KATHERINE POV
Kendrick looked torn. Not the kind of torn that made you second-guess things—no, the kind that told you someone was either going to fight a war or f*ck the world into silence.
And I wasn’t sure which part of him I wanted more.
But I could read him. Like instinct. Like blood. Like I’d been born to untangle the storm that lived in his veins.
Still, there was something about the way his hand lingered on my skin… like he didn’t want to let go. Like he knew that if he gave me the space to breathe, I’d end up unraveling something we weren’t ready for.
And maybe I would.
Because if my aunt had really tried to reach me—if she'd called the damn reception desk and said she needed me—it had to be serious.
And I needed to know.
So I swallowed the lump of dread tightening in my th
