I exhale, relief washing over me.
She blinks, her tear-streaked cheeks still wet. “We’re not okay,” she whimpers.
The confession breaks me. I swallow down the emotion her words elicits, desperate to soothe her.
Before I can speak, she doubles down. “I’m not okay, Ty.”
The honesty cracks me in half. She’s not okay, and I don’t think I can fix her. For years, I’ve tried. I waited and I planned. I fought against my own darkness and I lost. I’m not enough, and I never will be. She deserves so much more than what I can give.
But I’ll be damned if I don’t pour everything I have into helping her now.
“Look at me.” I grasp the back of her hair and gently angle her face to keep her focused.
“I’ve got you,” I swear. “We’ve all got you.”
Her eyes go wide, brimming with tears once more. “We?” she asks, the one word weighted with hope.
The air feels thicker in the truck, as if the men up front heard her.
Jaw clenched, I rearrange her in my lap, searching for a more comfortable position.
Sighing, she swings one leg over mine, effectively straddling me.
My cock instantly reacts, despite the intense pain and the less-than-ideal circumstances.
“Ty. You said we,” she whines, nudging her nose against mine.
I drag my hands up her back and splay them wide on her shoulder blades. “Noah and Mercer are here, too.”
She gives me more of her weight, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and squeezing me with all her strength.
It hurts. It hurts so fucking much. But if it helps her in some way, I’ll endure.
With her head buried in my shoulder, she releases a choked sob.
“I need them, Ty,” she whispers, the words quiet enough that I may be the only who heard them. “I need them just like I need you.”
“Everybody’s here in the truck,” I repeat. Instinctively, I look up, finding both men watching me, steely expressions in place.
“Noah’s driving. Mercer is helping him navigate.”
Sawyer arches back and whips her head one way, then the other, as if she’s expecting the other men to be sitting beside us. When she doesn’t find either one, she slumps against my chest again.
“Ty… please,” she cries. “I need them.” Her body shudders as another sob escapes her.
“Slide over,” Eden insists.
Frowning, I eye him. It isn’t until he nods at the seat beside us that I realize his words are directed at me.
Keeping Sawyer on my lap, I shift to the left. Before I’ve settled again, he’s crawling over the center console and joining us.
“Okay?” He eyes me cautiously as he settles close enough to comfort Sawyer.
Begrudgingly, I nod.
He inches even closer, then cradles the back of Sawyer’s head. “I’m here, sweetheart.”
I adjust myself, searching for a little more room, but it’s pointless. With the three of us back here, there’s no way we won’t be right up in each other’s space.
