Chapter 12 Jase
Jase
Location: Ravine Shelter — Temporary Cover
Time: Minutes After Escape
We don’t stop running until the gunfire fades.
Not because we’re safe.
Because we’re out of options.
The ravine drops fast and hard, cutting through the forest like a scar. I grab Mila’s arm just before she missteps on loose gravel, pulling her down with me behind a jagged rock formation.
“Here,” I say, voice low. “For now.”
She nods once, already scanning, already calculating.
Always thinking.
Always three steps ahead.
I check the perimeter.
Nothing immediate.
That doesn’t mean anything.
It just means they’re repositioning.
Pain hits harder now.
Adrenaline’s wearing off.
Timing’s about right.
I brace a hand against the rock, steadying myself.
Don’t react.
Don’t—
“Sit down.”
I glance at her.
She’s already moving toward me.
Focused.
Calm.
Not asking.
Commanding.
“I’m fine.”
She gives me a look.
Yeah.
That one.
The one that says she’s about two seconds from ignoring me completely.
“Sit. Down.”
I exhale.
Not because I’m agreeing.
Because arguing takes more energy than I’ve got right now.
I lower myself carefully against the rock.
She drops in front of me.
Close.
Too close.
Again.
Mila
He’s worse than he’s letting on.
Of course he is.
Men like him always are.
I peel back the edge of his shirt before he can stop me.
He tries anyway.
Too slow.
Too late.
“Don’t,” he mutters.
“Too bad.”
The fabric pulls free.
And yeah—
That’s not great.
The wound is angry.
Reopened.
Bleeding more than I like.
“Congratulations,” I say dryly. “You’ve made it worse.”
“I’ve had worse.”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that again.”
He almost smiles.
Almost.
Unbelievable.
I press down to stop the bleeding.
He tenses immediately.
Jaw tight.
Breath controlled.
Not a sound.
That tells me everything.
“That hurts,” I say.
“Not really.”
“Liar.”
A beat.
“…a little.”
There it is.
Honesty.
We’re making progress.
My hands move carefully—efficient, practiced.
But I’m aware of everything.
The heat of him.
The way he’s watching me.
The way the air between us feels—
Different.
Again.
Dangerous.
Again.
“You’re staring,” I mutter.
“You’re bossy.”
“Someone has to be.”
“I was doing fine.”
“You were bleeding out.”
“Details.”
I shake my head.
“…you’re impossible.”
“Yeah.”
Soft.
Quiet.
Different.
That tone again.
The one that slips past his control.
The one that makes my chest tighten for no good reason.
Jase
She’s close.
Closer than she needs to be.
And I’m very aware of it.
Of her hands.
Of her focus.
Of the way her brow furrows just slightly when she’s concentrating.
Of the fact that I should be thinking about literally anything else right now.
I’m not.
“Hold still,” she says.
“I am.”
“You’re not.”
“I am.”
She presses harder.
Pain flares sharp and bright—
“Okay,” I grit out. “I wasn’t.”
Her mouth twitches.
Yeah.
She enjoyed that.
She finishes the bandage, fingers brushing my skin one last time before pulling back.
And the second she does—
The air shifts.
Again.
Too quiet.
Too still.
Too—
Something.
She doesn’t move away completely.
Neither do I.
Bad decision.
Both of us.
Mila
This is a mistake.
I know that.
I know that.
But I don’t move.
He doesn’t either.
And suddenly—
We’re right back there.
That line.
That edge.
That thing we said we wouldn’t do again.
His hand comes up—slow, deliberate—like he’s giving me time to stop him.
I don’t.
Also a mistake.
His fingers brush my jaw.
Light.
Careful.
Not rushed this time.
Not desperate.
Just—
Intentional.
“…this is still a bad idea,” I whisper.
“Yeah,” he says quietly.
Not stopping.
Not pulling away.
Just—closer.
Always closer.
My breath catches.
Just a little.
Enough.
Too much.
“You’re injured,” I say again.
Because apparently that’s my argument now.
Because it’s the only thing keeping this from going somewhere we both know it shouldn’t.
His thumb brushes lightly along my cheek.
“Still worth it.”
That—
That is not helpful.
At all.
Jase
She doesn’t pull away.
That’s the problem.
That’s always the problem.
I lean in—
Slow.
Giving her every chance to stop this.
She doesn’t.
Of course, she doesn’t.
And neither do I.
The kiss is different this time.
Not rushed.
Not desperate.
Not just survival.
It’s—
Something else.
Something deeper.
Something we’re both choosing.
And that makes it worse.
Her hand comes up—careful this time—resting against my shoulder, avoiding the injury.
Smart.
Always smart.
Even now.
I almost smile against her mouth.
She feels it.
Pulls back just enough to glare at me.
“You think this is funny?”
“No.”
A beat.
“…maybe a little.”
She shakes her head.
But she’s still close.
Still here.
Still not leaving.
Mila
We’re going to regret this.
I know we are.
I know—
A sound.
Faint.
But wrong.
My head snaps toward the ridge.
Everything in me goes cold.
“They’re not gone,” I whisper.
Jase’s expression shifts instantly.
Back to soldier.
Back to control.
Back to war.
“Of course they’re not.”
And just like that—
The moment’s gone.
But not really.
Because I can still feel it.
Still feel him.
Still feel—
Everything we just didn’t finish.
Jase
I stand slowly, testing the bandage.
Better.
Not good.
Better.
“That buys us time,” I say.
“Not much.”
“No.”
I look at her.
She meets my gaze.
Same tension.
Same awareness.
Same unfinished—
Yeah.
That.
“We move,” I say.
She nods.
But before she turns—
“…this is still a bad idea,” she mutters again.
I almost smile.
“Yeah,” I reply.
But we both know—
We’re not stopping.
Not really.
Not anymore.