I woke up alone, which shouldn't have surprised me but somehow did. The sheets on Tillman's side of the bed were cold, meaning he'd been gone for a while. I got up and found a note on the nightstand in sharp, angular handwriting.
"Had to leave early. Stay in the apartment until Marcus comes to get you. T."
I showered and dressed in clothes from my own room that had apparently been brought over sometime during the night. When I emerged, Marcus was waiting in the living area, his expression professionally neutral.
"Morning," I said.
"Miss Tully. The boss asked me to escort you to breakfast and then to your training session with Nina."
"Is he always this controlling?"
A hint of amusement crossed Marcus's face. "You have no idea."
The compound felt different as we walked through it. People who'd previously ignored me now nodded respectfully, and I realized word had spread that I'd spent the night in Tillman's quarters. In his world, that apparently meant something significant.
Nina was waiting in the training facility, already warmed up and ready to go. "Sleep well?" she asked with a knowing smile.
"Shut up and show me what we're working on today."
We'd progressed from basic self-defense to more advanced techniques. Today Nina wanted to work on weapons, specifically knives and how to use them effectively.
"The key is not to think of it as trying to kill someone," she explained, demonstrating proper grip and stance. "Think of it as creating distance and opportunities to escape. You're not trying to win a fight, you're trying to survive one."
I practiced the movements over and over, feeling the weight of the training knife in my hand, learning how to move so the blade was always between me and an attacker. It was exhausting and terrifying and somehow empowering all at once.
"Good," Nina said after I'd completed a particularly complex sequence. "You're getting better, Helen. Not great yet, but better."
"Thanks, I think."
We were taking a water break when Sophia walked into the facility, dressed in designer workout clothes that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. She'd been avoiding me since my relationship with Tillman had become obvious, but now she approached with a bright smile that set off every alarm in my head.
"Helen! I've been meaning to talk to you."
"Have you?" I kept my tone neutral, not trusting her for a second.
"I wanted to apologize, really apologize, for everything. My father, the way I treated you back in the Westside, all of it. I was terrible, and you didn't deserve any of it." She looked genuinely contrite, but I knew better.
"Okay," I said, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"I also wanted to say congratulations. On you and Tillman, I mean. It's clear he really cares about you." Her smile widened. "Though I have to admit, I'm a little jealous. He's quite the catch."
Nina tensed beside me, but I kept my expression blank. "Thanks."
"Anyway, I just wanted to clear the air. We're going to be seeing a lot of each other, working in the same organization, so I thought we should try to get along." She touched my arm lightly. "Friends?"
"Sure," I lied.
Sophia left, and Nina immediately turned to me. "Don't trust her."
"I don't. That was pure manipulation, trying to get close so she can use me somehow."
"Good. You're learning." Nina picked up the training knife again. "Come on, let's work on defense against multiple attackers. Something tells me you're going to need it."
That afternoon, Tillman summoned me to his office. When I arrived, he wasn't alone. A man I didn't recognize sat across from his desk, older, maybe fifty, with silver hair and an expensive suit. He looked at me with open curiosity when I entered.
"Helen, this is Robert Chen. He handles legal affairs for my legitimate businesses." Tillman gestured for me to sit. "Robert, this is Helen Tully."
"A pleasure," Robert said, and his smile seemed genuine. "Tillman's told me a bit about you."
"Nothing good, I'm sure," I said, trying to lighten the mood.
"On the contrary." Robert opened a briefcase and pulled out a folder. "I'm here because Tillman has asked me to handle some paperwork regarding your status."
I looked at Tillman, confused. "My status?"
"You're officially on my payroll now," Tillman said. "Salary, benefits, the whole package. Robert's drawn up the employment contracts."
"I don't understand. Employment doing what?"
"That's flexible," Tillman said. "The point is to give you legitimate documentation, a paper trail that establishes you as part of my organization. It provides certain legal protections."
"And," Robert added, "it means if anyone tries to claim you're being held against your will, there's clear evidence that you're here by choice, as an employee."
I realized what Tillman was doing. After Victor's attack, after everything that had happened, he was making sure I was protected in every way possible, legally and otherwise.
"Okay," I said. "What do I need to sign?"
Robert walked me through the paperwork, explaining each document carefully. Tillman watched the entire process with that intense focus he had, like he was memorizing every moment.
When it was done and Robert had left, I turned to Tillman. "You didn't have to do all that."
"Yes, I did." He pulled me up from my chair and into his arms. "You're mine to protect now, Helen. In every way that matters."
"Yours," I repeated, and the word felt right in a way nothing else had in a long time.
