Lucas’s voice cuts through the rocks low and sharp.
Reality slams back in immediately.
I step away first because if I don’t, I’m kissing her again.
Olivia exhales slowly, trying to steady herself.
Trying to pull all those walls back into place.
Too late for that too.
“Stay close,” I tell her roughly.
Her eyes lift to mine.
She nods once.
No argument.
Good.
Because I’m not letting her out of reach again.
Not after today.
Not after that kiss.
We slip back out onto the ridge one by one and continue deeper into the mountains.
The hunt resumes immediately.
But everything feels different now.
Sharper.
More dangerous.
Because now it isn’t just about surviving.
Now there’s her.
And there’s no going back from this.
15
Olivia
Nobody mentions the kiss.
Not when we leave the shelter in the rocks.
Not when we step back into the freezing mountain air with rifles up and eyes scanning every ridge around us.
We just move.
Single file.
Quiet.
