It’s for threats. For men like Caruso.
I brush a knuckle along the blanket near her hip instead of touching her directly, deliberately softening my tone. “If something else is going on, you can tell me. You know that, right?”
Her throat bobs as she swallows. She looks back toward the mountains, and for a moment she looks so fragile my chest tightens.
“I know,” she whispers. “Thanks, Chance.”
I don’t push. Marines know when to wait. Instead, I stand and sit gently on the edge of the bed. Close, but not crowding her. “I’m here whenever you’re ready.”
She glances at me, gratitude flickering across her face before she looks away again. My instincts hum louder, more insistent, but I let the silence breathe.
Roxie usually radiates warmth. Right now, it feels dimmed. Guarded.
And that tells me everything I need to know.
“Look at me, Rox.”
She hesitates, then slowly turns her head. Her eyes search my face like she’s deciding whether to brace herself. I groan softly and drag a hand over my face, hating that the world gives her so many reasons not to trust anyone.
Time to show my cards.
“I’m not here to corner you or force you to spill all your deepest secrets,” I say. “But there’s something I want you to understand about us.”
Her fingers curl into the blanket, knuckles whitening slightly. I exhale and rub my palms over my thighs before meeting her gaze again.
“I know you haven’t known us long. And trust isn’t owed, it’s earned.”
Her lips part. Guilt flickers across her face. Fear. It makes me want to punch karma straight in the throat.
“But here’s something true,” I continue. “Something real. There’s nothing in this world I don’t trust Boone and Dillon with.”
She frowns slightly. I huff a humorless laugh.
“I mean it. If Boone bursts in here right now and tells me to jump out your goddamn window, I’d do it. No questions.”
A small, startled smile appears, and some of the tension inside me eases.
“It’s not because I’m stupid. Though Dillon would argue that,” I add.
She lets out a quiet huff, almost a laugh.
“I’d do it because if Boone says it, there’s a damn good reason for it. Same with Dillon. We’ve spent years building that kind of trust.”
I lean back on my hands, holding her gaze. “And here’s the thing, angel, we already trust you that way too.”
Her eyes widen slightly, but I keep going, steady and calm.
“We see how big your heart is. We see how you keep going even when you’re scared. You’ve told us things that tear you open, and you still do it. We see you, Rox.”
Tears shimmer in her eyes. She turns away, but I reach out slowly, giving her space to pull back, and rest my hand over hers where she grips the blanket. Her fingers tremble, but she doesn’t pull away.
“We trust you,” I say softly. “And we want the chance to earn your trust too.”
Her breath hitches. I rub my thumb gently over the back of her hand.
Her fingers turn, tightening around mine. When she finally looks at me again, her eyes shine in a way that wrecks me.
“I’m scared, Chance.”
