Page 185

I couldn’t see his face. The sky behind him was wrong. Black in the middle of day.

Keep moving.

Then—

Declan. His hands on my face.

Stadium lights behind him.

His eyes wet. “Come back to me, babygirl.”

“Declan,” I whispered.

He inhaled sharply.

“Stay with me, babygirl. Look at me.”

“I’m here.” The words came out clearly.

Declan stopped breathing.

“I’m here,” I said again.

His forehead dropped against mine. “Stay with me, babygirl. That’s right. Stay with me.”

For one second, his entire body shook.

Then he pulled himself back under control. Mostly.

Chief didn’t shake.

My cheek hurt. My elbows hurt.

My knees hurt.

The concrete beneath me was real.

The drain was just a drain.

I looked at it.

Declan caught my face in his hands before I could turn fully.

“No.”

I blinked.

“I just—”

“No,” he repeated. His voice softened immediately. “Not yet.”

I let him turn me toward him.

That seemed important.

Behind him, the entire world had gathered.

Dad was crouched a few feet away, white around the mouth. Mom had one hand over hers. Riot stood directly behind Dad. Marion held Mom around the waist.