Until We're Free

Every night after her shift at the Lantern, Eli chooses to walk Ava home. He doesn't say it out loud, but he's in love with her-the steady kind that shows up, waits, and listens. Ava is sharp and self-possessed, nobody's project. With Eli, she feels safe because he keeps pace instead of taking control; their ritual-movie nights, late-night walks, shared quiet-begins to look a lot like love. Then the unexpected happens-and their world narrows to a house of rules. Lilies that never wilt. Windows that watch. Voices insisting on a name that isn't hers. Choice shrinks. Silence is encouraged. If love is going to survive here, it needs a new language. Tense, hopeful, and ultimately full of light, Until We're Free is a romantic-suspense with open-door spice about walking through the dark with the right person beside you.