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My stomach drops. Steedy is dangerous, and though I know Cave is as well, he is one man whereas Steedy has an entire crew.

We eventually get Cipher to his shed, then Noa gets his bed set up and Cipher settled. Once he is done and bustles out of the room, I drop onto the edge, my tears finally falling. I’ve tried to hold them back, but with Cipher’s blood now dry on my hands, the memory of thinking he was dying, plus not knowing if Cave is okay, it’s all too much.

Cipher groans as he sits up beside me and wipes a tear from my face.

“Hey,” he says softly. “I’m okay.”

“You got shot,” I sob out.

“Grazed,” he corrects me. “And I would do it again.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Why not? It’s true.” His hands cover mine and he squeezes. “I’d take a bullet for you, time and time again. You’re special, Valli. You have a purpose.”

“So do you,” I whisper.

Cipher’s hand comes up and tilts my chin so I’m looking at him. “I need to lie down, but can you lie with me?”

When I nod, Noa comes into the room, as if he was listening from the doorway. He adjusts pillows and readjusts the blankets around Cipher’s careful movements. He winces as he lies back down, his jaw tense as he gets settled.

“Pain meds,” Noa says, holding out some pills and a bottle of water. Cipher takes them without arguing.

I move next to him and see there is a small spot of blood seeping through the gauze.

Cipher looks down when he notices me staring. “It will be fine,” he huffs.

“You’re bleeding.”

He scoffs at me. “Barely. Now come here.”

“I’ll hurt you.”

“You won’t. Right now, I need a rest and a hug.”

I carefully position myself next to him, trying not to move too much. Noa brings in extra pillows to help prop Cipher up more, so he doesn’t have to lie flat.

Cipher’s arm comes around me, and he pulls me against his side. I feel him wince again, but he doesn’t complain.

“You’re hurting,” I murmur.

“Yeah, but I would rather hurt and have you close than be comfortable without you.”

That’s something that would normally have made my eyes roll—words that sound cliché and feel fake—but when he says it, it doesn’t feel that way.

Noa sits at the foot of the bed, his eyes locked on Cipher, worry lacing his gaze. Cipher’s pain medication must kick in, as he gets drowsy and starts to fall asleep.

I stay curled against his side, my hand on his heart, feeling the steady rhythm beating under my skin.

Noa paces the shed, checking on us every half an hour or so. When midnight rolls around, Cipher wakes, and Noa gives him more pills to take the edge off his pain.

“What if something has happened to Cave?” I ask, my anxiety kicking in since he isn’t back yet.

Cipher’s arm tightens around me. “It didn’t,” he murmurs.

“You don’t know that.”

“I know Cave, and he isn’t so easy to kill.” With a snort, he pulls me into his side as he falls back asleep.