Varder~
He told himself he was being rational.
He told himself this was about security. About protocol. About the fact that Jason Vayne was on his grounds and Ava was somewhere in this house unaware of what that meant and it was his responsibility as her husband to —
He stopped that thought. Started walking faster.
The corridor was empty at this hour, every door closed, the house settled into the kind of quiet that felt deceptive. Like stillness stretched over something moving underneath. His footsteps were silent on the stone floor. He'd learned to move quietly as a child, trained into it, and the habit held even now when part of him wanted to put his fist through a wall.
He didn't examine the feeling in his chest.
There was no point. It was there, it was inconvenient, and he was going to deal with it the same way he dealt with everything else — by moving through it until it had no choice but to resolve itself.
Ava was in her room.
