“No.I’m slowly gaining trust, but I’m not quite there yet.I just overheard two of the higher-ups laughing about it and didn’t want to ask too many questions.”
“Understood.”I don’t blame him at all.He’s on a mission himself and we can’t risk blowing his cover.
My gaze shifts back toward the community area.Through the open doorway I can see Tessa at the far end of the island, leaning in toward Bebe, hands moving as she fires off what I’m sure are a dozen intrusive questions.Bebe’s laughing and it’s clear she doesn’t mind engaging with Tessa’s nosiness.
Tessa looks beautifully alive.Completely unaware.
And only safe because she’s sitting in that room right now.
“You need to assume she’s a target,” Brady warns.
The word settles heavy and undeniable.“Yeah… I know.I really appreciate it, brother.”
“Absolutely.If I hear anything more, I’ll let you know.”
“Stay safe,” I reply, and then he’s gone.
For a moment I stand there staring at nothing, the noise of the dinner sounding different now—almost fragile.I push off the wall and step back into the communal area.Tessa glances up as I reenter, her expression open, curious.She smiles at me—an easy smile that tells me she trusts this room.
I know she trusts me.
Whatever we are—or aren’t anymore—doesn’t matter right now.I may not have access to her heart, but I will not let anyone erase her.
Not from a video.Not from a story.Not from this world.
As she turns back to Bebe, already deep into another question, I make a decision that settles in my bones with a clarity I haven’t felt in years.
I’m committed to bringing RainVest down, removing all threats to Tessa’s safety.
And anyone who thinks they can touch her will taste my violence.
CHAPTER 8
Tessa
Istepoutofmybathroom barefoot and warm, steam trailing after me.The heat from the bath has softened the tightness in my shoulders, but it hasn’t quieted my mind.Now I’m wrapped in one of my robes—thick and absurdly soft—and my hair hangs wet, but combed, down my back.
I find Cole in the living room, one hand braced on the window frame as he looks out over the front yard.He’s been on high alert even though my house feels as protected as Fort Knox.
When we arrived about an hour ago, he walked me room to room, pointing out security additions I would never have noticed on my own.The new porch light?Camera embedded in the housing.The garage floodlight?Another one, low-light capable, wide angle, infrared.No bulky black domes that scream “You’re being recorded.”No obvious hardware.Just watchful eyes tucked into ordinary fixtures.
“The system doesn’t advertise,” he’d told me.“It observes and reports quietly.”
Every door and window now have contact sensors buried inside the frames.Not the cheap plastic strips you see at big box stores, but internal magnetic sensors and vibration detectors calibrated to differentiate between wind and forced pressure.If someone tries to jimmy a lock or score the glass, Cole will know by an app alert before I do.
Motion detection isn’t motion so much as heat mapping.The system reads temperature shifts, not just movement.A raccoon on the porch won’t trigger it.A man lingering against my siding at two in the morning will.
He showed me the kitchen island next, crouching to press a spot beneath the overhang.“Silent alarm,” he said.“Press and hold for two seconds.”
He demonstrated on test mode and exterior lights flared to full brightness.His phone buzzed immediately with a live feed from the exterior cameras.
“Jameson gets the alert at the same time as 911,” he added.
There’s another trigger under my desk.One in the nightstand drawer.All routed through encrypted channels Josie installed, which apparently means my Wi-Fi now does more than stream documentaries.It will even shut itself down if someone tries to mirror my data or hack my feed.
Even the smoke detectors have been upgraded.They don’t just sense heat, they monitor particulate patterns consistent with accelerants.If someone tries to burn my house down, the system flags it before the flames get started.
As he explained it all, I stood there trying to reconcile the ordinary familiarity of my home with the fact that it now functions like a fortified safe house.No wonder it took so long to get the work done.
