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Mariah deftly climbed from the bed. I angled my head toward the hallway, and we crept back out and shut the door behind us.
“How did it go with Sebastian?”
“Tomas called. He knows it’s us.” I watched her face closely as she processed this. She swallowed, then nodded slowly, taking a breath and squaring her shoulders.
“Okay. That’s good.”
“It’s great. We convinced him to let Porter go.”
“Do you think he will?”
“Sebastian has a security team on him. It should be fine.” I didn’t want to worry her with my own concerns about what Tomas would do. For now, things were headed in the right direction, and that’s what we needed to focus on.
“I know I’ve said it before…” She hesitated, her fingers clenching and unclenching. "Just…promise me you’ll be careful, Evan. I can’t even think about anything happening to you."
"Nothing will," I said, running my knuckles over her cheek. "I'll do whatever it takes to protect all of us. Tomas won't get anywhere near us again."
Chapter 14
Mariah
Two days had passed since our return from New York. The news that Evan and Sebastian’s plan was working filled me with hope, but the calm that’d settled over our lives felt precarious. I didn’t know what to expect next. I only knew we couldn’t let our guard down—not when Tomas Hawthorne loomed in the shadows.
The sun was easing toward the horizon as I stood on the back porch, the scent of flowers filling the air. To anyone who didn’t know better, life would seem perfect out here, but I couldn’t shake the unease coiling inside me like a snake, ready to strike. Even the soft rustle of leaves in the breeze seemed to whisper in warning.
"Everything okay?"
Evan startled me, and I turned to see him stepping out onto the porch. His dark eyes were filled with concern, those strong shoulders tense beneath his shirt.
I sighed as I leaned against the railing. “It's been too quiet these past couple of days. I can't shake this feeling that something's about to happen."
Evan exhaled slowly, running a hand through his dark hair. He looked out into the growing darkness.
"I know what you mean," he said quietly. "But we can't live our lives in fear, Mariah. We have to keep moving forward, for Sofia's sake."
I nodded, though the knot in my stomach refused to loosen. As much as I wanted to believe that we could build a happy, normal life for ourselves, the shadow of Tomas remained. We were in limbo until Hawthorne was eliminated as a threat.
“It’s just hard to act like everything is normal.” I turned and faced him.
Evan's eyes met mine, and he came closer, wrapping me in his arms. “We just have to try our best.” He kissed my forehead. “Any news about your exams yet?”
“I haven’t checked my email today,” I said.
“Well, why don’t we go do that now? Maybe it will take your mind off things.”
I nodded. “Maybe.”
“Come on.” He took my hand. “Let’s go find out.”
We went upstairs to our room, and I grabbed my laptop and settled down on the couch in the sitting area of the bedroom suite, perching it on my knees. I opened my email, my heart jumping up in my throat when I saw there was, in fact, a response from my favorite of the two schools I’d applied to.
I glanced up at Evan, who was standing behind me. “It’s from the school.” I bit my lip, moving my cursor to hover over the email.
He grinned. “What are you waiting for? Let’s see what they have to say.”
My pulse raced as I opened the email and scanned the contents. Then my jaw dropped.
I’d done it. I’d passed the entrance exam for the degree program. I squealed in excitement, hands flying up to cover my mouth as happy tears filled my eyes.
