Chapter 26 Storm Unleashed

• Nina sat where he’d left her, unmoving, listening to the echo of the slammed door fade into the quiet. The cabin felt different without him in it—emptier, yes, but also still humming faintly with his absence, as though his anger had left an imprint in the air. The untouched meal sat on the table, the soup cooling, the scent of it mingling with the faint traces of his cologne.
• She drew in a slow breath, letting the silence settle around her. She wasn’t frightened; his rage hadn’t carried that kind of threat. It was something else entirely. It had felt… personal. Like a wound flinching away from touch.
• Her gaze drifted to the door. She could almost picture him out there, pacing, fighting with himself in the same way he always did, alone, like solitude could contain what was breaking inside him. A part of her ached for him, for the way he’d said I could get me into trouble for it, like he was the one who needed protection.