
Ava hesitated, eyes flicking back toward Jack and Gray like she was checking if she was needed.
“They’ll be fine,” I said. “They can come with us, pool our resources... the four of us working together.”
She didn’t answer, not right away.
So, I stepped in closer. Dropped my voice.
“I could lie,” I said. “Say it’s safer. And it is. Hell, I could tell you it’s strategic. That having you with me gives us more time to think. But the truth?”
I looked her straight in the eye.
“I just want you close. I need you close.”
Her breath caught, lashes fluttering like she wasn’t sure what to do with that kind of honesty from me.
“I know I fucked up,” I said, my voice lower now. “I know I hurt you. I’ve said things I can’t take back and made calls I never should’ve made. And I can’t change any of that. But I can change what I do next. And I want the next thing I do to be choosing you.”
Ava’s jaw tensed like she was bracing for more pain.
“I love you,” I said.
Not a whisper. Not a performance. Just the truth.
“The kind of love that doesn’t want you behind a locked door or on the other end of a crisis. I want you beside me, Ava. Through the mess. Through the fight. Through all of it.”
Her lips parted like she might say something, might tell me it was too late.
But then her hand found mine.
And for the first time in weeks, I felt something that didn’t taste like regret.
I felt settled, anchored, and at home.
“I’m still furious with you,” she said softly. “Still hurt.”
“I know.”
“And if you ever try to shut me out again...”
“I won’t.”
She stared at me for a long moment, like she was trying to decide if I was worth betting on again.
Then she leaned in and rested her forehead against my chest.
“I’ll come,” she whispered. “But not because you asked. Because I want to. Because I believe in her. In us. And I’m not done fighting.”
I wrapped my arms around her, pulled her close, breathed her in like maybe she could hold me together.
“We’re not done,” I murmured. “Any of us.”
