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It must take Harper a moment to register who is talking to her, but when she does, she rips her head from my chest. “Ronan?” She says his name as if she didn’t think she would ever see him in front of her again. “You’re–You’re a–alive?”
Then it hits me. She probably thought he was dead. She saw Ronan lying unconscious on our kitchen floor, blood flowing from his head. This entire time, she thought he was dead.
“I’m here, Harper.” Two strides later, Ronan is in front of me, ripping Harper from my arms, and I gladly let her go. Her legs wrap around his waist as he holds her tight against him, one arm around her waist and one hand threaded in her hair.
“I can’t believe you’re alive,” she cries into his neck.
“There isn’t a world that exists without you and me together, Baby.”
Ronan peppers kisses across the side of Harper’s face as he holds her in his arms. I let them have a few minutes before stepping up behind her, unable to resist the urge to have my hands on her again. I wrap my arms around her, leaving her sandwiched between us. Once her cries begin to slow, she pulls her face from Ronan’s neck. “Where’s Mac?”
I look over their shoulders to find Mac still as a statue a few feet behind Ronan. Ronan shoots me a worried glance because we both know exactly what’s happening. This Mac, the one that we’ve known for the last two weeks, isn’t the Mac that she knows. This Mac hasn’t let himself feel a single emotion besides rage. This Mac, it’s the darkest part of him. We all knew that the only person who could pull him out of the monster he became that night would be her.
We just have to hope that she’s up to the task.
Harper must spot Mac behind Ronan, and like the incredible woman she is, immediately senses how desperately he needs her. “Ronan, put me down.”
“You’re feet, Baby.”
She gently caresses the side of his face. “I’m okay. Put me down. Let me go to him.”
Briefly hesitating, he gently sets her down. She winces when her feet hit the gravel but waves Ronan away when he reaches for her again. She takes a few steps forward, only to stop when she sees Enzo and Dante out of the corner of her eye.
“It’s okay, Angel. They’re with us.” She nods and slowly walks over to Mac, with Ronan and I following close behind her.
Once she’s close enough, Harper reaches out to grab his hand, only for him to flinch away.
“Mac . . .” she says his name as softly as possible, but there’s a raspiness to it that’s oddly relaxing. Mac’s face remains entirely unreadable. “It’s okay, Honey. I’m okay.” She takes another step toward him.
“You’re okay?” He asks her like he can’t believe she’s standing before him. Honestly, part of me still really can’t either.
Harper nods. “I’m okay.” She reaches her hand out again, only for him to pull away again. “Cormac, please. I missed you so much. Let me touch you.”
Mac shakes his head.
“You won’t hurt me, Mac.” There it is. We should have known she’d know exactly what was going on without us even having to tell her. She knows us better than we know ourselves. “I need you.” Her voice is nothing more than a whisper now.
I see the moment that what she’s saying registers in his brain. “I won’t hurt you.”
Harper holds out her hand. “You won’t hurt me.”
Mac’s face softens, and his shoulders relax. He inhales a deep breath, then, ignoring her outstretched hand entirely, crashes into her. Mac drops to his knees with her in his arms in the middle of the gravel driveway. Her bare legs wrap around him as she strokes the back of his head, and the two of them sob in one another’s arms. I look over at Ronan, who swallows hard at the sight of his brother falling apart in front of him. But his expression isn’t one of worry. It’s of relief. Relief that we found her, relief that she’s okay—or at least she will be—and relief over the fact that we didn’t lose Mac, too.
Harper lifts her head and looks over her shoulder at where we’re still standing behind her, eyes red and puffy. “Take me home.”
Home.
“Alright, Angel. Let’s go home.”
16
Harper
They found me.
They really found me.
Ronan’s alive. I can’t believe he’s alive. I can’t believe we’re all together again.
