Page 88 of Duty Unbound

Mel watched me move around her room, something like relief on her face at having the decisions taken from her hands.

“I talked to Nova,” I said as I zipped the bag. “She’s chartering a plane to get us to where we’re going.”

“And where is that?”

“Someplace quiet and remote, safe.” I turned to face her. “We won’t have to worry about anything.”

“But what about your job? Nova’s security?”

“The team will handle it. Logan’s more than capable of running things for a few days.”

Mel wrapped her arms around herself. “You don’t have to do this, Ethan.”

I set the bag down and crossed to her, gently unwrapping her arms so I could take her hands in mine. “I want to. Let me help you, Mel.”

“I don’t understand why I’m falling apart now,” she whispered. “We’re home. We’re safe. The tour is on break. Everything should be fine. Even the…incidentwasn’t that bad.”

“You’ve been running on adrenaline for months. Now that there’s a moment to breathe, everything’s catching up to you.” I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s normal. You’re not weak for feeling this way.”

A tear slipped down her cheek. “I’ve never felt like this before. Like I can’t trust my own mind.”

“I know.” I pulled her against my chest, wrapping my arms around her. She felt so small, so fragile.

She nodded against my chest, her fingers curling into my shirt. We stood like that for a long moment, her breathing gradually slowing to match mine.

“Let me take care of everything. All you have to do is breathe.”

Chapter 28

Mel

I woke with a start, my heart racing as I tried to figure out where I was. The bed beneath me was unfamiliar—softer than my hotel mattress but firmer than my bed back at Nova’s estate. Golden morning light filtered through curtains I didn’t recognize, illuminating a rustic wooden bedroom that definitely wasn’t mine.

For one terrifying moment, I couldn’t remember how I’d gotten here.

Then it came back to me. Ethan. The plane. The short drive afterward through darkness.

I pushed myself up, rubbing my eyes as fragments of yesterday pieced themselves together. Nova surprisingly supportive. The chartered plane. Ethan’s gentle guidance through it all as I moved in a fog of exhaustion and lingering fear.

I couldn’t remember arriving or going to bed. Had I fallen asleep in the car? Had Ethan carried me inside?

My clothes from yesterday were folded neatly on a chair inthe corner—jeans and a sweater I vaguely remembered putting on. I was wearing an oversized T-shirt that smelled like Ethan.

I slipped out of bed, padding across the cool wooden floor to the window. Drawing back the curtain, I gasped at the view that greeted me.

Mountains. Actual, majestic mountains rose in the distance, their peaks still dusted with snow despite it being late spring. The landscape was breathtaking in its vastness, a world away from tour buses and arenas and dead animals in boxes.

I dressed quickly in clean clothes from the bag Ethan had packed for me and ventured out of the bedroom. The hallway led to an open living area with vaulted ceilings and more windows showcasing that incredible view. To one side, a kitchen with wooden countertops and copper fixtures gleamed in the morning sun.

And there was Ethan, his back to me as he stood at the stove. Something sizzled in a pan, filling the air with the mouthwatering aroma of bacon.

I must have made some sound because he turned, and the smile that spread across his face sent warmth cascading through me.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” he said.

“Where are we?” I asked, my voice still husky with sleep.

“My place.” He gestured with a spatula. “Well, technically still my parents’ property, but this house is mine.”

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