Page 2 of Axel Martin

She shrugged. “Depends who you ask.”

I turned around and took the backup route toward one of our emergency cabins. Secure. Off-grid. Stocked.

“You have family nearby?” I asked.

“Nope. Just me and Eggs.”

I frowned. “Eggs?”

“My drone.”

Of course it was.

By the time we reached the cabin, the wind was howling. I got the fire going while she wandered the place like she was shopping for a vacation rental.

“You live like this all the time?” she asked.

“I train like this.”

She grinned. “You’re uptight.”

“You’re reckless.”

“Touché.”

She moved around the room, barefoot again, hair drying in waves. There was something about her—this wild calm—that got under my skin.

Then, out of nowhere, she said, “I’m not afraid of storms. But sometimes I get tired of chasing them.”

She told me about her dad. The accident. The reason she ran into danger with open arms.

I sat down beside her. “Control’s an illusion, Lark. All we can do is prepare for the worst and hold on to the people who matter when it hits.”

She looked at me. Really looked.

“You always talk this deep?”

“No. Just with you.”

Then the lightning hit again. And I didn’t let go of her hand.

3

Axel

The storm howled all night.

I sat by the fire, sharpening a knife I didn’t need to sharpen, listening to the wind lash against the cabin walls.

She’d gone to bed an hour ago. No more teasing. No more jokes.

Just silence.

Until the door creaked.

She stepped out, wrapped in one of the wool blankets, bare feet silent on the floor. Her hair was damp, skin flushed from the heat.

She didn’t say anything. Just stood in front of the fire like she belonged there.

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