Chapter 5 - The Fortress
By sunset, the house was a fortress. I had my best men stationed at every entrance. I hadn't let Bria go to school; she was playing upstairs, safe, with Nora. I realized then that my house wasn't just a home—it was a prison of my own design, built to keep out the world, but I had accidentally let the enemy sleep in my bed.
I found Nora in the kitchen again. She was making dinner, but her hands were trembling.
"You should go," she said without looking up. "Take Bria and go. If they come for you, they won't stop at the gates."
"They won't get past the gates," I said, grabbing her hand to stop her from shaking. "I’m not a target, Nora. I’m the one who built the fence. I know every loose board."
"Why are you doing this?" she asked. "For me?"
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"For Bria," I said. But even as I said it, I knew it wasn't the whole truth. It was for the man I used to be—the one who believed in loyalty, the one who loved Maren enough to know that a true partner never tries to erase the people you love. "And for you. You stayed when everyone else would have run. Why?"
Nora looked at me, her eyes wet. "Because someone had to love her. Someone had to keep her mother’s memory alive. And because... I knew you were still in there, Damon. Somewhere under all that black clothing and cold silence, you were still the man Maren loved."
