Mag-log inVivienne's POV Ronan's eyes moved slowly over the screen and I watched the muscles in his jaw tighten.He didn't say anything for several seconds and neither did Maverick. It was probably insane to think, but the silence was almost worse than the message itself.We need to talk.Alone.Ronan's thumb hovered over the screen before he lowered the phone."No."“Ronan, what?” I blinked. "You don't even know what I was going to say.""I know exactly what you're going to say." His voice was calm, too calm."You think I'm going to meet him." I folded my arms."I know you're going to think about meeting him."I opened my mouth, then closed it. Damn him.He knew me too well."I need answers." I let out instead. "You can get answers without standing in front of him alone." There was a hint of annoyance in his tone, but it wasn't directed at me. "I need to know why he's alive." My chest suddenly felt tight, and I looked away. "I know.""How he survived." I hated how my voice broke, but I
Vivienne's POV I didn't like the look on Ronan's face and not because it was angry.Anger, I understood.I'd seen Ronan furious. I'd seen the cold, terrifying stillness that settled over him when someone threatened the people he cared about.This was different.He looked like a man who had just realized the ground beneath him wasn't as solid as he'd thought.Maverick stood across from him, his arms folded over his chest, his expression equally grim and considering the fact that they were slightly chatty yesterday, this was an unwelcome surprise. "What aren't you telling me?" I looked between them.A small part of me had thought that since it was a new day since we found out Jace was digging into my past, things would be slightly better, but I was wrong. "Nothing." Ronan's eyes came to mine. I stared at him and after a couple of seconds, he sighed. "Okay. Something, but not because I want to keep you in the dark.""That's exactly what you're doing." I shot back. "I know." He sig
Ronan's POV I didn't let Vivienne out of my sight. Not after what had happened and not after seeing the way her entire world had shattered because of one photograph.Jace was dead.Or at least, he was supposed to be.Vivienne had spent years believing that. She had buried him, mourned him, and somehow forced herself to keep living after losing the man she had once loved.Now, he was standing beside Grant.Alive, and the more I thought about it, the less I believed it was a coincidence.There were too many pieces that didn't fit, too many questions, and I hated unanswered questions.Especially when they involved my wife.Vivienne sat on the edge of the couch in my office, staring down at a cup of untouched coffee.She hadn't said much since we left our room.Every few minutes, her fingers tightened around the mug, then relaxed again and honestly, I understood.She was trying to process something that shouldn't have been possible and I was trying to do the same.I wasn't sure how l
Vivienne's POV I couldn't breathe. No matter how hard I tried to force air in and out my lungs, it just didn't work out. Like that wasn't enough, I didn't even remember what had happened prior to this moment. One minute I was staring at a photograph I was sure had crawled out of hell, and the next, my feet were moving on their own accord I made it halfway down the hallway before the walls seemed to close in around me.“Jace.” The name kept repeating inside my head. “Jace.”It didn't make sense. It couldn't make sense.I pushed open the door to Ronan's room and stumbled inside, barely registering the familiar leather-and-wood scent that usually made something inside me settle.Not tonight.I shut the door behind me and leaned against it. My heart was pounding so hard it hurt and my head was whirling with a million and one thoughts all at once. Jace was dead. I knew that and I had known it for years.I'd cried over his grave, I'd stood there while they lowered the casket into the
Vivienne's POV The word Grant seemed to hang in the air long after Maverick had said it. Ronan's hand, on the other hand, tightened around mine. Not enough to hurt, but just enough for me to feel the immediate change in him.The man who had been smiling at me only minutes ago, the man who had held my hand while we walked into the clubhouse, disappeared behind the hard lines of the President everyone else knew.His shoulders straightened, his jaw tightened and his eyes sharpened, before he finally bellowed. "Talk."Maverick didn't move. He looked at Ronan, then briefly at me, but that was enough for Ronan to notice too. "Whatever it is," he said, his voice dropping into something dangerously calm, "she stays.""Ronan—" Maverick's eyebrows lifted slightly."She stays." There was no room for argument in his tone and as I looked down at our joined hands, a strange warmth spread through my chest.Only hours ago, we'd promised each other we weren't going to make decisions for one anoth
Vivienne's POV I woke to the sound of the wind and for a few seconds, I didn't know where I was.The darkness around me was soft rather than frightening, broken only by the faint glow of the city far below and the scattered stars overhead.Then I felt the warmth beside me.Ronan.My eyes slowly adjusted, and I found myself tucked against his side beneath the thick blanket he'd pulled over us. His arm was wrapped securely around my waist, his hand resting loosely against my stomach.For once, there was no shouting. No threats, no Grant and no questions hanging over our heads.Just us.I smiled faintly, and it felt almost strange. Peace had become such a foreign thing in my life that I wasn't entirely sure what to do with it.I shifted slightly, and Ronan stirred immediately.“Hey.” His eyes opened. "You okay?"His voice was rough with sleep, and for some reason, it warmed me up from the inside. "Yeah.”I nodded. His gaze traveled over me anyway, checking. Slowly, his eyes moved ov
Vivienne's POV I woke up to warmth that wasn’t supposed to feel this cold. It echoed all around me, and even though I wanted nothing more than to sleep all the more, I hated that I had to wake up. Or at least peel my eyes open.The sheets still smelled like him, smoke, cedar, sin and sex but t
Vivienne's POV The note felt heavier the longer I held it. I tried to drop it, but I just couldn't bring myself to do so. I was probably exaggerating, but I hated that the note felt like it weighed a million pounds. It shouldn't have, it was just a small, folded piece of paper, but the weight o
Vivienne's POV I had no idea how long I spent in the restroom after both my guests had left me to my thoughts, but if the pain in my legs and ankle meant anything, it was probably a lot, even though it didn't seem that way in my mind. The lights that I swore were just the right shade when I f
Vivienne's POV For a long moment, I didn’t move. At this point, I wasn't sure I would be able to even if I tried. My feet seemed to have been glued to the door, so I just stood there staring at the door, while I tried to match the voice to a face.It wasn’t Ronan’s. It didn’t have that growl







