My mouth opened to respond, but before I could form a single word, a familiar voice cut through the tension.

"I brought her here."

Ace.

Relief crashed over me so hard my knees nearly buckled. He was standing at the edge of the yard, his jaw tight and his eyes locked on the woman before me. There was something different about him now—an authority that hadn't been there before, a presence that made the air around him feel charged.

He walked across the grass, and suddenly he was beside me, his ...