The cream ceiling came back into focus when she opened her eyes.
No storm. No woodsmoke. No weight at her back—just silence and the soft hum of hidden vents.
He hadn’t just taken her job and her freedom. He’d taken the morning she was supposed to have with Scout — the awkward coffee, the daylight test of that promise.
Anger slid in, clean and sharp.
“You’re not the last man who gets to touch me,” she said to the ceiling, voice low but steady. “Get used to disappointment.”
Somewhere in the wall, a relay clicked. No answer.
Fine.
She rolled to her side, reached for the journal on the nightstand, and flipped it open to the back. The pages waited.
Tessa uncapped the pen.
Special Agent Tessa Quinn. Status: Alive. Not finished. Assessing.
Action: Survive. Get back to the man who promised me a tomorrow.
And make sure he gets it. Make him regret thinking he could turn me into one of his characters.
She underlined survive once, hard enough to dent the page.
Then she started to write.
42
Deputy Scout Wilson — Sheriff’s Department
Scout pushed through the side door into the cool night air, already running on fumes. He crossed the lot where deputies parked their personal rides. The lamps overhead buzzed, throwing long shadows across the asphalt.
He was halfway to his truck when a figure slipped out from behind the dumpsters—someone who’d clearly been waiting.
Scout’s hand went straight to his gun.
“Stop right there,” he snapped, drawing and aiming.
His finger settled on the trigger—then recognition hit.
The shape froze—then stepped into the light.
Kyle Denton.
“Jesus, Kyle.” Scout holstered fast. His hand shook as he snapped the leather closed. “Are you out of your damn mind? I could’ve shot you.”
Kyle staggered into the light, pupils blown, liquor sharp on his breath.
“You took her,” Kyle hissed.
Scout blinked. “Excuse me?”
Kyle jabbed a shaky finger at his chest. “Tessa. You took her from me.”
Hell. Not tonight. But this had always been coming.
“Kyle,” Scout said, forcing calm into his voice, “She’s not something to be owned.”
