Chapter 87
Carter
The hours dragged, the kind of long, heavy silence that seeped into your bones. Sable sat in his chair, eyes half-lidded but sharp, like a snake waiting for the chance to strike. I didn’t let mine leave him for more than a second.
But the truth was, my thoughts weren’t on him.
They were on her.
Behind the closed door down the hall, Harper was trying to rest. Trying to pretend the world wasn’t circling her name like wolves.
I pictured her curled beneath the blanket, my shirt hanging loose on her frame, her hair spilling across the pillow.
And the ache that hit me was worse than any bullet I’d ever taken.
She deserved better than this. Better than nights spent waiting to see if I came back, better than men who used her as leverage in games she never asked to play.
But she chose me. She looked me in the eye and said together. And God help me, I’d die before I let anyone take that from us.
Sable shifted in his chair, chains clinking. “You can’t keep your eyes on me and her at the same time, soldier. That’s your weakness. Redwood will exploit it.”
I tightened my grip on the rifle, the urge to shut him up with lead burning hot. But I didn’t move. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
Instead, I leaned forward, my voice calm but sharp as a blade. “You don’t know a damn thing about me. Or her. You’ve got power because people let you scare them. That ends here. You don’t scare her. And you sure as hell don’t scare me.”
For the first time, silence answered me. No smirk. No taunt. Just quiet.
I let it settle, my eyes drifting to the faint light beginning to edge the horizon outside. Dawn was coming. Soon we’d move him. Soon this game of shadows would shift.
And as I sat there, rifle steady, the only vow that mattered anchored itself deeper in my chest:
I’d burn Redwood to the ground if that’s what it took.
For Harper. Always for her.