Page 39 of His Fury

The house was still quiet when I finally wandered out of the bedroom, padding barefoot across the cool floor. Noshadows were lurking. No ghosts waiting to crawl out of corners.

Just…stillness.

And safety.

It startled me how much that mattered.

Rye wasn’t anywhere I could see, but I knew he would be in the house somewhere, tucked away, probably avoiding me. Zayn’s warning hadn’t been for dramatic effect. If he wanted to make sure I would remain undiscovered here, then either he or Rye would always be watching.

I brewed coffee in a huge, industrial machine that could serve an entire army. I wasn’t even sure I pressed the right buttons, but eventually, I found myself with a cup in hand and warmth enveloped me.

Holding my cup of coffee, I approached the glass wall in the living room and gazed at the trees bordering the property. There was no sound from passing traffic. No chaos. Just green, tranquility, and sunlit stillness.

How did someone like Zayn live in a place like this?

How did a man whothrivedin the shadows build himself a sanctuary this quiet? This…beautiful?

This safe.

Maybe it wasn’t his?The idea popped into my head as I looked at the blue skies. Maybe the house was for him like it was for me—a temporary shelter in a world that demanded too much. But even thinking that, I didn’t believe it.

I sat there for a while, just soaking it all in. I didn’t check the time. I didn’t think of the many messages I probably missed on my phone.

I let myself breathe.

It was the first time in days…no, weeks…where I didn’t feel like I was holding my breath just to stay upright.

And God…that felt dangerous.

I was curled up on one of the ridiculously oversized chairs, cradling my second coffee, when I finally heard movement.

“Hi?”

Rye said nothing for a long moment and then ran his eyes over me. He was holding his own mug like it was the only thing keeping him tethered to humanity.

“I was beginning to think you were a ghost,” I said. “Silent, broody, armed.”

He gave me a sideways look. “If I was a ghost, you wouldn’t see me.”

“Comforting.” I offered a smile. “Zayn said you’d be here,” I told him. “Watching. Like the creep you are. His words, not mine.”

He sipped his coffee and didn’t deny it.

“Are you always this fun in the morning?” I asked, tipping my head toward him.

“Only when I’m babysitting people who talk too much.”

I gave him a sugary smile. “It’s not babysitting. It’s personal security. Very glamorous.”

“You’re going to be a pain in the ass, aren’t you?”

“I thought you already thought I was?”

I saw the corner of the corner of his mouth twitch like he wanted to smile, and I took that for the win it was.

We shared an easy silence for a few beats. “Delivery truck will be here soon,” he told me matter-of-factly. “Need you to stay in here or at the back of the house. Okay?”

“Oh…um. Of course.” I turned around fully to watch him as he watched me. “I didn’t think you would take deliveries here.” He raised an eyebrow, and I explained myself. “You said it was so…secret. A delivery truck seems the exact opposite.”

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