The fire crackles.
And then—
She shivers.
A full-body tremor. Violent enough to make my heart stutter.
“Yes,” Lincoln breathes, brushing his hand against her cheek. “That’s good. That’s really good.”
Eventually, color begins to bloom faintly in her cheeks, and the four of us all let out a collective, ragged breath.
“Hey,” I say softly, brushing a damp curl from her face. “That’s it, Red. Come back to us.”
Her lashes flutter.
Once.
Then again.
“Jas,” she murmurs.
The sound of my name is almost my undoing.
I force a smile, thumb stroking her cheek, as a lone tear slips free and rolls down my own. “I’m here. I’ve got you.”
Her mouth moves again. One word.
“Kat…”
The four of us still, and I feel it immediately. The shift. Lawson’s head snaps to attention. Beau frowns. Lincoln’s gaze sharpens.
“What did she say?” Beau asks.
“I—I don’t know,” I answer honestly. Because there’s no way I heard her right.
But before any of us can push further, Abigail slips back into sleep, her breathing steadier now as small shivers wrack her body. Lincoln moves without hesitation, gently scooping her up. “I’ll take her upstairs. Put some warmer clothes on her and tuck her into bed.”
We nod and watch him disappear up the steps, the weight of the moment pressing down hard once he’s gone.
We sit there on the living room floor in the glow of the fire, none of us moving. My hands are curled into fists, my body humming with leftover adrenaline, rage, and fear that hasn't figured out where to go yet.
Lawson’s the first to move.
Getting up, he steps toward the hearth slowly, deliberately, like a man who’s already decided how this ends. He doesn’t look at us right away. Instead, he reaches for the poker beside the fireplace and nudges a log deeper into the flames, sending an array of sparks up the chimney.
Then he turns.
His face is carved from stone. Whatever he felt out there—whatever it cost him—it’s buried now, locked down deep inside, desperate to disappear and focus on what’s next.
What’s done is done, and none of us willeverquestion him over it.
“They crossed our land,” he says calmly. Too calmly. “They took her. They ran.” Neither Beau nor I interrupts him. “They don’t get to disappear back into the fucking hole they crawled out of and pretend this didn’t happen.”
Beau swallows hard next to me, and Lawson’s gaze flicks in my direction. Sharp. Assessing. Like he’s checking to make sure the fire burning in my chest matches his own.
“They won’t go back to their place now,” Lawson continues. “Keller is hiding them somewhere. They’ll be together. Caleb’s a runner. Always has been. But there’s no chance he’ll go anywhere without Grayson now. Not after he saw—” Lawson’s jaw clenches as he closes his eyes for a split second. “Not after he saw what happened to Ethan.”
Lincoln’s voice drifts down the stairs, quiet but steady. “Speaking of which. What are we going to do with him?”
