After assuring Liam that he didn't need to return the favor—that seeing him finally relaxed was enough for me—I slipped out of his room. I walked back to my suite feeling a lightness in my step I hadn't felt in years. I didn't think I had been gone long, but the dim light of the television cast flickering shadows over Jasmine, who was already fast asleep on the sofa, a half-eaten sandwich still on the table.
I quieted my movements and retreated to the bathroom. Closing the door, I leaned against the cold marble and stared at myself in the mirror. My hair was a mess, my lips were swollen, and for a fleeting second, I looked... happy.
Then the guilt hit me like a physical blow.
How could I feel this way? I was free, but people had died on that mountain. Men who had come to save me had bre
