Chapter 65
JACE MARINO
The drive back to the lake house felt longer than the drive out. It always did when I was anxious. Marco was behind us. Mateo was in the passenger seat, and I kept refreshing the CCTV feed on my phone like it was oxygen.
Every room in that house. Every hallway. Every angle where Julian might walk past.
If anything had happened while I was gone, I would've known. But knowing didn't help. I still kept checking.
By the time the gravel crunched under the tires and the safe house came into view, my chest was tight. Detective Pole's threats, Agent Voss' stone-cold stare. None of that bothered me as much as being away from Julian for hours.
The car stopped.
Before I could take a breath, the front door flew open.
Julian sprinted across the porch and down the steps. He didn't slow down. He slammed into me and wrapped his arms around my neck with so much force I stumbled back a step.
The breath I didn't know I was holding released at once.
