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He twisted to face her, his calloused palm cupping her cheek with infinite gentleness, his thumb tracing the curve of her cheekbone.
She covered his hand with her own, anchoring him against her. “Maybe neither of us can control the outcome, no matter how desperately we want to. Life is terrifying so much of the time. But if we don’t stumble or fail, if we refuse to be vulnerable, how can we recognize the precious moments when we’ve found light amidst the darkness?”
A tremulous smile curved his lips.
“Choosing to expose our scars, forging genuine connection despite the risk of being shattered again, isn’t that the bravest thing a person can do?”
“Perhaps.” He leaned in until their foreheads brushed, the tension in his shoulders softening.
“I’m here for you.” She’d never meant anything so surely before.
Caleb slid his arm around her back, drawing her flush against him, his heat stealing away her rational thoughts. She relaxed against him. Right now, Richard was nothing but a shadow, a ghost. Reality was being with Caleb.
Light amidst the darkness.
21
Caleb woke to a muted beep.
The distinctive tone meant only one thing. Perimeter alarm—someone had breached his territory.
A glance at his watch confirmed the time as three in the morning. Adrenalin spiked, icing his veins as reality slammed home. Hudson’s men had found them and breached the defensive net he’d constructed around the cabin.
Caleb cupped Grace’s shoulder and gave her a gentle shake, lowering his mouth to her ear. “Grace.”
Confusion flickered across her features, interrupted dreams still clinging. “Caleb, what—” Her eyes widened as she registered the muted alarm. “What’s that noise?”
“Alarm’s been tripped. We have company.” She tensed under his touch, and he risked the briefest caress across her cheekbone to soothe her nerves. “Get dressed.”
He rolled out from under the blanket, shucked on his pants and shirt, his feet chilling on the cold floor.
Dolly’s whine from the kitchen diverted his focus. She hurried over to him, her claws tip tapping on the wood.
“Hey girl. Business as usual.” He smoothed his palm over her soft ears, letting the familiar sensation ground him against the adrenalin electrifying his nerves.
A quick check of the security monitors revealed triple cordon breaches - front, rear, eastern perimeter. A second of admiration pulsed through him.
Clever bastards, trying to hem them in before closing for the kill.
His pulse kicked higher as the cold clarity of his former Navy life washed over him. He had known they would come for Grace.
It was only a matter of time.
With a low grunt, he shifted the heavy dresser on the far kitchen wall until its false rear panel flipped open, revealing the recessed cache beyond. He wasted no time securing the familiar weight of his gun, checking the loaded magazines.
“Caleb…” Grace’s gaze landed on his arsenal. She’d dressed and had laced up her boots, girding herself outwardly, but her expressive eyes shone overlarge in the gloom.
Before she could give voice to her fears, he crossed the distance between them in two strides. Fingers splaying along her jaw, he tipped her face upward to his. “We’re going to be fine, you hear me? You do as I say and we’ll walk out of this.”
She gave a tiny nod, the softness of her loose hair brushing his knuckles.
“Okay. Stay low, away from the windows, and stay behind me.” He took her hand and tugged her toward the rear of the cabin. He released her hand only long enough to lift the worn red rug from the floor, exposing the outline of a trapdoor and recessed metal handle. Caleb slipped his fingers into the metal loop and tugged it upward. Loamy air wafted up from below.
Grace inhaled sharply. “What is this?”
“It’s the old log storage. Going down will take us outside away from the cabin. They’ll have eyes on all the doors.”
Dolly whined once before taking the lead, disappearing into the blackness with a muscular wriggle. Caleb followed, dropping into the musty space, his boots making a soft thud as he landed. Down here, the relentless beep of his alarm was no longer audible. “Your turn.”
