Page 259 of Untamed

She steps back, shaking her head. “I’m not going.”

“Yes,” I answer, voice flat. “You are.”

Her eyes flash. “You don’t get to make that decision for me, Ares.”

“I do, when your life is the one they’re playing with.”

Her eyes narrow. “I’m not going anywhere without you.”

I step forward again, anchoring her in place with my stare. “I’m not asking, Jordyn. It’s already done. The car will be ready and waiting to take you tomorrow.”

She shakes her head, backing toward the dresser like putting distance between us will change something. “No, Ares. I’m not moving from one prison to another. You can’t just pack me up like some possession you can move around and lock away at your fucking will. You said we were fighting this together. If we burn, we burn together, right?” she states evenly. “You promised me.”

“I know what I said. But I also said I’d protect you.” My voice hardens. “And right now, that means getting you out of the line of fire before everything I’m about to do comes back with blood.”

Her bottom lip trembles, but she doesn’t let herself cry. “What does that mean? What are you going to do?”

I don’t answer. I don’t have to, because she already knows. My silence tells her everything she needs to know.

I reach for her hand, lacing my fingers through hers with a gentleness that betrays everything boiling beneath my skin as I draw her closer. “You’ll be safe. That’s all that matters.”

She stares up at me, angry and afraid and breaking all at once. “What about you?” she whispers. “Will you be safe? What if something happens to you while I’m locked away, safe but helpless?” I lean in, pressing my forehead to hers, our breaths mingling.

“Then at least I’ll know you’re breathing.”

She stands there, and I take her face in my hand. One tear tracks silently down her cheek when she closes her eyes, and when she speaks, her voice is barely audible. “Ares, I’m scared. What if you don’t come back?”

The question slices deeper than anything she’s ever said to me.

I draw in a slow breath, forcing my voice to stay steady. “If I don’t make it back…” Jordyn jerks her head like she’s about to argue, but I don’t give her the chance. I bring her gaze back to mine. “If I don’t,” I repeat, firmer this time, “there’s a plan in place. One no one knows about nor can override. Not Enzo, not even Luciano.”

Her breath catches.

“You’ll be protected. Off the grid. New name. New life. Enough money to disappear and start over anywhere. And if anyone comes looking, they’ll find nothing but shadows.”

Her lower lip trembles. “That’s...that’s not what I want, Ares.”

“I know, bambina.” My thumb sweeps the edge of her jaw, memorising the shape of her. “But it’s what I need you to do. Because if I don’t walk out of this war breathing, then at least I’ll die knowing you’ll never fall into their hands again. You can’t trust anyone, do you understand me?”

She starts to shake her head, tears falling freely now. “Ares, no. I can’t. I can’t do this, not without you.” she whispers.

“You can,” I say, my voice rough. “And if it comes to that, youwill,Jordyn.”

I lean in, kissing her once. Then I pull back just enough to look her in the eyes and say what I’ve never had the guts to say out loud. “You’re my only peace, the only thing in my world that matters, bambina. And peace like that? I’d burn for it.”

But she’s not hearing me. It doesn’t matter what I tell her right now, it won’t take. She takes my face in her hands, trembling, like she’s trying to hold the shattered pieces of me together.

“You don’t have to do this. Let’s just go.” she pleads, her voice breaking. “Please. We can disappear together. Just you and me. No more war, no more blood, just us. We’ll vanish somewhere no one can find us. We can start over, Ares. We can be happy.”

I close my eyes for half a second, long enough to let myself pretend it’s possible. The picture she paints is so fucking beautiful it almost hurts.

But when I open my eyes again, I crush it with a whisper.

“We don’t get that ending, bambina.” She visibly flinches at my response.

“Not when my name is soaked in blood. Not when every man like Nicolai sees me as the throne they couldn’t take. Being in my world means you don’t get to walk away. Not really. You run, and they chase harder. You hide, and they burn down the world to find you.”

Her hands drop slowly, and I feel the moment the hope drains from her.

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