Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Sarah was brave. She would’ve admired Kira’s strength. She would’ve told me, gently but firmly, not to close myself off because she’s gone.
She wouldn’t have wanted me to be alone.
I close the box and lock it, then straighten and square my shoulders.
There’s work to be done.
The compound hums with controlled urgency.
Grizz inventories ammunition near the south storage, methodical as ever. Viper checks comms and surveillance, moving with the same dedicated focus I recognize from years in the field.
There’s a tenderness around the edges now when Kira passes him tools or speaks quietly at his shoulder. It doesn’t make him any less effective.
The discovery of Brianna’s car tightened every timeline. Viper’s intel confirmed what I already knew in my gut. We’re running out of margin, and it’s only a matter of time before Vaughn’s people connect the dots.
When I’m not thinking about angles of approach and fallback routes, I find myself watching the new ways we all interact. The way our team has expanded.
Kira crouches beside Grizz, calmly passing him boxes, as he stacks ammo cans. Later, when Viper mutters under his breath at a frozen screen, Kira rests her hand on his shoulder for a few seconds to ground him, then she moves on.
Eight weeks ago, she arrived broken and terrified.
Now, she’s the axis everything turns on.
As evening settles in, I stand on the edge of the ops center and take it all in.
This place has always been efficient, secure, defensible. But it hadn’t been alive.
Kira laughs at something Grizz says, and Viper shakes his head, lips twitching. The sights and sounds thread through me, grounding and fierce all at once.
This isn’t just about survival anymore.
It’s about protecting a future.
A child who will grow up knowing she’s wanted. Defended by three men who chose her and her mother, chose each other, and chose something bigger than fear.
I’ve led men into danger before.
This time, I know exactly what I’m fighting for.
And I won’t lose it.
CHAPTER 42
KIRA
If I’d waited for the right moment, I might not have spoken at all.
The compound is buzzing with tension, and the air is tight with the anticipation of violence, but when I happen to find myself in the great room with the three of them, I decide I can’t go into what’s coming with any words unsaid.
“Hey,” I say softly.
All three of them look at me, all at once, and I have to steady myself.
“I need a minute,” I say. “Not—” I shake my head. “Not about plans or contingencies.”
Andrew straightens like he’s bracing himself. Boyd, who’s been pacing, comes to a stop mid-step. Silas looks wary, but he doesn’t move away.
“What’s wrong?” Boyd asks.
“Nothing.”
The three men exchange a look, years of shared history wordlessly passing between them.
Andrew nods once. “Okay. Minute’s yours.”
I step closer to them, resting one hand against Boyd’s chest and sliding the other around Andrew’s forearm. I don’t touch Silas at first, but I don’t look away from him, either.
“There’s something I need to say,” I begin, and suddenly, my heart feels too big for my chest. “What you’ve done for me, and for my daughter … you didn’t owe me anything, especially a place here …”
Silas’s gaze drops to the floor, then comes back to me.
“You believed me when it would have been easier not to,” I continue. “You protected me even when it complicated everything. And you didn’t just keep me alive.” I swallow. “You let me feel wanted. Not managed or handled. Wanted.”
Boyd draws in a long breath and exhales.
“You gave me a sense of home. More than I’ve had in a long time,” I say.
No one speaks for several seconds, then Andrew steps forward. He looks at me like he’s committing something to memory. “Kira, you didn’t come here empty-handed.”
I frown. “I—”
“You changed this place,” he says quietly. “We were functioning before you showed up, but it turns out that isn’t the same thing as living.”
Boyd steps in behind me, close enough that I feel his warmth. “We were surviving,” he says. “You make it feel like a lot more.”
Silas’s jaw tightens. For a second, it looks like he might step away, but he doesn’t. “You didn’t try to fix us,” he says, his voice low and rough. His gaze holds mine. “You saw us, and you stayed anyway.”
I blink fast and swallow hard.
Andrew settles his hand on my waist. “What we have is worth fighting for.”
Boyd slides a hand around my middle, resting it on my belly. “Turns out we’re better when we stop pretending we don’t want this.”
Silas hesitates a second before stepping closer, but when he touches me, there’s nothing tentative about it. “You’re not carrying anything alone anymore,” he says. “None of it.”
My heart cracks wide open as I lean into the three of them. They make a circle around me, warm, solid, and strong. Arms wrap around me, all of us woven together in a way that feels exactly right. Like home.