Waking up in that shack felt different. The air was still freezing, and the floorboards still groaned under the weight of the wind, but the silence didn't feel lonely anymore. It felt heavy. Charged.
I opened my eyes to find Caden already gone from the bed. For a split second, that old fear spiked in my chest—the thought that he'd regretted everything and bolted back into his machine-like shell. But then I smelled it. Coffee. Real, bitter, strong coffee.
I pulled on my sweater and padded out to the tiny kitchen. Caden was standing by the stove, dressed in a plain black tee that showed off every cord of muscle in his arms. He didn't have his vest on. He looked... exposed.
He heard me coming—of course he did—but he didn't turn around right away. He just stared at the pot of coffee like he was trying to solve a complex math equation.
"The glitch is still here, if you were wondering," I said, my voice sounding a little scratchy from sleep.
He finally looked at me. His eyes weren't cold anymore. They were complicated. "I was wondering if you'd realize how much of a mistake last night was once the adrenaline wore off."
I walked over to him, ignoring the "safe" distance he usually insisted on. I stepped right into his space and leaned against the counter, looking up at him. "Do I look like I regret it?"
Caden let out a breath he'd clearly been holding. He reached out, his fingers grazing the side of my neck, and for a second, the 'Robot' flickered back to life just to keep his hand from shaking. "No. But you should. I told you, Amara—being near me makes you a target. Last night just tied a knot in that rope that I can't undo."
"Then don't undo it," I said, my heart doing that annoying, hopeful flutter. "Stop trying to save me by pushing me away. It hasn't worked for the last eleven chapters, has it?"
A tiny, almost invisible ghost of a smile touched his lips. It was the first time I'd seen it. "Tenacious. I should have added that to your file."
Before I could tease him about having a literal file on me, the heavy thud of Maisie's footsteps came down the hall. We sprang apart like guilty teenagers. Caden went back to staring at the coffee, and I suddenly became very interested in a stack of dusty bowls.
"Mommy, Pinky is hungry," Maisie announced, rubbing her eyes as she dragged her unicorn onto a kitchen chair. She looked at Caden, then at me, her five-year-old radar sensing the shift in the air. "Why is Caden's face red?"
I choked on a laugh. Caden actually cleared his throat, looking genuinely flustered for the first time in his life. "The... stove is hot, Maisie. Go sit down."
The morning felt almost normal. We ate oatmeal, Maisie babbled about sea shells, and for an hour, I could almost forget that there were men out there who wanted us dead. But Caden never truly forgot. Every few minutes, his eyes would dart to the window or the small black tablet he had propped up on the table, scrolling through silent security feeds.
After breakfast, he pulled me aside while Maisie was busy 'painting' with water on the porch.
"Seraphina's contacts tracked a black SUV heading north on the coast road," he said, his voice dropping into that low, tactical tone. "They're sweeping the beach houses. They'll be here by sundown."
The warmth of the morning evaporated instantly. "So what's the plan? We run again?"
"No," Caden said, his gaze turning hard as flint. "We're done running. This house is a trap, Amara. I built it that way. I'm going to end this tonight, but I need you to take Maisie to the cellar under the bait shop two miles back. Seraphina will be waiting."
"Caden—"
"No 'buts' this time," he said, stepping close and grabbing my shoulders. His grip was firm, grounded. "I can't fight them if I'm worried about a stray bullet hitting the two of you. If I know you're safe, I can be what they're expecting. I can be the machine."
I looked into his eyes and saw the truth. He wasn't trying to get rid of me. He was trying to make sure he had something to come back to.
"You better come back," I whispered, grabbing the front of his shirt. "Because if you don't, I'm going to find your secret bank account and spend every cent on pink glitter and unicorns. I'll ruin your reputation."
He leaned down, pressing a hard, fast kiss to my forehead. "I'll be there by midnight. Now move."
As I loaded Maisie into the car, I looked back at the shack. Caden was standing on the porch, his tactical vest back on, his face back to that stone-cold mask. But as he watched us pull away, he touched his lips with his fingers.
The machine was broken. And that was the only reason we had a chance.