I didn’t say the word. Instead I held her gaze, steady and unshakable, until she nodded her acceptance.
The prospect guided her toward the bikes, keeping her tucked behind him. I watched every step she took, every turn of her head, every tremble in her shoulders, hating that I couldn't be with her right now.
JD leaned in. “You good?”
“No,” I said. “But I will be once she’s safe.”
He smirked faintly. “Didn’t think I’d ever see the day.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I muttered, loading another mag. But I did. Just because I hadn’t said it out loud didn’t mean it wasn’t visible, and JD had always had a way to sense shit out.
JD clapped my back, chuckling despite our somber surroundings. “Let’s move, brother.”
I took one last look at Rowan, taking in her tangled hair and face streaked with dirt and tears. She turned to look at me, as if sensing my gaze on her. Her eyes locked on mine even as the prospect urged her forward.
And right then, with the smoke clearing and danger still crawling toward us from the horizon, I knew one thing with absolute certainty.
I’d burn the whole damn world down before I let anything, or anyone, take her from me.
She was it for me.
There was only her now.
She just didn’t know it yet.
