Calm.
Gentle.
Like she could hold the whole world together with nothing but her voice.
My grip tightened around my rifle.
Because if that part of her shattered—
I already knew I wasn’t walking away from it.
5
Russ
The safehouse looked like something the mountain had tried to swallow whole.
Stone walls disappeared into jagged rock. The roof sagged. Wind hissed through cracks in the structure hard enough to make the rusted hinges groan.
No lights.
No heat.
No sign anyone had stepped foot here in years.
Perfect.
Lucas killed the truck engine.
Silence crashed down around us.
“Move,” I ordered.
Doors flew open.
Everyone spilled out fast.
Miles grabbed supplies from the truck bed while Clay and Lucas disappeared into the darkness to sweep the perimeter. Mothers hurried children inside, clutching blankets tight against the freezing wind.
Olivia jumped down from the truck and immediately reached for one of the smaller boys.
The kid nearly collapsed against her.
I caught him first.
“Easy.”
Olivia’s head snapped toward me. “I’ve got him.”
The little boy clung to my jacket, shivering hard enough to shake his whole body.
“I know,” I said.
Didn’t stop me from lifting him into my arms anyway.
For a second, she looked ready to fight me on it.
Then her shoulders dropped a fraction.
