Page 121 of What Remains

The shot's echo cannoned through the trees, fading into a ringing quiet. Seth kept the rifle shouldered, watching the still form, waiting until the last vibration of violence had settled. Only then did he lower the weapon.

Josie pushed herself onto trembling hands, her eyes finding his across the frozen ground. The silence stretched, brittle and loud. Then he moved, closing the distance, his heart hammering with a violence that surpassed the fight itself.

Josie stared up at him, breathing hard. "You..." She glanced toward the body, then back at him, her voice shaking with a sound caught between disbelief and laughter. "You're here. You're actually here, you came back.”

Seth stopped in front of her, the rifle hanging loose at his side, his pale eyes holding hers.

"Yes." A beat. "I had to."

Josie's face crumpled. She launched herself at him, and Seth caught her against his chest without hesitation, his arms wrapping around her as though he could shield her from everything that had already happened. Her arms locked around his neck as the first sob tore free.

"I thought you left."

His eyes closed. He buried his face in her hair, breathing her in, holding her tighter against him. "I did but then I realized it was the stupidest thing thing I had ever done so I turned around and came back.”

She pulled back enough to look at him, confusion breaking through her tears. Seth cupped the back of her head with a gentleness that contradicted everything his hands had done.

His voice broke, raw in a way he hadn't allowed anyone to hear in years. "I got halfway through one fucking day and realized I couldn't do it. Couldn't leave. Couldn't stop thinking about you."

Josie stared at him, her fingers curling into the front of his coat as if to anchor herself. The world narrowed to the space between their faces, the cold air, and the sudden, terrifying clarity in her own chest.

The man's body lay cooling in the snow. His warning—that more were coming—hung in the air between them. Josie felt a cold dread beneath the relief, but for one impossible second, it was noise.

Seth pressed his forehead against hers, his thumb tracing along her jaw, careful of the bruises darkening her skin. Her breath mingled with his in the cold air.

"I'm here," he whispered.

And this time, he wasn't leaving her behind.

Chapter 30

We Figure Us Out

The body lay a dark shape against snow, already merging with the landscape. Seth didn't look back. With fingers stiff from cold, he found Josie's torn glove, checked their tracks one last time before turning toward the ranch.

"We need to move."

Josie nodded, and Seth watched adrenaline drain from her. Her steps grew less steady each passing minute. One arm remained wrapped protectively around her ribs, and dried blood streaked her temple and beneath her nose. Seth shortened his stride to match hers without a word.

For several minutes, neither spoke. The forest fell impossibly quiet after the gunshot, nothing but snow crunching beneath their boots and the occasional whisper of powder falling from wind-stirred branches. Every few seconds, Seth glanced at her.

Finally, Josie caught his eye. "I'm okay."

"You're bleeding."

"I'm aware."

He scanned her face. "Your ribs? Your head?"

"Both bruised. Probably a mild concussion, but I'll live."

Seth stopped. Josie took two more steps before realizing he no longer moved beside her, and she turned.

"What?"

"Probably?"

A tired smile tugged at her mouth. "I'm a doctor, Seth."