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“Actually, I came to do something for you.” The commander looked at Nik with sympathetic scrutiny, tallying up his injuries. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.” It was the only honest answer he could give. He didn’t feel good. He’d nearly died, and he hadn’t forgotten it. The memory of the ice-cold water piercing his broken body still made him shudder. The darkness of the river consuming him as water filled his lungs. A panic attack threatened, but Nik stilled himself. Forced his focus back to the moment here with Jameson.
He wasn’t in the water. He was in a room, safe and sound.
“You’ve given a lot to protect this town, Nik, and I want you to know just how much we appreciate it. You could’ve died, but you fought. You held on. And because of you, we can prepare for what’s coming.”
Nik stared at him, unsure of what this meant. He’d just done his job. It wasn’t like he had much of a choice. “What exactly are you offering?”
Jameson cleared his throat. “Take a seat.”
Nik’s mind buzzed as Jameson made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. It was an offer he had dreamed about occasionally but had never been sure it would come to fruition. Maybe years down the road. It felt entirely unreal, and he struggled to focus on the words coming from Jameson’s mouth. Nerves fluttered in his gut.
Shortly after Jameson left, Ali entered looking extra cheerful. “Are you excited to go home?” she asked, grinning widely like a ray of sunshine.
His stomach dropped at the thought of going home. Specifically, going home with her. He stared at her, a beacon of light in this dark world. He stared so long that she gave him a questioning look before he smiled softly.
“Ali, I need to talk to you about something.”
He sat on the edge of his bed and rubbed one hand nervously on his pants, the other arm held back in a sling. The bone would take a bit longer to set properly.
Her grin slowly disappeared, and she appraised him. “Okay. What about?”
His heart pounded in his chest. If only he’d had more time to prepare for this conversation. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing. He knew how he felt and what he wanted, but the deal he made with Eli echoed in his mind. Did Ali really want him? Did she want this? Was he wielding too much power over her?
“Jameson just stopped by. They wanted to give me…something…in exchange for risking my life.” His palms were sweating and his heart pounded as he searched for the right words, his mouth as dry as a desert. He’d never felt this nervous before.
“Okay…?” Ali waited for him to continue, clearly unsure where this was headed.
“Well, when I asked for you to come visit…I didn’t think. I just wanted to see you. But it turns out that word got around to Jameson that you’ve been coming here to see me.” He ran a hand through his hair and exhaled heavily.
“I’m not following. Am I in trouble? Are you in trouble?”
“He started digging for more information about you. And Sam…Sam might’ve told him about…us. Whatever we are. This thing we have.” Nik’s face flushed. He sounded like a prepubescent boy with his first crush, stumbling over his words.
He had no practice talking about his feelings and was embarrassed by trying to put a label on their relationship. He suddenly felt very self-conscious that he’d made up their entire relationship and she didn’t feel the same at all. He braced himself for her to laugh in his face.
“What does that mean?” Ali asked. “What are they giving you, exactly?”
“Well…you.” He reluctantly met her eyes, expecting anger or indignation. Ali stared at him, blank-faced, processing his words. “Jameson said you could come home with me. You don’t have to stay in the prison anymore.”
She blinked, clearly taken aback by the offer.
This was the part he dreaded the most. He’d made a promise to Eli that he wouldn’t force Ali into anything. That she had to know she had a choice in all this. She was free to make her own decisions. And he meant it. But now it felt tainted. How could she turn him down when turning him down would mean turning down her own freedom, too?
“Ali…I don’t want you to feel obligated to come with me. You can say no.”
“You don’t want me to come with you?” she asked, hurt in her voice.
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. I…I want you to make your own decision. You have a say in this. I know there’s this weird dynamic between us. I just don’t want you to feel pressured into staying with me.”
“So, I just go home with you? Just like that…I’m free?”
“If that’s what you want.” His legs shook with anticipation. She hadn’t outright said she’d go home with him. And what would happen if she did? Moving in together was a big step for two people who had only known each other for a couple months. “You’d be able to keep your job in the greenhouse, but you’d be paid for it.”
She paced in the small space beside his bed. Then she crossed her arms and bit at her fingernails. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
“Ali?”
