A fresh wave of possessive, protective rage crashes over me. Seeing her so helpless, so vulnerable... It’s a feeling I’m not used to. A feeling that makes me want to burn the world down for her.
We move as a unit, a silent, coordinated team. Diego finds a bottle of water and a clean glass. Tristan locates her suitcase by the door. I clear a path, making sure nothing is in Dane’s way as he carries her through the small apartment.
As we step out into the hallway, the door to Mrs. Grant’s apartment creaks open. She’s standing there, clutching her floral robe, her eyes wide with a mixture of alarm and insatiable curiosity.
“Is she...?” she begins.
“She’s not feeling well,” Diego says smoothly. “We’re taking her to a doctor. We’ll lock up on our way out.”
“Oh, you poor dears,” she says, her gaze lingering on Zoe’s limp form in Dane’s arms. “You let me know if there’s anything at all I can do.”
“We will,” I say, already moving past her toward the stairs. “Thank you for your help.”
We don’t wait for the elevator. We take the stairs, Dane carrying her as if she weighs nothing, the rest of us forming a protective diamond around them. The descent is a blur of motion and quiet, focused urgency.
We burst out into the pre-dawn quiet of the street. The black Mercedes SUV is exactly where we left it. I get the keys from Dane, hitting the unlock button on the fob. The lights flash once in the darkness.
Dane moves to the rear passenger door, opening it with one hand while cradling Zoe securely with the other. He slides her gently into the middle seat.
Diego and Tristan are right behind him, getting in on either side of her, bracketing her, their hands instinctively going to her.Tristan buckles her seatbelt with a soft click. Diego pulls the blanket he had the foresight to grab from her apartment up to her chin, his brow furrowed with worry.
I get behind the wheel. Dane takes the front passenger seat, and I start the engine, the powerful motor rumbling to life. The city is asleep as I pull away from the curb, oblivious to the panic hidden within our chests.
My eyes flick constantly to the rearview mirror, to her. Her face is still flushed, her breathing still shallow, but she seems... calmer now that she’s surrounded by us. Cradled in the center of the pack. The thought is both a comfort and a curse. We are the cause of her pain. And we are the only ones who can ease it.
“She’ll be okay,” Diego whispers from the back, his voice thick with a desperate hope, as if saying it out loud will make it true. “She has to be.”
I don’t answer. I just press my foot down on the accelerator, the engine roaring in response.
She will be okay. I’ll make sure of it.
She is ours.
And we do not fail to protect what is ours.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Zoe
Cold. So cold.
I’m drowning in ice, teeth chattering uncontrollably against the chill that grips me. I try to move, to reach for blankets that aren’t there, but my limbs are too heavy, too distant.
Then, without warning, fire replaces ice.
Heat sears through me, radiating outward from my neck where the claiming marks throb like living brands. The fire spreads until I’m burning alive from the inside out. I want to scream, but my throat is raw, my lips cracked and dry.
“Tranquila, cariño. Estamos aquí. No te vamos a dejar.”
Diego’s voice floats to me through the chaos, a soft, melodic stream of Spanish that feels like cool water on my fevered skin. I can’t understand the words, but the gentle cadence is unmistakable.
“Faster.”
Tristan’s voice cuts through the haze next, a sharp, commanding bark that vibrates through my bones. My namefollows, spoken with such raw urgency that even in my delirium, I feel the weight of it. “Zoe, stay with us.”
The low rumble of a powerful engine surrounds me, vibrating through whatever surface I’m lying on. Am I in a car? Moving? Where are they taking me? I try to open my eyes, but the lids are too heavy, weighted with exhaustion and fever.
Strong arms lift me, the sensation of being weightless disorienting in my fevered state. My cheek presses against a solid, warm chest—Diego’s chest, I realize hazily. I know that scent. Cardamom and gentle strength. He’s carrying me like I weigh nothing, his large hand cradling my head protectively against him.
