I'm not going to do that.
I knew it the moment I pulled over on that road. Knew it when she looked at me like I might be safe. Knew it when she called me gentle and something cracked open in my chest that I thought I'd sealed shut years ago.
She's mine now. I don't know when that happened. I don't know how. But she is.
And nobody takes what's mine.
She finds me an hour later.
I'm in my room, trying to figure out next steps, when the door opens. Her hair is loose around her shoulders and she looks so goddamn beautiful it makes my chest hurt.
She takes one look at my face and stops.
"What's wrong?"
I should lie. Should protect her from this. But I'm tired of lying. Tired of walls.
"Your fiancé. Dominic." I watch her face as I say it. "He's connected. Works with dangerous people."
She wraps her arms around herself. "I knew something was wrong. I just didn't know?—"
"Yeah."
She sinks onto the edge of my bed like her legs won't hold her. I watch her process it—the fear, the understanding, the weight of what she stumbled into.
"His people know you're here," I continue. "They sent a message. They want you back."
"Oh God." Her voice is barely a whisper. "What happens now?"
"I figure out how to handle it. You stay here."
"And if you can't handle it?"
I cross to her. Crouch down in front of where she's sitting, so our eyes are level. "I'll handle it."
"People could get hurt because of me. Your brothers?—"
"Are my concern. Not yours."
"Maybe I should just go back." The words come out in a rush. "Turn myself in. End this before anyone?—"
"No."
The word comes out harder than I mean it to. She flinches. I force myself to breathe.
"You're not going anywhere near him." I hold her gaze, make sure she hears me. "I don't care who he's connected to. I don't care what it costs. You're not going back."
"Why?" Her voice cracks. "Why do you even care? You don't know me. You don't owe me anything. Why would you risk?—"
"Because you're mine."
The words hang between us. Raw. True. I didn't mean to say them. Didn't mean to admit what I've been fighting since the moment I saw her.
But there it is.
Her eyes are wide. Dark. Fixed on my face like she's seeing me for the first time.
"I'm yours," she repeats softly.
