I choke on a laugh. “I’m sorry, what the hell did you just say?”
She shrugs. “It’s a word, okay? My friend Sonya told me.”
“I want her last name,” I deadpan. “Now.”
“You arenotsending Wells after her.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
She smirks, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. The fear’s still there.
Then she says it.
“Wyck… I’m scared.”
I press a button. My seat slides back. “Come here.”
She crawls onto my lap without hesitation. I cradle her there. Her weight. Her warmth. Her trust.
“It’s going to be okay,” I promise. “Because we’re not hiding anymore. We’re not pretending to play by their rules. And Devils don’t beg. Weburn.”
Whatever’s in the dark?
We’re dragging it into the light.
And if it fights?
We’ll bury it alive.
I flip the autopilot on long enough to strap us both in.
Then I grip the wheel again, but not before pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, soft, reverent, like she’s the last holy thing I haven’t destroyed.
“Wyck,” she murmurs, voice muffled against my chest, “you can’t seriously drive with me in your lap.”
I smirk. “Watch me.”
Her body fits too perfectly here, like she was carved for this position. Caged against me, her back to my chest, her heartbeat trying to keep pace with mine.
“I like the way you feel right where you are,” I murmur into her ear. “Is it so wrong that I want you close while I go to war?”
She snorts. “Ah, how sweet. You’re practically a poet.”
“Thank you, milady. Now shut up and enjoy the ride,” I grin, darkness creeping beneath my tone. “Because once we get there… things might get biblical.”
She shifts in my lap just enough to tilt her head up, eyes searching mine. “What are you going to do?”
I don't hesitate. “Whatever needs to be done.”
A beat passes.
“Nobody, and I meannobody, threatens the woman I love and walks away breathing.”
Silence thickens. She blinks up at me. “You really love me?”
I glance down at her, jaw tight, blood humming under my skin.
“Don’t play dumb,” I say, voice low and raw. “I’ve already told you I do.”
