Max grunts, stepping forward and spitting on the ground near her feet. His jaw clenched. “We burn her. In the clearing. With the rest of the fuckers.”
He looks down at her body like it still offends him. Like betrayal stains deeper than blood.
“We’ll burn them all.”
They move him like he’s made of glass.
Sean stabilizes him the best he can with tight bandages and painkillers from his bag, a short nod before we go. Then Ryker kneels and slips his arms under Knox’s shoulders. Max takes his legs.
“Careful,” Sean warns.
“Don’t fucking breathe wrong,” I whisper.
Knox groans once, head lolling, but he doesn’t wake. His blood is still on all of us.
I hold Sean’s bag and walk next to them, step forstep, my eyes locked on the rise and fall of Knox’s chest. He’s breathing. That’s all that matters. He’s still here.
We make it back to the base, and Dante kicks the door open.
The others clear the room. Max and Ryker lower Knox onto the floor with excruciating care, laying him down on the makeshift bed of folded blankets. His head rolls to the side, lips parted.
I look around; bodies lie everywhere.
Sean drops to his knees beside him instantly.
I sink down next to them, brushing blood from his cheek again. He doesn’t flinch.
“I’ve got the transfusion line ready,” Sean says. “Pressure’s better, but he’s still losing blood. We’ll hook you up.”
“Anything,” I breathe. “Whatever he needs.”
Dante stands guard at the door just in case someone might still show up, gun ready, body rigid. Max paces behind the couch like a caged animal. Ryker crouches beside Knox’s feet, hands clasped tight between his knees, head bowed.
I look at them, all of them.
God, I could’ve lost them.
I open my mouth, and for the first time, I let it spill.
“I know I’m a mess,” I say quietly. “I know I’ve been reckless. I lied. I ran. I kept pieces of myself locked up because I thought, If you knew everything,”
They look at me.
“I thought love like this didn’t survive in places like this. After the world ended. I thought it was a luxury people like us didn’t get.”
I look down at Knox, his pulse fluttering beneath Sean’s fingers.
“But it wasn’t a luxury. It was survival. You’re my survival.”
Max stops pacing.
“I love you,” I say to Knox, my hand brushing over his tattooed chest. “Not because you’re strong, or scary, or saved me more times than I can count. But because you see all the worst in me and still call me pet.Still touch me like I’m not broken.”
He doesn’t stir, but his lips twitch once.
I glance over at Ryker, and my throat tightens.
“You were the last to look at me like the others,” I whisper. “I know you cared about Bryn. And I’m sorry… for everything that happened with her.”
