I came back to Blackmere for exactly three reasons.
None of them were Jude.
That was the lie I told myself as I stepped out of the car and felt the salt-heavy air hit my lungs. Same scent. Same crooked streets. Same ocean pretending it hadn't watched me leave years ago.
The town hadn't changed.
I had.
I was locking the car when I felt it.
That feeling you get when someone is looking at you like they already know how this ends.
I didn't turn right away. I didn't need to.
"Rowan," a voice said.
Low. Familiar. Unwelcome.
I closed my eyes for half a second. Of course he'd still sound like that. Like gravity.
I turned.
Jude stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets, dark hair longer than I remembered, expression carefully unreadable. Like he'd spent years practicing indifference.
"You weren't supposed to see me," I said.
He gave a faint smile. "You were never good at staying invisible."
I scoffed. "I'm not staying."
"That's what you said last time."
The silence between us felt tight. Charged. Old.
Before I could reply, laughter spilled from the bar behind us. The door swung open, music bleeding into the street.
And then he appeared.
Tall. Confident. Eyes already on me like he'd been waiting.
Cassian didn't hesitate. He walked straight up, standing close enough to feel his presence without touching me.
"Well," he said, smiling like trouble, "this just got interesting."
Jude stiffened beside me.
Cassian glanced between us. "You two know each other."
"We don't," I said quickly.
Jude said nothing.
Cassian's smile widened. "That's funny. Because this feels… unfinished."
I folded my arms. "You always insert yourself into other people's business?"
"Only when it looks like it might explode," he replied.
The tension snapped tight.
Two men. One past. One problem. And me, standing in the middle like I'd planned it.
Which I hadn't.
But as Cassian's gaze lingered and Jude's jaw tightened, I felt something dangerous spark to life.
I didn't come back for him.
Or for him.
But it looked like Blackmere had other plans.
And this time?
I wasn't running.