His hand comes up immediately, cradling my face, his touch careful in a way I’ve never felt from him before.
“I’m here,” he says, and there’s something in it that makes my chest tighten. “You’re safe. You’re safe, angel. I’ve got you.”
Safe.
The word doesn’t settle straight away. Because the last thing I remember...
My chest tightens.
“You found me…”
It comes out small. Uncertain. Like I need him to confirm it. His expression changes. Breaks in a way I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.
“I will always find you,” he says quietly, and there’s something underneath it, something raw and absolute that settles deep in my chest. “Always. You’re mine… my wife…”
His thumb brushes my cheek.
I don’t realize I’m crying until I feel it.
“I’m so sorry.”
The words slip out of him, low and rough, and something about the way he says them makes my stomach twist.
Movement hits the edge of my vision and suddenly the space shifts again.
“Sweetheart.”
“Baby...”
Jackson’s hand is on mine before I can even process it, warm and steady, his thumb moving over my skin like he needs to feel me, like he needs to make sure I’m not disappearing again.
Zach’s hand comes to my arm, grounding, solid, his touch firm but careful.
I try to reach for them properly.
My body doesn’t let me.
Pain tears through my side again, sharper this time, stealing the breath from my lungs as I flinch.
“Hey, no, don’t.” Jackson’s voice tightens as he steadies my hand.
“Easy,” Zach says, lower, closer, his hand shifting slightly to support me without moving me.
They don’t pull away.
They come closer.
Elijah is still beside me. Still holding me.
All of them are touching me. All of them are here. And something inside me cracks under the weight of it.
“I thought...” My voice breaks, the words catching in my throat. “I thought I wasn’t...”
“You’re safe.”
Elijah’s voice cuts through it. Firm. Certain.
“He’s gone.”
