Chapter 3 Mira #2
The answer must have been no, because there is a shift in his face. Hudson didn’t do fear but this was close to it, self-preservation.
“This isn’t over.”
He backed toward the window, finger pointed at me, and the promise in his voice was worse than anything his fists had ever done. “You hear me, Mira? This isn’t over. You can hide behind them all you want, but the second you’re alone, I’ll be there. And next time, no one’s coming to save you.”
Hudson grabbed the lamp from the floor, the base I’d thrown at him earlier, and smashed it through the window. Glass shattered outward, and he was through the frame before the last shards hit the ground, dropping into the parking lot below.
I stood there, shaking, a broken TV remote clutched in my hand, and tried to remember how to breathe.
The door, already hanging from one hinge, exploded completely off its frame.
They erupted into the room. All three of them, still in their turnout gear, faces carved with murderous intent.
Percy came through first, and the easy charm I’d seen was gone. His hazel eyes swept the room. His whole face turned into an expression that belonged to a different kind of creature.
Solomon was behind him, silent and massive, those pale colorless eyes tracking from the destruction and back to me. His jaw went tight.
Lucian came last. He took one look at the room, at me standing there with shaking hands, and darkness moved behind his expression. He looked as if he wanted blood.
“Where?”
“Window.” My voice came out steadier than I expected. “He’s gone.”
Percy lunged toward the window, a sound building in his chest that didn’t belong in a human throat.
Lucian was faster. He moved past Percy, one leg already over the broken frame, glass crunching under his boot. The look on his face wasn’t anger. It was colder, promising violence in the most methodical way possible.
“Lucian.” Solomon’s voice cut through the room. “Stop.”
“He dared attack her-”
“I know. But look at her.”
Lucian’s head turned. His eyes found mine.
And that’s when my knees decided they were done holding me up.
I didn’t fall so much as crumple, sliding down the wall until I hit the floor, my whole body shaking in a way I couldn’t control. The adrenaline was crashing out of my system and taking everything else with it. My hands wouldn’t stop trembling. I felt cold and hot and sick all at once.
Pathetic. I survived and now I was falling apart.
Lucian pulled his leg back through the window. The murder in his expression didn’t disappear, but it toned down a bit.
“Percival.” Solomon’s voice was low. “Ease back. She doesn’t need our anger right now.”
Percy, who’d been vibrating with barely contained violence, physically forced himself to relax. He crossed the room and lowered himself to the floor a few feet away from me. Not crowding or touching. Just present.
“Hey.” His voice had gone soft. Nothing close to the growl from moments before. “You’re okay. You’re safe. He’s gone.”
I nodded, but I couldn’t make the shaking stop.
Lucian stood by the window, fists clenched, jaw tight. I could see what it cost him to stay still. To not chase and choose me over revenge.
Solomon crouched in front of me, those pale eyes steady.
“Breathe, Mira. Just breathe. You were brave, you fought him off.”
It wasn’t a question, but I nodded anyway.
“You bought yourself time, called for help, and kept yourself alive until we arrived,” Percy added, studying me to the point that it made my skin prickle. “That was smart. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
I laughed, and it came out cracked around the edges. “Yeah, well. I’ve had practice.”
“You won’t need to practice anymore.” His voice was quiet, but the promise underneath it was louder than anything Hudson had said. “He won’t get near you again.”
I wanted to believe him.
Still shaking in that wrecked inn room, surrounded by three men I barely knew, it could have gone so much worse. I wanted to believe him more than I’d wanted anything in a long time.
Lucian crouched in front of me. Careful not to touch. His storm gray eyes swept over my face, cataloguing every injury with an expression that promised violence later.
“Are you hurt?”
I shook my head, then nodded, then laughed because I didn’t actually know. But I was alive. I was alive and Hudson wasn’t standing over me anymore.
“I need to leave.” My voice came out wrecked, barely a whisper. “I need to go somewhere he can’t find me.”
Except I’ve already done that, and the realization that I’m back at square one sends unwelcome anger flooding through my chest.
“Our cabin.” Percy says, his hand hovering near my shoulder like he wanted to touch but was waiting for permission. “It’s secluded. Secure. He won’t be able to-”
“No.” I cut him off. The word was automatic, reflex.
I didn’t know these men. Even if they did save me and they seem to know me, they are still strangers. I should learn my lesson.
“I don’t know you. I don’t-”
I stopped.
Breathed.
And looked at them.
The room tilted sideways for a second, and I saw... a vision.
A flash of warmth and a stone fireplace. My head resting against someone’s shoulder, heavy with sleep I hadn’t meant to fall into. The low murmur of voices talking over me, around me, as if I was worth protecting.
Followed by the familiar sound of my own voice, drowsy and unguarded. “I haven’t felt safe in so long. I’m scared this won’t last.”
The memory, or whatever it was, slipped away before I could grab it. But the feeling stayed.
Which made no sense. I didn’t let my guard down. Not anymore. Surely not with anyone.
None of this makes any goddamn sense.
“Do we...” I swallowed hard. “Do we actually know each other? Before the fire, I mean. Did we meet somewhere? Because you keep looking at me like...”
I didn’t finish the sentence. I didn’t know how.
“Yes.” Solomon’s voice was steady. “We knew each other, Mira. And you trusted us.”
“But I don’t remember you.” The words came out harsher than I intended. “How am I supposed to believe that? How am I supposed to trust something I’m not sure is real?”
Percy and Solomon exchanged a look. Lucian just kept watching me with those storm-gray eyes, and for a second, I could have sworn I saw pain across his face.
“What do your instincts tell you?” Lucian asked. “Right now. At this moment. What do they say?”
A laugh scraped out of my throat. “If I had good instincts, I wouldn’t be in this situation. I wouldn’t have dated Hudson for two years. I wouldn’t have ignored every red flag he waved in my face. My instincts are shit.”
“We will never hurt you.” Percy’s voice had gone serious with raw sincerity. “I know you don’t remember us. I know you have no reason to believe that. But I’m saying it anyway. We will never, ever hurt you.”
“We would rather die,” Solomon added, and the flat certainty in his tone made my chest tight.
I wanted to argue. Wanted to point out that every abuser in history had probably said the same thing at some point. That promises meant nothing and words were cheap. Actions were the only currency that mattered.
But I looked around the wrecked inn room. The shattered phone, the broken window and the ceramic dust from a lamp I’d used as a weapon.
I was alone. Completely, utterly alone.
No family or friends in this town. No one would notice if I disappeared. Just me and a man who would never stop hunting me.
And then there were these three. These strange, intense, inexplicable men who kept showing up when I needed them. Who looked at me with emotions I couldn’t name.
Who, unironically, made me feel safe against all logic and reason.
And maybe this was the worst decision I’d ever make.
But Hudson got through a locked door in minutes. No bolt, no painted-shut window, no cheap inn lock was going to stop him. Three men who could kick down a door faster than he could gave me better odds than anything I’d find on my own.
I wasn’t trusting them, I told myself. It was more of a survival instinct and picking the safer bet.
“Can I...” My voice cracked. “Can I stay with you? Just until I figure out what to do.”
Percy’s whole face lit up. Solomon’s mask cracked, just for a second, revealing a bit of hope. And Lucian’s permanent scowl softened into an expression I couldn’t read.
“Yes,” Lucian said. His voice was rough. “For as long as you need.”
The way he said it, it sounded permanent.
Here goes another bad decision, I guess.
I followed them out of the ruined room and into the cold morning.
This is hoping to God I hadn’t just walked out of one nightmare and straight into a worse one.