Chapter 83: Nate

The house is calm, almost too calm. I walk in and close the door quietly, listening to the soft hum of the heater and the murmur of the TV in the living room. It’s a rare feeling in a house like this—peaceful, almost like we’re a regular group of people just going about a regular night.

I shrug off my jacket, letting it slide down my arms and onto the hook by the door, then kick off my boots. The living room light is dim, and when I walk closer, I can see Danny on the couch, with Sofia leaning against him, fast asleep, her face soft and relaxed. There’s a look in Danny’s eyes as he looks down at her that tells me all I need to know. She’s a calming force for him too. For all of us.

Danny glances up, noticing me, and mouths, “Welcome back.”

I nod and whisper, “She out?”

He nods, keeping his voice low. “Yeah, fell asleep during the movie.” He smiles down at her, then adds, “Kept asking a million questions beforehand, though. About… well, everything.”

“Understandable.” She’s been through so much, it’s no surprise she’d be trying to get her head around what comes next, what we’re even doing here after everything that went down.

“She just wanted to know what’s going to happen next, you know?” Danny’s voice trails off. There’s this heaviness in the room as if we’re all silently asking ourselves the same thing.

I start to say something, but my phone vibrates. A message. I frown, not expecting anything, but the number on the screen is our surveillance crew. I feel that familiar tension tighten in my shoulders as I pull up the message.

Danny shifts slightly, careful not to wake Sofia, and gives me a questioning look. “What is it?”

“Message from the team,” I reply, keeping my voice low. I open the message, and my eyes lock on the photo they sent: a plain brown envelope with our address written in a handwriting that’s all too familiar.

“Moretti,” I mutter. My stomach twists. The man is like a ghost we can’t shake, lingering, even after all this time.

“What’s he trying to pull now?” Danny asks, his tone shifting as he registers the name. Carefully, he slides off the couch, positioning Sofia’s head onto a pillow before stepping over to me. “Any idea what’s in the envelope?”

My phone buzzes again, and this time it’s a string of texts explaining what they found inside. I open it, scanning the message. Photos. Outside her old school, another of the coffee shop where she used to work. Chills run down my spine, thinking of him watching her, even before she knew us. He’s been planning this far longer than we thought.

“Enough to rattle her if she saw it,” I say, showing Danny the images. He glances back at Sofia, relief flooding his face as he sees she’s still asleep, oblivious. He gives me a look of pure frustration, and I know exactly how he’s feeling.

“I hate this,” he mutters. “Seeing her like this, and knowing this man’s been lurking in her life this long. And that handwriting… it makes my skin crawl.”

Before I can respond, I hear footsteps at the door. Riley and Leo come in, both of them looking worn but alert, just back from handling one of the final pieces of one of our team's missions. Riley looks between Danny and me, sensing the tension right away. I motion for them to join us in the kitchen, so we can talk without disturbing her.

“Take a look,” I say, holding up the phone with the photos. “Moretti’s way of reminding us he’s still out there.”

Leo’s expression hardens, his jaw clenched as he studies the screen. “Guess he’s getting desperate. That’s probably why he’s sending us these reminders—he wants us to react.”

Riley scoffs. “Well, he’s about to get a reaction all right.” He casts a quick look toward the couch, lowering his voice. “The guy’s not stopping, no matter how far we’ve pushed him back. He’s got a fixation, and it’s dangerous.”

“Yeah, and he’ll keep going if we don’t shut this down,” Danny replies, his voice sharp. “What’s the plan here?”

“We play it smart,” I say, crossing my arms as I think it over. “If we confront him on his terms, he wins. And if we make a move, it has to be flawless. No mess-ups.” I look at each of them, and their faces are as tense as I feel.

Leo’s brow is furrowed, his expression tight. “We can’t risk bringing her into this unless it’s absolutely necessary. She’s… she’s been through enough.”

Riley nods, though there’s still an intensity in his eyes that says he’s barely holding back. “But the crew’s gotta be on high alert. We can’t have him even coming close to her.”

The tension between us fades as we get more serious, focused. We’re all wired, keyed up in a way that only Moretti manages to pull out of us. For a long minute, no one speaks as the weight of the plan hangs between us.

Danny leans back, a small grin tugging at his mouth. “She actually said something interesting earlier. Got me thinking.”

Leo raises an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah?”

Danny shrugs, looking like he’s trying not to make a big deal of it. “She said if we ever got out, like really got out, she’d want to go somewhere by the beach. Quiet town, little restaurants, not too many people.”

Riley’s face lights up, and he lets out a low chuckle. “You think we’d actually pull that off? Us, trying to blend in somewhere peaceful?”

“Hey, I’m all for it,” Leo says with a grin, surprising everyone. “Can you imagine her at the beach, trying to surf or something?” His eyes flash with mischief. “She’d fall every single time.”

Riley laughs, leaning into the thought. “Nah, give her a month, and she’d be better at it than all of us. She’d drag us into it, too, knowing her.”

I lean back, nodding along as I picture it. Sofia, carefree on a beach, maybe laughing as she tries to catch a wave. “It’s not a bad idea,” I say, keeping my tone low, like maybe if I say it too loud, it’ll feel impossible.

Leo glances down, voice softening. “If we ever make it out, maybe that’s exactly what we do. Just us, her, somewhere nobody knows us.”

I glance at the guys, hesitating for just a second before I say, “Mind if I take her tonight? To my room, I mean.”

Riley gives me a quick nod. “Go ahead, man. I’ll crash in her bed,” he says, not missing a beat. Danny and Leo exchange a look, a silent conversation passing between them, but they just shrug.

“Yeah, go for it,” Leo says, flashing a small smile. “She’s all yours.”

Relief and something warmer settle over me as I turn toward the couch, where Sofia’s lying, asleep and peaceful. Carefully, I slide an arm under her knees, lifting her gently into my arms, trying not to wake her. She stirs a bit, her head nuzzling against my chest, but she settles right back down, a soft, steady rhythm of her breathing against me.

In my room, I lay her down, and she shifts slightly, instinctively reaching for something, so I climb in beside her. My arms find their way around her, pulling her in close. The room is quiet, just the two of us, the warmth of her pressed up against me. It feels like the kind of peace I didn’t know I needed.

Just as I’m about to drift off, I feel her stir again. She lets out a small sigh, her voice soft and sleepy. “Nate?”

“Yeah?” I whisper back, my voice just as quiet.

She nestles even closer, her hand resting on my chest. “Missed you today.”

I go still, the weight of her words sinking in, and my chest feels tight in the best way. “Missed you too,” I murmur, brushing a strand of hair from her face, and before I know it, she’s drifted off again, a gentle smile on her lips.

I tighten my hold around her, pressing a light kiss to her forehead, and let her warmth pull me under.