Chapter 33 Havoc
Havoc
Idon’t sleep.
Can’t.
The house is quiet.
Everyone else finally crashed.
Even Ace.
Even Blaze.
Buddy is stretched across Dylan’s doorway.
Guarding.
Always guarding.
I step outside.
The Texas night wraps around me.
Warm.
Still.
Too still.
I lean against the porch railing.
Try to clear my head.
Doesn’t work.
Because she’s there.
Again.
Sitting on the steps.
Like she knew I’d come out.
“You ever sleep?” she asks softly.
“Sometimes.”
She huffs a quiet laugh.
“Liar.”
Fair.
We sit in silence for a while.
Then she says—
“You sound different when you’re planning.”
I glance at her.
“What do you mean?”
“Like you’re already there,” she says.
“Like nothing can stop you.”
That’s not a compliment.
That’s observation.
“You were listening,” I say.
“Yeah.”
No apology.
I respect that.
She pulls the blanket tighter around her shoulders.
“You remind me of him,” she says quietly.
There it is.
The line.
The one we shouldn’t cross.
I stare out into the dark.
“I’m not Tank.”
“I know.”
Her voice is soft.
“But you’re like him.”
That lands harder than anything else she could’ve said.
Because she’s not wrong.
And that’s the problem.
But I’m not him.
I stand.
Need distance.
Need space.
Because something in my chest just shifted in a way I don’t like.
“He was my brother,” I say.
The words come out rough.
“I would never—”
I stop.
Too late.
She looks up at me.
Understanding flickers in her eyes.
“I didn’t mean—”
“I know what you meant,” I cut in.
My jaw tightens.
Guilt creeps in.
Fast.
Sharp.
Wrong.
I take a step back.
Then another.
Creating space.
Where there should’ve been space all along.
“Get some sleep, Aspen,” I say.
My voice is controlled again.
Distant.
Safe.
“I’ll be here.”
She nods slowly.
But her eyes stay on me.
And I can feel it.
That pull.
That connection.
That shouldn’t exist.
I glance at the stars knowing in my heart.
This is no longer just about protecting Tank’s family.
And that?
That’s a problem.