Her lip trembles, and I wrap her back up in my arms, anchoring her to me. She presses her ear to my chest like she’s trying to memorize the sound of my heartbeat.
I don't tell her that I was scared too. That the moment George pulled her closer with that gun, I felt a kind of panic I didn’t know I was capable of. I don’t say any of that. I just hold her tighter, and I let her fall apart—because shecannow. Because she’s safe in my arms where she belongs.
Ava
The cool night air hits me like a wave. Someone wraps a blanket around my shoulders. I don’t know who—I can’t stop shaking.
But I know Elijah’s here.
He hasn’t let go of me since he untied me. He keeps whispering soft things against my hair. I don’t catch every word. Just enough.
“You’re safe. I’ve got you, baby girl.”
He smells like smoke and ink and home.
My bracelet clinks softly when I lean into him.
“Elijah,” I whisper, finally finding the strength to speak.
“How did you find me?”
His pause is small. Careful.
“You remember that charm I gave you?”
I nod.
“There’s a little something inside it. A tracker. Only fires once an hour. You didn’t know. I’m sorry.”
My breath catches. “You put a tracker on me?”
“I put a lifeline on you,” he says quietly. “Because I knew if anything went wrong, I’d use every means possible to find you.”
And I start crying again. Not because I’m scared anymore.
Because someone finally came for me. And he came like fire.
***
The SUV smells like leather and adrenaline. Elijah hasn’t let go of me since they pulled me out of that horrible room. Not once.
Now, we’re in the back of one of the armored SUVs, the world outside still flashing by in a blur of streetlights and shadows. I’m not really paying attention. I don’t have to.
I’m on his lap, wrapped in a thick blanket and something warmer, his arms. His body surrounds mine like armor, steady and unshakable. His heartbeat is a quiet rhythm beneath my cheek, the only sound I want to hear.
And for the first time in what feels like forever, I can breathe.
It’s like coming home.
“Why didn't you tell me?” I whisper, voice barely audible.
“About the tracker.”
He nods, jaw clenched. “Didn’t want to scare you. But I couldn’t live with not knowing where you were. Just in case.”
“Thank you.”
His eyes snap to mine, sharp with pain. “Don’t thank me. I should’ve stopped him before it got this far.”
