Only Night

Jessica knocked on the door. She hadn’t called first. She didn’t need to. Sam opened it, eyes flicking over her like he was trying to read what had changed.

Jessica exhaled. “Can I come in?”

Sam stepped aside, wordless.

She walked in.

* * *

Neither of them spoke about the past weeks. Not at first.

Instead, Sam pulled out a bottle of wine, set it on the table. Jessica helped him cook. It was something simple, something that didn’t feel like a mission.

For the first time in a long time, she wasn’t thinking about who might be watching. She wasn’t planning her next move. She was just here.

* * *

After dinner, they sat outside on his small balcony, the warm Belizean air thick with salt and distant music from the beach.

Jessica leaned back in her chair, staring at the stars. “You were right.”

Sam poured another glass of wine. “About what?”

Jessica rolled the stem of the glass between her fingers. “That I’m what I choose to be.”

Sam tilted his head slightly. Waiting. Letting her find the words.

She exhaled slowly. “For the longest time, I thought the truth would fix everything. That if I just knew who I really was, it would all make sense.” Then, quietly she added, “But the truth was never the problem. I was.”

Sam studied her. “And now?”

Jessica looked at him. “I spent so long waiting for someone to tell me I belonged. I’m done waiting.”

Something flickered across Sam’s face. Approval, maybe. Or maybe  something deeper like understanding. He reached for her hand. She let him. Jessica had made her choice. She wasn’t an experiment. She wasn’t a pawn. She was Jessica Sanchez.

And for now, that was enough.

* * *

Later, when they moved inside, when the wine was forgotten and the night stretched slow and warm, Jessica let herself be present. She wasn’t running. She wasn’t chasing. She was just here. With him. No ghosts. No shadows. No doubts.

She pressed a hand against Sam’s chest, felt the steady rhythm beneath her fingertips. She kissed him first. And this time, it wasn’t because she needed an anchor. It was because she wanted to.

* * *

Much later, wrapped in the warmth of Sam’s sheets, Jessica stared at the ceiling, listening to his breathing beside her. She didn’t think about Vanguard. Or Mr. Black. Or the war she had spent her life fighting.

For once, the future didn’t feel like a threat. She smiled to herself. A real smile. Jessica closed her eyes. No codes. No triggers. No past clawing at the door. Just sleep.

Jessica Sanchez will return in The Dominion Protocol Volume 9: Dead Hand.