His gaze held hers with a steady expectation that made her reach for him. She found his fingers in the darkness and clung to them.
“Jake worked as soon as he could. Now he’s in construction. Tanner spent one rebellious year trying to become a menace to society, but he lacked the follow-through. Now he’s in IT. I wasn’t sure how he’d turn out, but he’s a good boy—um, man,” she corrected herself.
That earned a ghost of a smile from Archer.
“And Lara is in college.”
“You say that with so much pride.”
The lump in her throat doubled, and tears stung her eyes. “I’m incredibly proud. That’s what I wanted for her—for all of them. Choices. More choices than I had.”
“What about you, Jolie?” He edged closer, fingers warm and rough on hers. “What do you want?”
She shook her head, her laugh humorless. “I honestly have no idea.”
“Understandable. You spent the last decade keeping them alive and out of trouble in a big city.”
Suddenly, it all hit her at once—bills, plumbing, homework, grief, taxes. A broken furnace in January. Lara’s broken heart to deal with in June.
She hadn’t planned for the day no one needed saving.
“I’m trying to figure out what’s next,” she said carefully because speaking too loud would release the emotion she held back.
“You already did a hell of a thing, Jolie.”
“What?”
“You kept them alive long enough to ask yourself that question.”
Her throat tightened. She’d never thought about it that way, and she looked down because looking at him felt too vulnerable.
His strong fingers brushed her chin and lifted her face back up. “You did good.”
The words were simple.
And nearly undid her.
Before she could speak, his mouth was on hers. There was no slow build—he kissed her like time had narrowed to seconds and he meant to use every single one.
He slid one hand into her hair and pulled her flush against him with the other. Gripping his shirt, she issued a helpless sound and kissed him back even though every passing heartbeat was more dangerous than the streets of Chicago—at least to her.
Her body arched into his, chasing more, and he kissed her without mercy—taking, soothing, demanding all at once.
When he finally broke away, her lungs forgot to do their job. He rested his forehead against hers, chest heaving under her hands.
“Why did you ask me those questions?” Her whisper was loud in the small space.
“I wanted something to remember you by.”
Her heart squeezed so hard that it hurt. “God, Archer. What are we doing? What—”
Alarms screamed, the sound splintering the moment.
She jerked at the noise, and he steadied her against him for a brief second.
“I don’t think you’re leaving tonight, baby.”
Boots thundered down the corridor, the base surging with new urgency.
