A sob tore loose before I could choke it back. I pressed my forehead to the man’s shoulder, hiding my face, hating the weakness but powerless to stop it.
A warm hand closed over mine, firm and grounding. Adam.
“Hey,” he murmured, his voice low steel softened just for me.
I lifted my head, tears streaking hot down my cheeks. “I almost dropped him. I almost—”
“No.” His gray-blue eyes locked with mine, hard and unshakable. “You didn’t. You got him out. You gotall of themout. Don’t you dare tell yourself otherwise.”
I shook my head, chest hitching, the sobs coming harder now that his voice cracked through the wall I’d been holding. He pulled me against him, one arm wrapping around my shoulders, his chest solid and warm against my cheek.
For the first time since the ridge, I let myself break.
And Adam held me through it, his lips pressed to my hair, his hand steady at my back. Not rushing me. Not judging. Justthere.
“You’re stronger than you know, Raine,” he whispered into the chaos of my sobs. “And I’ll remind you every damn time until you believe it.”
I clung to him, my ribs aching, my eyes swollen, my heart raw. But for the first time, I believed him.
Because I wasn’t in this war alone.
97
Raine
Idon’t know how long Adam held me. Long enough for the sobs to run dry, for my breath to steady, for the storm inside to quiet to an ember.
By the time I lifted my head, the city was fading behind us. The victims we’d pulled out were slumped in the seats and on the floor, groaning faintly, but alive. Hawk checked pulses, Russ scribbled vitals, Blade kept his knife loose in his palm like he was daring anyone to follow us.
And Adam—he never let go of my hand. Not once.
I wiped my eyes with the back of my sleeve, embarrassed at how raw I’d come undone. But Adam just watched me, those gray-blue eyes steady as stone. No judgment. No pity. Just… faith.
I drew in a slow breath. Then another. My chest still hurt, my ribs screaming, my muscles weak, but underneath the exhaustion, something had changed. Hardened.
I wasn’t just reacting anymore.
I waschoosing.
“I’m done breaking,” I said quietly, more to myself than to anyone else. “No more crying in corners. No more letting fear own me. These people… they deserve more.Wedeserve more.”
Adam’s fingers squeezed mine, a flicker of pride in his eyes.
Russ glanced up from his notes, giving me a small nod. Hawk muttered, “About damn time.” Even Blade smirked faintly, though it was gone as fast as it came.
I straightened in my seat, my voice steady now. “We’re not just stopping shipments. We’re ending this. All of it. Every hub, every name, every bastard who thinks a life is something they can inventory.”
The SUV fell quiet, the team’s eyes flicking to me. And for the first time, I didn’t feel like the outsider tagging along.
I felt like one of them.
I turned to Adam, my chest tight but strong. “We finish it. Together.”
His jaw flexed, his gaze locked on mine. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to.
Because I already knew.
We were in this war until the end.
