“Yes,” I said immediately. “I will do whatever you need me to do. I just—I can’t stay here when Roman is potentially in danger.”
The room went quiet again, but for the first time since all this had started, I didn’t feel afraid.
I felt certain.
August scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck and let out a long, heavy sigh. He glanced toward Garrison, as if he might have something to say that would stop me.
Garrison simply lifted his brows and gave a small shrug, like he didn’t see an issue.
August’s gaze shifted to Fox.
Fox had that barely there smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
August muttered under his breath, almost to himself, “Roman never said how feisty you could be.”
I blinked.
“Feisty?” I echoed, genuinely taken aback. “I don’t know about that…”
I had never thought of myself as feisty a day in my life.
“Roman took me off the street when I literally had nowhere else to go,” I explained. “He’s done so much for me in such a short time. I’m not going to leave him right now.”
August tilted his head as he studied me. After a long beat, he exhaled. “Fine,” he said. “You can come with us.”
My shoulders loosened.
“But,” he added, pointing a finger at me, “I can’t guarantee my brother is going to be excited to see you.”
Before I could respond, Graham spoke up in a gentle tone.
“Not because he wouldn’t want to see you,” he clarified. “But because we were supposed to keep you here where you’d be safe. Bringing you back might complicate things.”
A flicker of panic sparked. “This isn’t going to cause a problem for you guys, is it?”
August huffed out a breath that almost sounded amused. “Roman’s our oldest brother,” he said. “To be honest, we’re all a little afraid of him.”
Reid snorted.
“But I think we’ll survive this,” August continued. “We’ve survived him this long.”
Though a sliver of uncertainty curled in my stomach, I straightened in the chair. I had made my decision.
I was going back to Ember Hollow.
Thedriveseemedendless.It felt much longer than the trip to the safe house, that was for sure.
Before we left, the brothers had said their goodbyes to their partners before we left with quiet kisses, long hugs, and promises spoken low enough that I couldn’t hear the words but understood them all the same. They were sweet men. Fierce and intimidating when they needed to be, but soft when it counted.
Still, being wedged in the back seat between Fox and Graham for hours wasn’t exactly comfortable.
Fox’s shoulder was solid against mine. Graham’s knee brushed my leg every time the SUV made a turn. Neither of them complained or made it awkward. They simply adjusted when they needed to and gave me space where they could.
I managed to stay awake for longer than I had on the way there, being hyped up on adrenaline and anticipation. But eventually, even that ebbed away and no matter how hard I tried to stay awake, exhaustion won. The hum of the road and the warmth trapped inside the vehicle lulled me into a shallow sleep.
“Palmer.”
Graham’s voice was soft and careful, breaking through the haze of sleep as he touched my shoulder.
