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I blink at him.

“I know it’s not fair of me to ask you that, but I think I need that.”

“Baby,” I murmur, and he goes quiet. “We can take it as slow as you need, okay? You set the pace. I’m in this with you, and I will walk away if you need me to, but⁠—”

“No. Fuck, please don’t…don’t leave.”

I can suddenly fill my lungs with air, and I manage to nod and hold his hand a little tighter. “You’ve got me. Any way you need me.”

There’s a knock on the window, and Rune and I both jump before I roll it down. A second officer is there, and he leans his arm on the door.

“They’re bringing your son down now,” he says. “They’re also arresting your husband⁠—”

“Ex,” Rune says, then bows his head. “In a few weeks, he’ll be an ex.”

“Smart man,” the officer says. “Now, you should head up to the front doors so you can take custody of your son. Then we’ll need to get contact information and a statement from you.” His gaze shifts to me. “You mind sticking around?”

“Happy to,” I answer.

He walks off, and Rune turns to me, then suddenly leans over and presses his lips against mine. The kiss only lasts a second, but he breathes out and says, “I don’t want to do this without you.”

And then he’s out of the car, jogging toward the front of the hotel.

It takes me a moment to wrap my mind around everything enough that I can get my legs to start working, but as I’m climbing out of the SUV, my phone begins to ring. I peer at the screen and see North’s name, but I send the call to voicemail and then make my way over to the small cluster of people where I finally spot Westin.

She’s biting her nail and shifting from one foot to the other, but she brightens when I slide up next to her, and she sets her arm around my waist and buries her face in my chest.

“I can’t believe Rune’s ex kidnapped his kid.”

I hold her a little tighter, needing the comfort. “Trust me, I’ve met the guy. I can believe it.”

She shakes her head. “I bet he was scared. I mean, he looked really calm at the café, but I could tell he was freaked-out.”

I have zero doubts about that. Elio is a strong kid and a brave kid. But he’s also just that: a kid. He’s not even thirteen, and he’s been dealt a rough hand in life to start. Then to have his dad’s fuck-ass ex take him like this?

And I’m starting to wonder now if this was my fault. I mocked Neal to his face. I trampled all over his pride. Maybe if I’d kept my mouth shut, we wouldn’t be here right now.

Before I spiral too hard, there’s a small commotion at the front, and I peer around one of the cars to see an officer walking out with Elio in his arms. He looks a little pale and wide-eyed, and he squirms the second he sees his dad.

I can tell Rune is only just holding himself together, and there’s only a short pause before Rune has Elio in his arms, probably squeezing the breath out of him. I can’t help but walk over. I need to make sure he’s okay.

Elio meets my gaze over Rune’s shoulder. “I bit him.”

Rune pulls back. “What?”

“I bit Neal. He’s bleeding.”

I hide my laughter, but only just. Rune looks a little shell-shocked, but after a second, he swallows, then nods.

“Do you have my chair?” Elio asks. I hear a faint tremble in his voice now.

Rune nods and clears his throat. “Yeah. Got it from the school.”

“And my phone? I thought he had it. He probably knew you had my location on.”

Rune bites his lip and nods. “Yeah. Got that too.”

Elio pauses for a second. Then, “My Switch? I really want to play Minecraft.”