He kissed me, and I melted into him, letting the rest of the world fall away. When we finally broke apart, he kept me close, his hands splayed across my back.
"I have to go out tonight," he said. "Business that can't wait. I'll have security stationed outside your room, and I need you to promise me you'll stay there until I get back."
"What kind of business?"
"The kind that's better if you don't know the details." He cupped my face in his hands. "Promise me, Helen."
"I promise."
He kissed my forehead and let me go, already shifting into the cold, dangerous man the rest of the world saw. "Marcus will take you back to your room. I'll come find you when I return."
I let Marcus escort me through the compound, my mind racing. Whatever Tillman was doing tonight, it was dangerous enough that he wanted me locked away safely. Probably something to do with Victor Reyes and the ongoing war between them.
Back in my room, I tried to distract myself with a book, but I couldn't focus. Hours passed and darkness fell outside my window. I paced, unable to settle, until finally I gave up and lay down on the bed fully clothed, staring at the ceiling.
A soft knock on my door made me sit up. "Who is it?"
"It's me," Nina's voice called. "Can I come in?"
I opened the door and she slipped inside, her expression troubled. "I shouldn't be here, but I thought you should know. Tillman and Marcus took a team out to hit one of Victor's warehouses. It was supposed to be a quick in and out, but something went wrong."
My blood ran cold. "What do you mean, something went wrong?"
"They walked into a trap. Victor knew they were coming, had three times as many men waiting. There's been no communication for the last hour, and the backup team can't get close enough to see what's happening."
I felt like the floor had dropped out from under me. "Is he, is Tillman..."
"I don't know," Nina said gently. "But I thought you deserved to know what was happening rather than sitting here wondering why he hasn't come back."
She left me alone with that information, and I sat back down on the bed trying to breathe through the panic. Tillman could be hurt, could be captured, could be dead, and I was stuck here unable to do anything about it.
The hours crawled by. I wore a path in the carpet pacing, my mind conjuring increasingly horrible scenarios. Every sound in the hallway made me jump, hoping it was news, terrified of what that news might be.
It was almost three in the morning when my door burst open. I spun around and there was Tillman, alive but barely. His shirt was soaked with blood, his face was bruised, and he was leaning heavily on Marcus for support.
"Oh my god," I rushed forward, helping Marcus get him inside and onto the bed. "What happened?"
"Flesh wound," Tillman said through gritted teeth. "Looks worse than it is."
"Bullet grazed his side," Marcus explained, already pulling out a first aid kit. "Needs stitches but he refused to go to the medical bay."
"Because I needed to see her first," Tillman said, his eyes fixed on me. "Needed to make sure she was safe."
I felt tears burning in my eyes as I helped Marcus clean the wound. The bullet had carved a deep groove along Tillman's ribs, and I could see the white of bone in places. He didn't make a sound as Marcus worked, just kept staring at me like I was the only thing keeping him grounded.
"Victor set us up," Marcus said as he worked. "Had someone on the inside feeding him information. We lost three men before we could fight our way out."
"I'm sorry," I whispered, not sure what I was apologizing for but feeling responsible anyway.
"Not your fault," Tillman said. He reached out and grabbed my hand, his grip almost crushing. "This is what we do, Helen. This is the life."
Marcus finished stitching and bandaging the wound, gave Tillman some painkillers, and left us alone. I helped Tillman out of his ruined clothes and into clean ones, my hands shaking the entire time.
When he was settled in bed, I started to move away but he pulled me down beside him. "Stay."
"You need to rest."
"I need you here." His arms came around me, holding me close despite the pain it must have caused. "When I was in that warehouse, bleeding and thinking I might not make it out, all I could think about was you. About not seeing you again."
"Don't," I pressed my face into his neck, tears finally spilling over. "Don't talk like that."
"I have to. Because you need to understand what this means, what we mean. I've spent fifteen years not caring if I lived or died, as long as I accomplished my goals. But now," his arms tightened around me, "now I have something to lose. And that terrifies me more than anything Victor Reyes could do."
I tilted my head back to look at him, seeing the vulnerability in his eyes that he usually kept so carefully hidden. "Then we'll be terrified together. Because I'm not going anywhere, Tillman. No matter what happens."
He kissed me, tasting of blood and pain and something desperate. And as I held him through the night, listening to his breathing even out as the painkillers kicked in, I made another silent promise.
I would find a way to end this war with Victor Reyes, even if I had to put myself in danger to do it. Because I couldn't watch Tillman destroy himself fighting battles on my behalf.
One way or another, this had to end.