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All Bobby could hear was silence. Too loud to ignore.
They stood in the middle of the bedroom, so close, yet somehow miles apart.
Athena didn’t even look at him. Her attention was fixed on the bulletproof vest. Her hands moved automatically, but she couldn’t bear to meet his eyes.
He felt her hands on his chest, but for the first time ever, it didn’t feel good. A chill ran down his spine. He just stood there—motionless, silent, waiting for a single word. An apology. Outburst of anger. Anything.
The Velcro squeaked, breaking the silence of the room and the flow of his thoughts. Athena tightened the final strap, maybe a little too firmly. As if her whole world depended on it. And maybe it did. Her hands lingered on his chest for a second longer than necessary.
“Done,” she said. Too quickly. Too coldly. She knew that if she said more, everything inside her might shatter. Ever since they found out someone was targeting firefighters, she’d wanted only one thing—to lock Bobby away somewhere he could be completely safe.
A bullet had once taken Emmett from her, and that helpless, gut-wrenching feeling of not being able to protect Bobby was eating her alive. Even thinking that someone could aim and not miss twisted her stomach with anxiety.
Despite everything they’d said yesterday, she definitely wasn’t ready to lose him.
“Who says this marriage is working?” That line had been running through her head all night, on repeat.
Her heart pounded. Finally, she lifted her eyes to his. And in that one moment their gazes met, everything they hadn’t been able to say since yesterday was there, unspoken but screaming.
Bobby swallowed. “Athena…”
She shook her head.
Bobby grabbed the doorknob, and before leaving the bedroom, he glanced back one last time. No hug. No goodbye kiss.
In her eyes, there was no anger. Only paralyzing fear.
“Please... just come back to me,” she whispered.