Penny hesitated, then nodded. “Alright. But if you’re gone too long, I’m sending a search party.”
“Deal.”
But it wasn’t a deal. Not really. Not if Penny had known about the anonymous messages. Not if she knew about the man who used to wait for her after nursing shifts in West Virginia, never touching, never speaking, just watching.
If Penny hadn’t been half a drink deep and Arden hadn’t hidden the worst of it behind sarcasm and stubborn pride, she never would’ve let her walk out alone.
But Arden didn’t tell her.
And Penny didn’t ask.
She grabbed her jacket and slipped through the door.
The bar throbbed behind her,glasses clinking, off-key verses, cheap laughter.
None of it touched him.
She was there.
Little Fire.
She stepped under the lights like she was walking into war. He saw the way her fingers curled.
The spark beneath the surface.
Her voice? A match struck.
And when she sang,it wasn’t performance.
It was combustion.
They didn’t know it.
But she was his.
Not yet.
But soon.
And when she slipped outside,the fire followed her
She walked alone.
Little Fire. Where are you going?
?
The cold airhit hard as Arden stepped onto the sidewalk. The hum of the city wrapped around her.
Horns. Footsteps. A siren somewhere far away.
Normal sounds.
But something felt off.
The pressure returned, quiet and heavy.
She scanned the street. Nothing.
