Chapter 6

“Listen to me.” He takes me by the shoulders. “Before the crash, Ivermann was desperate.”

Just the mention of Axel sends a bolt of fear through me, as if my body still stores the night he almost…

I swallow hard, and the memory disappears. “What does that monster have to do with this?”

“He made claims that go to the top of the Brotherhood, people I’ve known my whole life. They might be compromised, Novalee.”

“What are you talking about? Who?”

“I can’t say yet. We’re close to getting answers, but I need time. Ineedyou to trust me.”

“Of course I trust you, but how can I walk into that tower and pretend you’re still…gone?”

“Because you have to.”

“What if I can’t?”

“I know it won’t be easy, but can you honestly say you never want to see your brother or Elise again?” He pulls me in until our foreheads meet. “Because that’s the cost of running.”

I can’t object to his reasoning when, deep down, I know he’s right. Disappearing now would devastate Elise, especially with the pregnancy making her so vulnerable.

“And what about…?” Sebastian falters, hesitation strangling his question. “What about Liam?”

From across the ocean, the chancellor still stands between us whether I want him to or not.

“You’re all that matters. I chooseyou.”

“I know that, but I won’t let you live in hiding, giving up your career, your family, even Liam Castle.” His tone holds no jealousy, only a resigned understanding that cuts deeper than accusation.

“Give me a chance to fix this. If shit goes sideways, I promise I’ll come back for you, and we’ll run until we can’t run anymore.”

“How long?” I ask, defeated.

“I don’t know, but I swear, I’ll come back for you. I always will.”

The vow solidifies, but as much as I want to believe in its power, I know all too well how fate and the Brotherhood—and everything in between—tend to intervene. For weeks, I existed in a world without him, my mind ensnared in a reality where his touch was just a memory.

But now he’s here, pulling at me like gravity. A needy exhale slips from my lips, and his attention snags there before lowering to the curve of my throat. Immediately, the air shifts, becomes thick with the type of electrical charge that precedes a lightning strike.

His eyes return to mine.

I forget how to inhale.

He forgets to exhale.

“Sebastian—”

And just like that, his mouth crushes mine. Whatever I might have said melts into a moan as our tongues slide together, slick and desperate. Gripping me by the nape, he deepens the kiss, mastering the angle and depth, locking me in for what feels like an eternity before we come up for air.

“I missed you so fucking much,” he whispers, breaths ragged against my lips.

“Imorethan missed you.” I trail a finger along his scruffy jawline. “Part of me died with you.”

“I’m sorry I put you through that. I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for it.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m going to make up for it anyway.” His thumb skims the blanket’s edge, tracing the swell of my breast down to my navel. He parts the fabric, and it slips from my shoulders to the bed.