Page 96 of Bound By Crimson

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Lyric squeezed her back, heart twisting. “I’ll miss you.”

“You’d better.” Rowan pulled back, eyes sharp. “And promise me you’ll call. Anytime. If you need anything—anything at all—you call me.”

“I promise.”

Rowan smiled, but it wobbled. “Go build that beautiful life.”

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Thomas arrived to drive them to the airfield. The ride was quiet—too quiet—but Kai held her hand, his thumb brushing slow circles over her skin.

The city blurred by, bright and breathless.

And then it was gone.

Skyscrapers gave way to highways. The noise softened. The pace slowed.

At the private terminal, Thomas loaded their luggage into the plane. As Lyric climbed the stairs, she glanced back.

“Isn’t Thomas coming with us?”

Kai shook his head. “No. I’m going to need him here for a while longer.”

“Why?”

“Just some business. Nothing to worry about.”

She nodded, trying to ignore the small knot of anxiety forming in her chest. It wasn’t like Kai to make decisions without explaining them—but maybe that was just something she never noticed before.

They boarded the plane. The engines rumbled to life. As the city slipped away below them, Lyric rested her hand on her stomach.

Her life in New York was behind her now.

What lay ahead… she couldn’t quite name.

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After they landed in South Carolina, a sleek black car waited at the edge of the runway.

A driver opened the door for them. Behind him stood an older man in a perfectly pressed suit—silver hair, sharp eyes, posture stiff as a board.

“Lyric, this is Charles,” Kai said. “He’s my mother’s butler. He’ll be overseeing things at the house.”

Charles gave Kai a respectful nod. “Welcome home, Sir.”

Then he turned to Lyric. “Ma’am.” His tone was polite but cool. Not unfriendly. Just formal. Distant. As if he were sizing her up.

Kai didn’t seem to notice.

They drove in silence, the trees growing denser around them. Shadows deepened. The roads narrowed.

After four hours of travel between car and plane, Lyric felt the weight of the day pressing on her.

Kai reached for her hand. “We’re almost there.”

She nodded, staring straight ahead.

And then she saw it.

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