Chapter 43 Scout
Scout
Tessa doesn’t let go of me.
Not when we get into the vehicle.
Not when the doors slam.
Not even when we’re moving.
Her fingers are tight around my arm, like if she loosens her grip for even a second, I might disappear.
“I’ve got you,” I murmur.
Soft.
Steady.
The way I used to.
Her breathing is uneven, still catching in sharp bursts, her body trying to come down from something it doesn’t understand how to process.
“It’s okay,” I add.
It’s not.
But she doesn’t need the truth right now.
She needs me.
“I knew you’d come,” she says, her voice small in a way I haven’t heard since she was a kid.
Something in my chest tightens.
Not breaking.
Never breaking.
But it’s there.
“I will always come for you,” I tell her.
And I mean it.
I always have.
She leans into me more, her head resting against my shoulder, and for a second—
Just one—
I let myself feel it.
The weight of what almost happened.
The line we almost crossed.
The version of this where I didn’t get to her in time.
No.
I shut it down.
Not now.
Not here.
She needs me to be steady.
So that’s what I give her.
“You’re okay,” I say again, my hand moving slowly over her back, grounding her.
“You’re safe.”
Her grip tightens.
“They were watching me,” she whispers.
My body stills.
Just slightly.
“Who?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” she says. “They didn’t talk. They just… stood there sometimes.”
A beat.
“Like they were waiting.”
Of course they were.
Waiting for a reaction.
Waiting for a break.
Waiting for me.
My jaw tightens.
“He didn’t touch you?” I ask quietly.
“No,” she says quickly. “No, they didn’t hurt me.”
A pause.
“They just kept saying you’d come.”
That lands.
Different.
“He wanted me there,” I say.
Tessa pulls back just enough to look at me.
Her eyes are still wide, still shaken—but clearer now.
“Why?” she asks.
Because he thought you would break me.
Because he thought I would lose control.
Because he doesn’t understand me.
I don’t say any of that.
Instead—
“He made a mistake,” I tell her.
Simple.
Certain.
That’s all she needs.
Her gaze softens just slightly.
Trust.
Always trust.
“You look different,” she says quietly.
I tilt my head.
“How?”
“Stronger.”
That surprises me.
More than it should.
I don’t answer right away.
Because I know why.
Because of him.
I glance up.
Logan is across from us, watching.
Not intruding.
Not interrupting.
Just… there.
Steady.
Like he said he would be.
Our eyes meet.
And for a second—
Everything settles.
Not gone.
Not fixed.
But anchored.
“You helped me,” Tessa says softly.
I look back at her.
“I always have.”
“No,” she shakes her head slightly. “I mean now.”
A pause.
“You didn’t even hesitate.”
I don’t say anything.
Because she’s right.
And that matters more than anything.
Before—
I would have felt it.
That pull.
That fear.
That need to control everything before I moved.
Now—
I just moved.
“I’m not going to let anyone take you again,” I say quietly.
Her fingers tighten on mine.
“I know.”
And she does.
That’s the part that matters most.
The vehicle slows.
We’re close.
Safe.
For now.
But I can still feel it.
That edge.
That awareness.
This isn’t over.
Not even close.
I look up at Logan again.
“He’s not done,” I say.
“No.”
“He escalated.”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“And he’ll do it again.”
Logan’s gaze doesn’t waver.
“Then we end it before he gets the chance.”
That word again.
End.
Not stop.
Not contain.
End.
I nod once.
Agreement.
Alignment.
No hesitation.
“Together,” I say.
“Always.”
And this time—
It’s not just about survival.
It’s about finishing it.