Nothing else mattered.
Get Eli away.
Get him back to CJ.
Get him home.
The men forced us toward the SUV anyway.
I planted my feet, fought for every inch, and landed another strike, but there were simply too many of them.
Then I saw them.
CJ running, gun already drawn.
And beside him… Deck.
Our eyes met for the briefest second, and I’d never forget the look on his face.
Pure terror.
Not anger.
Not rage.
Fear. Real fear.
His hand reached toward me even though we were far too far apart. Like somehow, if he reached just a little farther, he could still stop them from taking me.
That look hit harder than any punch ever could.
Because in that single moment, I knew: he wasn’t scared for himself. He was scared of losing me. And the truth knocked the breath from my lungs. I didn’t know anyone could look at me like that.
The SUV door slammed shut between us, and the vehicle lurched forward.
And Deck disappeared behind a wall of steel.
32
Eli
“You can stop being afraid now, Eli. I’m here now.”
The words hit me like a truck, and everything inside me turns to ice.
No. God… no.
My body starts shaking before I can stop it. Tiny tremors ripple through me at first, but within seconds they’re so violent my teeth begin to chatter. I squeeze my eyes shut, desperate to block him out.
If I can’t see him, maybe he isn’t real. Maybe this is another nightmare. Maybe I’ll wake up wrapped in CJ’s arms, his heartbeat beneath my cheek, his hand rubbing slow circles across my back until I remember where I am. The thought hurts. His arms were the only place I ever felt like I wasn’t drowning.
A sob catches in my throat because I already know the truth. I know that voice. There is no waking up from this.
My breathing becomes ragged, each breath shallower than the last as panic tears through me. My lungs refuse to fill no matter how hard I try, and my chest burns with the effort. I did everything right. I ran. I disappeared. I built a new life. I found people who loved me. I found a home. And I found CJ.
But Adrian still found me.
The thought crashes through me with brutal certainty. He’s won. Everything CJ and I fought so hard to build - every quiet morning, every laugh, every kiss, every promise that I was safe - it’s all slipping through my fingers. The weight of it crushes me. My arms feel heavy, my legs won’t move, and the room begins to blur around the edges.
