With worse odds.
With more on the line.
And I’ll do it again.
For her?
I’ll risk it all.
Everything.
My life.
His life.
This entire fucking room.
Because she’s not his.
She never was.
“I’ll die before I let you touch her,” I promise.
He smiles.
Slow.
Twisted.
Raises the gun just a fraction higher.
“Oh,” he says. “We’ll see about that.”
Yeah.
We will.
Because one way or another—this ends with him on the ground.
And with her safe with me.
Right where she belongs.
Chapter 28-Esme
It happens so fast.
One second I’m floating—light, giddy, wrapped up in this unbelievable, impossible joy—freshly married, heart full, thinking about snacks and cuddling and the way Benji said wife like it meant something sacred?—
And the next?
The world turns into a nightmare.
A real one.
Not the kind you wake up from.
The kind that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go.
