“Yes.”
“Both of us?” Dax asks incredulously.
“Yes. Both of you.” It can’t be that simple, can it? I think about how I came to fall for them and experience a wealth of flashbacks and moments that cement how I see them. But I can’t think of one thing I’ve done to earn the same depth of feeling or consideration from them. “I have good reason to care,” I argue.
“And we don’t?” Dax retorts.
“Like what? What are your reasons?” Aiden asks.
How can he ask that? It’s all so obvious to me. I point at them. “You guys stormed into my life and made everything shift.” My feet pace back and forth as I start listing all the things they’ve done; all the ways they’ve made me care. “I wanted to escape from my dad, and you gave me that. You saved the kids. You set them up in safety. You’ve been right behind me the whole time. Today was scary as hell, but part of me knew I’d be fine because you had me—because you were coming to get me.” I sink into the mattress, picking at the cuffs of Dax’s shirt and drumming up the courage to tell them all of it. “How could I not grow to care about you both when you treat me like I’m someone important?” I take a deep breath. “But I offer you nothing. I’m not special. What makes me worth your attention no matter your care?”
Unexpectedly, it’s Dax who steps forward to explain. “I knewyou were special the second I witnessed your attitude and fire. It didn’t matter who I was. It has never mattered to you, has it? From the second I first met you, all I’ve seen is your fight, your strength, your generosity, your determination. Hell, you even schooled me for shouting at you.”
“That makes me rude, not special,” I laugh.
His eyes twinkle with amusement. “It’s been a long time since someone other than Aiden put me back in my place. Then seeing you sitting in that stairwell, shaking, covered in blood, torn shirt, your belongings thrown across the floor…” he shakes his head. “You abandoned yourself to save him. God, the gratitude that flooded me…”
“I…”
“No. I know the Vale. Everything is precious. People struggle for what they have, and you gave my selfish brother everything you had to give in that moment. Then, when I tried to save as many of your belongings as I could, I find out you’re smart, too. Someone striving to be more than their environment allows. I admired you right then and there.
“And every moment after, I’ve found more and more reasons to like you. I was glad I had a reason to keep seeking you out. I needed to protect you the instant I saw your bruises. I wanted you near me—” He lifts my chin forcing me to see the truth in his eyes. “—within my sight.” His thumb strokes my jawline. “GPS tagged, under my cameras…and yes, that makes me a bastard, but I won’t lie. Do I care about you? Yes. Was I terrified today? Yes. Do I fully understand it? God, no.” He steps away, dropping contact. “There aren’t many things in my life I care about. I can count them all on one hand, but I’m glad you’re one of them.”
I look at Aiden, unsure how to process this confession. He simply nods as though encouraging me to believe it.
“I’m going to fuck up,” Dax continues, staring at his feet before looking up and into my eyes. “It’s probably the only assurance I canoffer you,” he laughs coldly. “I tend to fuck up the things I care about most. It’s not much of a consolation…”
“Probably just as bad as your jealousy,” Aiden teases.
“Yeah. There’s that too.”
“So, youwerejealous?” I ask, “Of Koko?”
Aiden’s laughter draws my attention. “And don’t forget poor Ben.”
Oh God, poor Ben. “Did you really punch him?” I ask.
He gives me his excuse, which I take as confirmation. “He’s been stalking you.”
“Pretty sure he’s been stalking everyone,” I remark with a shrug.Which reminds me—.I get up and march across the room to the back of the bed, searching the walls on either side for a handle or a crack in the paintwork.There!A small latch is recessed into the wall at waist height and is designed to look like a light switch but knowing better—Click—I press the switch and the door swings open. I check in the dark for Ben, but he’s not there.
“How did you even know?” Dax asks.
“How else?”
“Mouse.” Dax nods. “This passage is secure. Keypad locks on the inside and at the exit at the other end.”
“So, he can’t sneak up here and listen in?”
“He knows better,” Dax warns but I wonder if he’s aware of who Ben is now, or if he’s just recalling the boy he used to know from the Vale. It doesn’t matter. I just wanted to be sure I wouldn’t be overheard or blackmailed later.
“What’s going on in that cunning little mind of yours, Tiger? It’s like you just flipped a switch and I’m not talking escape tunnels,” Aiden teases.
“I’m thinking that you’re not my lifelines,” I tell Aiden, knowing he’ll catch the reference from our previous conversation. “I didn’t run to you, or Cas, or the compound, or anyone new. I ran to Charlie and Koko, and I relied on myself to get away.”
“And we’re proud of you for getting away…” Dax interrupts, not understanding.
Aiden shakes his head. There’s a smile on his lips, as if he knows what I’m trying to say. “Let her finish, D.”
