The man who had abused his power over people like Harper, who couldn’t fight back, was about to find out exactly what it felt like to be on the other side of that intimidation.
Behind us, her bungalow continued to burn. Firefighters were already spraying it down, but it was too late to save much. The flames had taken everything.
Everything except what mattered.
Here, on this patch of grass, holding the woman I loved while the world fell apart around us, I had made a different choice than the one I’d made all those years ago.
I chose restraint.
I chose her.
And I chose freedom.
But the darkness was creeping in at the edges of my vision. The adrenaline was fading, and my body was finally collecting on every debt I’d forced it to ignore.
“Knox?” Harper’s voice was far away now. “Knox, stay with me.”
“Ma’am, we need to get him on the stretcher,” the paramedic said. “Sir? Sir, can you hear me?”
I wanted to answer. God, I wanted to.
But the world faded to nothing, and the last thing I felt was her hand in mine.
63
HARPER
My hospital room had transformed into a waiting room of sorts. I could only imagine how many regulations Blake had bent to make that happen, but somehow, Blake, Axel, Jace, Faith, and Ryker had all crammed themselves into the small space.
Knox’s parents had been here, too, his mother’s wheelchair parked right beside the door, his father standing over her with his hand on her shoulder, both of them gray-faced and quiet. Ryker had finally convinced them to go find something to eat, promising he’d call the second anything changed. I didn’t think either of them actually wanted food. I think they just needed somewhere to put their hands and their fear for a little while.
Tessa was home, resting on Blake’s orders, and Dakota and Scarlett had gone on a coffee run, insisting the hospital cafeteria’s version was criminal and they needed “real provisions.”
Like we were just hanging out. Like this was a normal day.
Like Knox’s life wasn’t hanging in the balance, and we weren’t sitting here, waiting to hear his fate.
“Let’s talk logistics,” Faith said, her voice taking on that aggressively cheerful tone she used when she was trying tofix things. “Your house burned down. We need to find you somewhere to stay.”
“The mansion,” Jace offered. “Plenty of room.”
“Totally.” Faith jumped on it like a lifeline. “The upstairs bedrooms are just sitting there, collecting dust. It’s practically a crime against architecture. Really, you’d be doing the guys a favor.”
I nodded, but the word came out hollow. “Yeah.”
Because how could I imagine staying anywhere without Knox?
Axel shifted in his chair, breaking the quiet with a slight teasing sound to his voice. Deflecting with sarcasm. His love language. “So, on a completely unrelated note, if you do stay at the mansion, maybe Rainbow could room with you.”
Faith’s head snapped toward him. “Absolutely not.”
“I’m just saying. Fresh start. New people. Maybe she’d imprint on them instead.”
“She has imprinted on you, Axel. That ship has sailed. It has sailed, docked, and built a permanent residence anytime she sees you.”
“Maybe she just needs exposure therapy. Like those videos where they introduce cats to new family members, and eventually, the cat stops hissing.”
“Rainbow has never hissed at you a day in her life. She literally sleeps on your feet.”
