Page 119 of Show Me

I go still for half a second. Then everything hits at once.

“They were here.” The words are muffled against his shirt, shaky, hitched with each breath. “They were right outside, and we didn’t even know–”

“I know.” His hand moves slowly up and down my back, steady, deliberate. Not rushed. Not panicked. Controlled.

“I didn’t hear anything.” The panic in my chest continues to swell as everything crashes around me. “I didn’t…. Samson didn’t even—”

“They used the storm.” His words are said slowly as if he’s trying to keep me from teetering over the edge. I’m not sure if he’ll be successful at this point. “Noise, wind, power flicker. It covers movement.”

That should make me feel better. It doesn’t. It makes it worse. “They planned it. They brought their own feed.”

His hand pauses. Then continues. “Yeah.”

No hesitation. No softening. The truth lands heavy in my chest.

My fingers curl into his shirt without thinking, holding on like that’s the only solid thing in the room.

“If the power didn’t flicker, who’s to say they wouldn’t have cut the line?” My shoulders shake once as he rubs one hand against my back and his thumb along my neck.

“We don’t know that.” His voice doesn’t sound as certain as his words.

“They wanted me to know.” I shiver hard. “To know that they were out there. Watching. Waiting.”

“I know.” His voice drops on that last one, closer to my ear. Not louder. Not emotional. Just… certain.

My breathing remains uneven, but it’s starting to slow, matching the rhythm of his hand against my back and the stroke of his thumb on my pulse point.

Up. Down. Up. Down. Doesn’t drop. Doesn’t pull away.

I drop my forehead to his chest, feeling his heat against my skin. “They’re not done.”

He doesn’t answer right away. His eyes flick back to the screen, black footage, empty time, nothing where something should be, then back to me. “No.”

Honest. Again. He’s always so damned honest even when I don’t want him to be.

My chest tightens, but this time it’s different. Sharper. Clearer.

“What do we do?” He doesn’t step back. Doesn’t create space. “If they’re watching….” I inhale and exhale. “If they can show up like that….”

“I’m here.” The words land before I can finish. Simple. Not explained. Not expanded. Just there.

My breath catches. He doesn’t look away. And for a moment, he feels like the only thing in the room that isn’t shifting under my feet. My fingers grip his shirt again, and I don’t let go right away.

Neither does he.

Chapter Sixty-Two

Xavier

She’s still in my arms when it hits. Not the fear. That was already there. This…. This is different. She’s shaking. Not a little. Full-body, trying not to let it show.

It’s not just the pigs. The gate. The yard. It’s everything. It’s that someone was there. Close enough to touch something that mattered to her. Close enough to wait. Close enough to choose when.

My hand tightens at her back. Too close. Too real.

If they come back…. I cut the thought off before it finishes. I don’t give it space. I don’t think. I kiss her. Not slow. Not careful. Immediate. Like stopping something before it gets worse.

Her breath catches against my mouth, and for a second there’s resistance, shock, maybe, then she’s there. Hands in my shirt again, pulling me closer like she needs something solid to hold onto.