Page 142 of Only Be Mine

Trevor turned back to me, concern etched into every line of his face.

“We’ll get through this,” he said. “Together.”

And in that moment, shaken, exhausted, and desperate for something solid, I believed him.

Because he looked just as scared as I felt.

Chapter 52

Cate

Present

Trevor didn’t let the quiet settle.

The second Seth’s taillights disappeared from the front window, he turned the lock like it meant something. Like the click could keep the world out.

He came back to me in the kitchen, palms braced on the counter, eyes scanning my face as if he was taking inventory, checking for cracks.

“You’re shaking,” he said.

“I’m not,” I lied automatically.

His mouth tightened in a way that wasn’t anger. Not yet. More like… focus.

“You don’t have to be brave in here,” he said, and he reached for my hand again, folding my fingers into his like he could steady the tremor out of me.

I let him, because I didn’t know what else to do with my hands.

“I want you to sit,” he said, guiding me to the chair like he’d been in this room a thousand times. Like it was ours in every way that mattered.

I sat.

He stood in front of me for a moment - close enough that the warmth of him filled my space - then he picked up my phone from the table.

“You said they left messages,” he said, casually. “Let’s call them back.”

My stomach tightened. “Right now?”

Trevor’s gaze flicked to mine. “Yes. Right now.”

There it was. The gentle certainty. The way he said things like they were already decided.

I swallowed. “Okay.”

He held the phone out. Not to give it to me, but to show me the screen. Detective Marshal’s voicemail number already highlighted in the call log.

“You want me to?” I asked.

Trevor’s thumb stroked over my knuckles once, slow. “I’ll start. You can take over whenever you want.”

It sounded like a gift, and relief coursed through me.

The ringing of the phone sounded too loud in the quiet house. Once. Twice.

Then a click.

“Detective Marshal.”