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“Sara?”
I hear Mom speaking before Vaughn replies. “Yes. There’s been a missing persons report filed. Clearly, there’s been some confusion somewhere along the line.”
His deep gaze holds mine as he silently pieces everything together. “I will handle it with the authorities and keep Wren safe here at Rogue with me. You have my word.”
He passes the cell back, just as the elevator doors open for Ford to stride through. Mom is already speaking when I place the cell to my ear.
“I’ll be back at sea again, Wren, so reception will be patchy. But I’ll check in, and I will be home with you before you know it.”
I nod, swallowing heavily and wanting nothing more than to plead with her to forget about Elliott and fly home right now. Instead, I steady my breathing and force myself to smile. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, Wren.”
Once we’ve said our goodbyes, Ford has left the apartment once more, leaving me alone with Vaughn.
The enormity of what’s happened begins to sink in. “Oh my God. Will I be charged with wasting a police officer's time?” I turn frantic eyes to Vaughn as he comes to stand opposite me. “Will I be sent to prison?”
I spiral, desperately telling myself to stop, but I can’t. I’m too far gone.
“They said it was foul play. I didn’t make the call. I don’t even know what happened to my cell. Someonehitme! I—I—”
Vaughn suddenly and without warning palms my cheeks, forcing me to look up at him. His forehead is furrowed, jaw clenched tightly as his eyes hold me captive. “Nothing is going to happen to you, Wren Caputo. There’s a lot at play here, but you have mywordthat I will get to the bottom of it.”
He traces his right thumb along my cheek, and it takes me a moment to realize he’s wiping away a tear. “You’re safe here.”
The ache in my chest lessens at the comfort those three words lend to me. Spoken plainly by this man who, in the short time I’ve known him, has become an important part of my life.
The safety he provides me. The distraction he gives to me, whether he knows it or not. He has single-handedly made this whole ordeal bearable, and my heart swells when I realize that, somewhere along the way, he's gotten under my skin.
I blink heavily, allowing another tear to streak down my cheek as he steps back, arching a mischief-filled brow. Then he reaches for a plate of French toast, passing it to me with a hangdog expression.
“Now eat while this truce is in motion, because as soon as I leave this apartment and go downstairs, the gloves are off.”
I take it from him with a small smile. “Thank you.”
My gratitude is for far more than the food, and his eyes tell me he knows it when he tips his head once before returning to his own breakfast.
“Maybe try to distract yourself today, hmm?”
Chewing a mouthful of toast, I slide in across from him, immediately knowing the best way to do that. “Yeah, I think I’ll watch a movie.” I tip my head to one side in question. “Do you like foreign films?”
“Nah. If I wanted to read, I’d pick up a book.”
I snort, shoving more toast into my mouth as I feel the tension from before leaving my shoulders, and I come alive in the presence of this man who makes me feel things I have no business feeling.
“You should watch Pan’s Labyrinth. It’s so immersive, it doesn’t feel like you’re reading subtitles.”
He regards me for long moments with such intensity that I drop my eyes back to my food and keep them there until I’ve cleared the plate.
“You’re nothing like I thought you’d be, Wren Caputo.”
I lift my head, his unreadable gaze fixed on me, and I hold it, unmoving, until he’s the one to break it when he stands, padding toward the elevator without another word.
As he steps onto the car, my next words make him pause, his eyes finding mine over his shoulder.
“I could say the same about you, Vaughn Burton.”
* * *
