Chapter 26 The aftermath and the enemy in the dark
The sky outside had darkened into a deep blue, city lights flickering in the distance.
The safe house was quieter than it had been in days—almost eerily calm after the chaos.
Lucy stood by the window, arms folded, staring out at the street below.
There had been so much going on lately she had barely had time to breathe, let alone think about Jessie.
Jessie, was she still alive, out there somewhere, she couldn't ever give up hope.
Every step they now took felt like a step closer to finding the outcome and part of that scared her so much.
what if she wanst alive
what if she didnt want to come home
She couldn't think of any of this, just her mission to stop the traffickers and find Jessie one way or another.
She didn’t hear Lucas come up behind her until his reflection appeared in the glass.
“You’re thinking too loud,” he murmured.
She huffed a breath that was almost a laugh. “Is that possible?”
“For you? Yes.”
He stepped closer, close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body at her back but not touching her—waiting, like he always did, letting her choose.
Lucy turned around slowly, looking up at him. His eyes searched hers, gentle but blazing with something she’d felt building between them for weeks.
“You scared me today,” he said quietly.
His voice… it wasn’t the Mafia boss tone, or the calculating strategist.
It was soft.
Bare.
Honest.
Lucy stepped closer until their bodies nearly touched. “You scared me too.”
He lifted a hand, brushing his fingers across her cheek, slow and reverent.
“You don’t understand what it does to me when you’re in danger,” he whispered. “It feels like the world narrows to one point—making sure you’re alive.”
Her breath hitched.
“Lucas…”
He cupped her jaw with one hand, the other sliding to her waist, pulling her gently against him.
She melted into his warmth, his strength, his certainty. Her fingers curled into his shirt.
“I thought…” she whispered, “that after everything, maybe I’d never feel safe with anyone. Not completely.”
“And now?” Lucas murmured, lips brushing her forehead.
Her voice wavered. “Now I feel like you’re the only place I can breathe.”
His lips pressed to her temple, lingering.
Her hands slid up his chest, over his shoulders, her heart pounding with a mix of fear and want and absolute clarity.
Lucas tipped her chin up, searching her eyes.
Lucas had thought one night with her and he would have got her out of his system, able to move on after all this was finished. But one night made him want another and then another and he felt he couldn't get enough of her.
He would watch her for hours, the way she would look when she was thinking, the smile that would light up the room, the care and genuine concern she had shown all the gilrs taken including Emily. He felt like a teenager again constantly craving her, and her attention, needing to be near her and with her and to know she was safe all the time.
It wasn't distracting but consuming and to be honest he loved and needed it.
“Lucy… if we keep doing this, I’m not letting you go ever. You understand that?”
She swallowed, emotion tightening her throat.
“I don’t want you to let go, ever.”
The tension between them snapped—soft, quiet, but unmistakable.
Lucas’s hand slid to the back of her neck as he kissed her.
Slowly at first, as if he was giving her a chance to pull away.
But she didn’t—she pressed closer, fingers tangling in his hair, returning the kiss with a longing that stole her breath.
He deepened the kiss, guiding her backward gently until her back met the wall.
Lucy gasped softly against his mouth, and Lucas froze—just for a heartbeat.
“I need you, more than you could ever imagine” he murmured against her lips.
Lucy wrapped her arms around him and whispered, “I need you too, so much.”
His breath caught.
He lifted her, carrying her toward the bedroom with a careful, controlled intensity that made her heart flutter.
He laid her on the bed with a tenderness that made her chest ache. They had been here before and would be again many a time.
Their kisses grew deeper, slower, more consuming, hands finding skin, warmth rising between them—an intimacy that was not rushed, not reckless, but filled with something real.
And when their breaths mingled and the world fell away, everything that followed was theirs alone—soft shadows, whispered names, shared warmth, and the unspoken promise forming between their bodies and their hearts.
At that moment nothing else mattered, just the two of them getting what they needed, giving the other one what they needed.
The night wrapped around them.
And they didn’t let go.