I cup her face in my hand. “But I want security outside this building at all times.”
“Robert—”
“Ellie,” I warn.
She sighs. “Fine. But I don’t want to be followed everywhere.”
I don’t answer.
Her eyes narrow. “Bobby.”
I pull her against me and bury my face in her neck so she can’t see my expression. “We’ll discuss it.”
She bursts out laughing, and the sound calms me.
Fuck, I’ve missed us.
Her fingers slide through my hair, and she whispers, “I hate this.”
I pull back enough to look at her. “Hate what?”
“All of it.” She gestures vaguely. “The danger and always looking over our shoulders. We never know who is watching.”
Guilt punches me square in the chest. “I built this life, and somewhere along the way, I stopped noticing what it was costing you. My job was to protect you from all that.”
“Our life,” she corrects softly. “Not just yours. Ours.”
The word hits me hard. This is our life and not just mine alone.
I close my eyes briefly before opening them again. “I guess I forgot that at some point.”
Her forehead creases. “Forgot what?”
“That it was supposed to be me and you against the world.” I swallow hard. “Not me shutting you out while I carry everything alone.”
Emotion flashes across her face, and I know I got it right. That’s exactly what happened to us. It wasn’t one big thing; it was a thousand little things.
I pull her tighter against me. “I fucked this up, Ellie. But I’m going to fix it.”
She presses her lips against my chest. “We’ll fix it.”
We lie here quietly, and for the first time in months, I feel something close to peace.
But then Victor Sterling’s face flashes through my head again, and just like that, every muscle in my body goes tight.
Eleanor notices immediately. “What is it?”
I stare up at the ceiling. “Victor isn’t going to stop.”
Her body stiffens against mine.
“He was testing boundaries today,” I say flatly. “Seeing what he could get away with and figuring out just how fractured we really are.”
She lifts her head and looks at me. “We’re not fractured.”
I hold her gaze.
“No,” I agree quietly. “We’re not.”
