Page 122 of The Wrong Man

Sean looks at me for a long moment. “Just bring him home,” he says eventually. “That’s all we want.”

He and Teagan leave. Nicolo follows, already back on his phone, and Liam trails after him with his medical kit. Ginni bounces out with an energy that suggests he won’t be sleeping at all, and Carlo pauses at the door to give me a long look.

“We’ll get him back,” he says quietly.

“I know.”

“And Dante?” He waits until I meet his eyes. “Whatever happens in there, whatever you have to do... I’ve got your back.”

He’s gone before I can respond.

Moira is the last to leave, but she stops beside me first.

“You really love him,” she says. It’s not a question.

“More than I knew I was capable of.”

She studies my face for a long moment. Whatever she sees there makes her nod slowly.

“Bring him home safe,” she says. “And then... we’ll see about the rest.”

It’s not forgiveness. Not yet. But it’s something. A door left open, a possibility of acceptance. More than I have any right to hope for, given what I’ve done.

“I will,” I promise. “Whatever it takes.”

She squeezes my arm once, briefly, and then she’s gone.

I’m alone in the war room, surrounded by maps and plans and the weight of everything that’s about to happen. The silence feels heavy. Expectant. Like the whole world is holding its breath.

I move to the window and look out at the dark street. Somewhere across the city, Dylan is locked in a room, waiting. I hope the note reached him. I hope he knows I’m coming. I hope he hasn’t given up on me the way I gave up on my self when I walked out without a word.

I think about the first time I saw him. Tied to my chair, terrified, insisting he wasn’t the man I was looking for. I didn’t believe him. I hurt him anyway.

And then there was the last time I saw him. Curled up in my bed, still shaken from his panic attack while I walked out without a word. Leaving him alone and vulnerable.

I won’t make those mistakes again. Never again. I’ll never hurt him, and I’ll never leave him.

In a few hours, I’ll be walking into Declan O’Shea’s house. I’ll be facing armed men, unknown dangers, a desperate criminal with nothing left to lose. I might not walk out again.

But Dylan is in there. Dylan, who was kind to me even when he had every reason not to be. Dylan, who kissed me like I was worth something. Dylan, who somehow saw past the monster to the man underneath.

I’m going to save him. And then I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to deserve him.

I check my gun. Check my knife. Check the cold, calm place inside me where the monster lives, waiting to be unleashed.

Five hours until we move. Five hours until I’m either saving Dylan or dying in the attempt. Five hours that will stretch like an absolute eternity, every minute a small torture of its own.

There’s no version of tonight where I come back without him. I won’t allow it. I’ve spent my whole life being the monster in other people’s stories. Tonight, for once, I’m going to be something else.

I’m going to be the one who saves him. The one who brings him home safe.

Hold on, Dylan. I’m coming for you. I promise.

Chapter thirty-six

Dylan

Iwake to the sound of shouting.