Page 228 of Only Be Mine

Steam rose.

He didn’t look up.

“Cate?” he called lightly.

“Yes?”

“You’re with me, right?”

The question floated through the house like something fragile.

I stepped into the hallway.

My voice didn’t shake when I said, “I’m right here.”

And for now, that was true.

Chapter 77

Cate

Present

The coffee smelled too strong.

Trevor always made it that way, but this morning it felt bitter. Burned. Heavy in the air.

He placed a mug in front of me like an offering.

“Drink,” he said gently. “You need something steady in you.”

I wrapped my hands around it but didn’t lift it.

He sat across from me at the kitchen island, posture relaxed, sleeves rolled, tie loosened. Domestic. Reasonable.

Dangerous.

My phone sat between us, the screen dark and waiting.

Trevor nodded toward it. “Call him.”

My pulse thudded behind my ribs.

I picked up the phone slowly. Not because I was hesitant.

Hesitation would look like resistance.

I unlocked it and scrolled to Detective Marshal’s name.

Trevor watched my face, not the screen.

I hit call.

It rang once.

Twice.

Voicemail.