Page 343 of End Game

I pull her closer. “I'm not handing you control of the ambulance.”

“Damn.”

“Or our taxes.”

“I don't want the taxes.”

“Good.”

“But this?”

Her eyes move briefly toward the belt abandoned near the bed.

Then back to me.

I follow the look.

“Yeah.” I kiss her forehead. “This I can give you sometimes.”

Her smile is small but real.

I think about how strange that sentence would have sounded to me a year ago.

Giving up control.

I would have assumed that meant losing something.

Tonight it didn't feel like losing anything. It felt like knowing exactly who I trusted enough not to need it.

Cami tucks her head beneath my chin, and my hands settle around her.

And after spending part of the night unable to touch her at all, I appreciate exactly how good that feels.

Chapter thirty

Training Check

Ronan

The house has been quieter for forty-eight hours.

Not quiet, but quieter.

There is a meaningful distinction.

Removing one party member changes the balance even when nobody is actually in danger.

Griffin left for work before sunrise. Cami spent most of the morning in her bedroom working. Micah was at the shop. I spent six hours at the library and another two working from home.

Under normal circumstances, that should qualify as a peaceful day.

Instead, I noticed Dex's absence approximately fourteen times.

There was no music playing in the kitchen when I got home.

The protein bars in the pantry are still exactly where I left them yesterday.

The house feels wrong.