Noah opened his mouth to argue, then closed it. His jaw was working, the muscle jumping in his cheek, and he forced himself to breathe. She was alive. She was standing in front of him, battered and bandaged and leaning on a crutch, but she was alive. That was what mattered.Chantel hadn't moved from her spot near the hallway. Her face had gone pale, her lips pressed into a thin bloodless line, and her eyes were fixed on the bandage wrapped around Rebecca's leg……… She didn't speak.She couldn't seem to find the words she wanted to use.The strange woman had settled back onto the couch, pulling her legs up beneath her and draping her arm over the back cushion. She watched the scene unfold with an expression that could only be described as amused detachment, like she was observing a particularly melodramatic soap opera and couldn't quite believe people got this worked up over a mere leg wound. Her moss-colored eyes flicked from Noah to Chantel to Rebecca and back again, and her lip

"What kind of consulting?" Chantel asked, leaning forward slightly."The kind I can't talk about in detail." The woman's grin sharpened, just a fraction. "There's an ongoing investigation that led me to this city. That's all I can say about it without breaking protocol, and I've already pushed the line more than I should just by telling you that much. My employers are not the forgiving type."She glanced at Rebecca, and something passed between them. "Rebecca knows the details because she's got the clearance for it. Or she used to, anyway. Military background and all that. Some things don't really expire. But telling you two would be a step too far, and I like my job. I'd rather not get fired because I got chatty in front of Rebecca's new friends."She paused, her moss-colored eyes flickering between Noah and Chantel with that same unreadable expression. "I've already asked Rebecca to help me out in any way she can. Just picking her brain about local logistics. It's nothing risky."

Noah leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. He could see that Rebecca was struggling with some internal conflict that was playing out behind her eyes, a battle between her natural reserve and whatever obligation she felt to explain herself to them. He decided to make it easier for her."What kind of reason did she come for then?" he asked, his voice calm and steady.Rebecca hesitated, her eyes darting to the door as though she expected Camille to burst back through it at any moment. Her fingers drummed against her thigh in a restless rhythm, a nervous habit that Noah had never seen her display before. It was a small crack in her composure, but it was there."You already said it earlier," Chantel pointed out slowly, her brow furrowing. "And she herself was a bit too forthcoming with the details. We already know it is about an investigation but the… serial killer bit. We're both of you serious when you said that, or were you just trying to annoy her with some inside joke?"

The hesitation was uncharacteristic, and Noah could see the discomfort written in the tension of her shoulders.Feeling pity for the usually verbose woman, Chantel and Noah completed her sentence for her at the same time, their voices overlapping in perfect synchronization."Complicated?"Rebecca let out a breath, a small laugh escaping her. It was a short, sharp sound, almost surprised, as though she hadn't expected to find any humor in the situation. "Yes. Complicated." She spat the word like it had offender personally.Huffing laugh, Noah rolled his eyes fondly, “As is everything that concerns Camille." .But then Noah's expression grew serious again. He turned to Chantel, his eyes steady on her face. The question that had been hovering at the edges of his mind since Camille's little performance finally took shape."And what about you?"Chantel blinked, startled by the sudden shift in attention. "Me?""What Camille said about you and Rebecca," Noah said, his voice carrying a not

The question hung in the air between them, sharp and pointed like a gutting knife. Noah could feel Rebecca's presence behind him, a silent witness to the exchange.Lucien was quiet for a moment but when his eyes finally rose to meet Noah's, and there was a darkness to his gaze."You don't need to raise your voice at me."The words landed like stones dropped into still water. Noah felt the ripples spread through his chest, unsettling and unexpected.Lucien's expression was serious now, the superficial smile that usually played at his lips completely absent. "If you need me to leave, then ask me to leave. But don't take your frustrations out on me because you're dreading what's waiting in that room."Noah stared at him, momentarily at a loss for words. For some confusing reason, it felt like he had betrayed the man. Lucien had been nothing but helpful, in his own twisted way, and Noah had snapped at him without cause.He let out a long sigh, the tension draining from his shoulders.