Chapter 57 Change in the Air
Violet
Rowan steps back, giving me space instead of closing it.
“You didn’t cause this,” he continues. “And you didn’t give him anything he wanted. That’s why he tried to break you.”
I laugh weakly. “He really thinks you’re some kind of criminal mastermind.”
Rowan’s mouth twitches humorlessly. “I don’t care what he thinks.”
Then, quieter: “I care what he did.”
Theo folds his arms. “Security’s pulling footage. His badge. His arrest attempt. Everything.”
“Good,” Rowan says. Then to me, “You won’t be speaking to anyone else today. Legal will handle statements.”
“I can still work—”
“No,” Rowan says gently but firmly. “You’re done for the day.”
I hesitate. “I don’t want to go home.”
The words slip out before I can stop them. Honest. Small. Too vulnerable for the middle of his office with Theo standing right there and security pacing the hall.
Rowan doesn’t hesitate.
“Then you’re not,” he says.
I blink. “What?”
“You’re coming home with me,” he continues, already turning toward his desk. “I can keep you safe there.”
My brain stutters, trying to catch up. “Rowan, I—”
Before I can finish, he adds, sharp and fast, like he’s cutting off his own impulse before it gets misinterpreted, “Theo and Camille will be there too. Devin will join us later.”
The room goes quiet.
Too quiet.
Theo straightens so fast he nearly snaps his spine. “I’m sorry—what?”
I just stare at Rowan.
Safe. With him. At his place.
My mouth opens. Nothing comes out.
Theo looks between us, eyebrows climbing. “Rowan. Since when do you—”
“This isn’t a discussion,” Rowan cuts in.
His tone isn’t raised. It’s worse than that. It’s final.
Theo studies him for a second longer, then lets out a slow breath. “Okay. Wow. We’re doing that today.”
I finally find my voice. “I don’t want to be a burden.”
Rowan looks at me then. Really looks at me.
“You’re not,” he says simply. “And I don’t use that word lightly.”
That somehow makes it harder to breathe.
I nod, because I don’t trust myself to speak without unraveling.
Theo clears his throat. “Camille’s gonna have… thoughts.”
“I’m sure she will,” Rowan says flatly.
Theo snorts. “She’s already gonna blame me.”
Rowan doesn’t respond. He turns back to his computer, fingers flying over the keyboard with sharp, angry precision. Whatever’s on the screen has clearly offended him on a personal level.
He keeps glaring at it like it’s committed a crime.
I watch him for a moment, the tight line of his jaw, the way his shoulders are set like he’s bracing for impact.
“Rowan,” I say quietly.
He pauses. Not turning around. “Yes?”
“Thank you.”
Something shifts.
Just a fraction.
He nods once. “Get your things. We’ll leave in five.”
Theo exhales under his breath. “Jesus Christ.”
Rowan finally looks at him. “Do you have a problem?”
Theo holds up his hands. “Nope. Not a single one. Just… wow.”
Rowan turns back to the screen, jaw tight again. “Good.”
I stand slowly, my arm still aching, my head spinning, my life feeling like it just veered onto a road I didn’t know existed.
As I move toward the door, I glance back at Rowan one last time.
He hasn’t looked away from the computer.
But his fist is clenched at his side.
I feel guarded.
Protected.
And that scares me almost as much as Calder ever did.
I move on instinct.
Phone. Purse. Jacket.
My hands are steady even though my pulse isn’t.
The front desk is quiet now, the chaos of earlier reduced to a low hum. Camille watches me grab my things, worry etched into her face, but she doesn’t stop me. She just gives a small nod, like she knows I need this moment to pass through me before I fall apart later.
I turn back toward Rowan’s office.
The door is half-closed.
His voice cuts through the glass.
Low. Controlled.
Lethal.
“I don’t give a damn how long he’s been on your force,” Rowan says. “He put his hands on my employee.”
A pause.
Whatever response he gets clearly isn’t enough.
“No,” Rowan continues, sharper now. “You’re not listening. This isn’t a courtesy call. This is me telling you that if Detective Calder is not suspended today, I will bury your department in federal oversight so deep you’ll be testifying in front of committees until you retire.”
I stop just short of the door.
I shouldn’t listen.
I do anyway.
“Attempted false arrest. Assault. Abuse of authority. And that’s before we even get into his prior history,” Rowan adds. “Which, by the way, I now have.”
Another pause.
His jaw tightens.
“Then I suggest you find a way to make it my problem,” he says calmly. “Because if he so much as breathes in her direction again, I won’t need to make threats.”
My breath catches.
Not fear.
Something else.
Something I don’t want to name yet.
“I don’t bluff,” Rowan finishes. “You know that.”
He ends the call without waiting for a response.
The silence afterward is heavy.
I push the door open gently.
Rowan doesn’t turn right away. His hands are braced on the edge of his desk, shoulders rigid, suit jacket pulled tight across his back like he’s holding himself together by force alone.
For a second, I just watch him.
This version of Rowan isn’t polished or distant or carefully controlled.
This Rowan is wrath held on a leash.
And God help me, it does something to me.
He senses me before he sees me.
Straightens. Turns.
The look on his face shifts instantly when his eyes land on me. The fury doesn’t vanish, but it redirects, folds inward, sharpens into something quieter and far more dangerous.
“You’re ready?” he asks.
His voice is steady again.
But the air between us is still vibrating.
“Yes,” I say. My voice sounds normal. I’m not sure how.
His gaze drops briefly, to my jacket, my purse, the way I’m standing a little too straight, then returns to my face.
“Good,” he says. “We’re leaving.”
I nod.
I should move.
I don’t.
Instead, the words slip out before I can stop them. “Was that the police chief?”
He studies me for a beat, clearly deciding how much truth to give me.
“Yes.”
“And?” I ask quietly.
“And he understands the severity of his officer’s mistake,” Rowan replies. “He will understand it even better by the end of the day.”
There’s no bragging in his tone.
No heat.
Just certainty.
My stomach flips.
I hate myself a little for it.
“I didn’t ask you to do that,” I say.
“I know,” Rowan responds immediately. “That’s why I did it.”
Something in my chest tightens.