My hands are tight on the steering wheel, and I can’t stop checking my rearview mirror.
Their truck is right there. Has been for the past forty minutes of driving. Close enough that I can see them through the windshield. Dax driving, Malik in the passenger seat, Cole and Jalen visible in the back.
Following me.
Protecting me, even though the storm is long over and theroads are clear, and there’s no real reason for them to shadow me all the way back to the city.
Except maybe there is.
My phone rings through the car’s Bluetooth, and Mia’s name flashes on the screen. I’ve been expecting this call. Dreading it a little. Because Mia is going to have Opinions with a capital O, and I’m not sure I’m ready to articulate what just happened.
I answer anyway. “Hey.”
“HEY?” Mia’s voice explodes through the speakers. “HEY? That’s all you have to say after disappearing for a WEEK?”
“There was a storm?—”
“I KNOW there was a storm! I lived through the storm too! Do you know how worried I was? You didn’t answer a single text!”
“My phone was on do not disturb, and I didn’t want to use it much since the beach house only had backup power,” I say, which is technically true. The power was out most of the week, and I was... otherwise occupied. “I’m sorry. I should have found a way to let you know I was okay.”
Mia’s quiet for a moment, and I can practically hear her processing. Then her voice comes back, softer but still concerned. “Are you okay, though? Really?”
The question makes my throat tight. “Yeah. I’m... I’m more than okay, actually.”
“More than okay? Sierra, what happened?”
I take a breath. Here goes nothing. “Remember how I told you the Knightley Pack was staying at the same beach house? Because of the booking error?”
“Yes...” Mia draws the word out suspiciously. “Please tell me they were gentlemen about the whole thing and didn’t make your heat worse.”
“They were gentlemen,” I confirm. “Very much, gentlemen. They, um. They helped me through it.”
Silence.
Then: “WHAT.”
“Mia—”
“They HELPED you? Like, helped helped? Sierra Smith, did you let the Knightley Pack help you through your heat?”
My face is burning even though she can’t see me. “Yes?”
“Oh my GOD.” I can hear her pacing now, her footsteps rapid on what sounds like hardwood. “I knew it! Okay, I need details. All the details. Start from the beginning and don’t leave anything out.”
“I can’t give you all the details right now,” I protest, checking my mirror again. Still there. Still following. “I’m driving.”
“Then give me the highlights. The SparkNotes version. Sierra, you’ve been dodging the Knightley Pack for two years, and suddenly you’re letting them help you through heat? This is huge!”
She’s not wrong. It is huge.
“The storm trapped us together, as you know,” I start, trying to figure out how to condense the past week into something coherent. “And my heat came on faster than expected. And they were... they were really good about it, Mia. Really respectful and careful and?—”
“And?” she prompts when I trail off.
“And I think I’m in love with them.”
The words come out in a rush, unexpected even to me. But once they’re out there, I realize they’re true. Completely, terrifyingly true.
