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“But she came back.”

She.

Came.

Back.

I was already moving.

The phone slipped from my hand.

It hit the ground.

I never heard it.

Rafe looked once at his screen. That was all it took. His head snapped up. “THE HOUSE!”

Every man in the park moved.

I caught Ghost stopping for a second. Grab something from the ground and race toward us.

I charged for the SUV. Yanking open the door before it hit me…

It was never about the photograph.

It was always about getting me away from her.

32

NYSSA

I climbed out of the taxi and quietly closed the door behind me. Tires crunched over the gravel before fading down the long drive. I didn’t move. Instead, I lifted my gaze.

Early afternoon splashed sunlight through the library windows, scattering pale reflections across the stone. The first time I’d stood here, I’d thought the house was watching me.

Too large.

Too still.

Too aware.

Now…

I knew better.

It wasn’t the house that’d frightened me. It was the man who lived inside it. The man I’d been so certain I should fear. A sad smile touched my lips. How wrong I’d been.

Or maybe…

Not wrong enough.

The thought settled heavily inside me. Guild’s words echoed back. An incomplete truth is still a lie.

The house stood exactly as it always had.

Ancient.

Silent.