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Things Alaric doesn’t know.

His smile changes the whole room.

He pretends not to care when he absolutely does.

He smells like rain and coffee.

He’s kinder than he realizes.

He thinks nobody notices when he’s hurting.

He’s wrong.

—Nyssa.

My pulse thudded hard in my chest. She’d been watching me too.

I read her words one last time. Swallowed. Then turned the page.

The pen settled between my fingers.

Rain.

Concrete.

Cloves.

Left foot lighter—old injury?

Waits outside the door.

Likes silence.

Creates hope before entering.

The list grew. Not from memory. From instinct. I wasn’t writing anymore. I was hunting. Every answer Nyssa had given me stopped being a story. It became a pattern. A rhythm. A life. I mapped him. Not just where he walked but why. Where he paused. Where he waited. Where he believed himself untouchable. My grip tightened.

Christ.

I wasn’t building a monster anymore. I was building a man. Which meant…

He could be found.

The crunch of tires on gravel dragged me reluctantly back to the present. I didn’t jerk away from the image. I pulled myself out of it. I lifted my head as the familiar black sedan crossed the study window and headed around the house.

Rafe was back.

And after radio silence for two days I knew it wasn’t good.

The engine died. The thud of the car door. Seconds later, the soft close of the rear door. I tracked him as he strode along the hallway and headed for the study. His steps were slower today. Heavy. Deliberate. He sounded exhausted like he hadn’t slept in the two days he’d disappeared. I lifted my gaze as he stepped into the library.

He didn’t stop, just headed straight for the coffee machine and helped himself. I leaned back, watching the darkened outline move. But it was the heady scent of mud I focused on. That and the smell of rain that still clung to him. He poured, reached for the sugar. One spoon, then another. My brow lifted. Rafe never took sugar. Then he turned around and leaned against the cabinet.

“Well?” Silence. “You found something.”

“No,” he answered.

Which was not the answer I was expecting.