No hesitation.
No fear.
My chest feels too small for everything trying to rip through it.
I catch her hand, pressing my mouth against her knuckles, holding on like a dying man to a life raft.
"I’m not gonna let you down," I rasp.
"I know," she whispers.
And in that moment—against all odds, against all the blood and dirt and broken promises—we're a family.
A real one.
Stronger than anything hunting us.
Stronger than fear.
Stronger than fate.
I pull her close, wrapping her tight against me.
She buries her face in my chest, breathing me in like she’s claiming me all over again.
I rest my chin on her head, breathing her right back.
We don't say anything else.
We don't have to.
Not tonight.
Tonight, it’s enough just to stand together.
Alive.
Fighting.
Home.
CHAPTER 23
KELLI
The night presses heavy against the cracked windows, thick and choking.
Silpha’s curled up in the corner, snoring soft and rough.
The kids sleep tangled together, little fists clutching at each other like they know even in dreams they can’t be alone right now.
Traz stands by the door, watching the street below.
Like he’s daring the whole damn world to try and take what’s his.
I watch him a long moment.
The way the muscles in his back bunch under his battered jacket.
