Page 69 of Echo: Burn
The team disperses. I'm heading toward the quarters when Kane catches my arm.
"Not yet," he says quietly. "I need to talk to you. Alone."
He leads me to a small alcove off the main corridor—private, quiet, away from the operations center's constant activity. The dim lighting makes his scars more pronounced, shadows catching in the twisted tissue.
"I'm terrified of losing you." The words come out without preamble. Raw. Honest. "I know that's not tactical. I know it compromises the mission. But every time you walk into danger, every time you refuse to stay safe, I feel like I'm watching you die and I can't stop it."
"You're not going to lose me."
"You can't promise that."
"No." I step closer, close enough to feel his heat. "But I can promise I'm not running. I'm not hiding. I'm done being protected from the truth, Kane. Whatever comes next, I face it standing up."
His hand comes up to cup my face, thumb tracing my cheekbone with heartbreaking gentleness. "Your father kept you safe by hiding the truth. I'm terrified I'm going to get you killed by letting you see it."
"Dad kept me alive for years. But he also spent those years looking over his shoulder, carrying secrets that literally killed him." I cover his hand with mine. "I won't live like that. I can't. If I'm going to die, I'm going to die fighting for something that matters. Not hiding from monsters I pretend don't exist."
"You're the strongest person I've ever met." His voice cracks slightly. "And that terrifies me more than anything the Committee can throw at us."
I pull him down, kiss him hard enough to bruise. He responds immediately, hands fisting in my hair, pulling me closer like he's afraid I'll disappear if he lets go.
When we break apart, both breathing hard, I rest my forehead against his.
"Six hours," I say. "Then we hit that facility, we secure the evidence, and we stop the Committee from killing thousands of people."
“Six hours," he agrees.
"Think you can sleep?"
"No." His thumb traces my bottom lip. "But I can hold you while we pretend to."
We make our way to his quarters—our quarters now, I realize. Somewhere in all that’s happened, his space became our space. His bed became our bed. His war became our war.
I change into clean clothes, wincing as the movement pulls at bruises I didn't know I had. Kane strips down to just tactical pants, the fresh dressing on his ribs stark white against tanned skin. We collapse onto the bed together, exhaustion finally claiming its due.
"Kane?" I say into the darkness.
"Yeah?"
"When this is over—when we've stopped the Committee—what happens to us?"
Long silence. Then: "I don't know. I've spent years assuming I'd die on this mountain. Never planned past the next operation."
"Maybe it's time to start."
"Maybe." His arm tightens around me. "But first, we survive the next seventy hours."
Seventy hours. That's all that stands between us and either victory or catastrophic failure. Seventy hours to stop a conspiracy that's been building for decades. Seventy hours to save thousands of lives.
I close my eyes, trying to find sleep that won't come. My mind keeps circling back to the Whitefish facility. To Odin's role in documenting evidence. To the very real possibility that in six hours, I'll be walking into another ambush designed to eliminate me.
But I meant what I told Kane. I'm done running. Done hiding. Done being protected from truths that might get me killed.
My father died keeping secrets. I won't make the same mistake.
Kane's breathing evens out beside me, his body finally surrendering to exhaustion. I stay awake, watching the chronometer tick down.
Six hours until we raid the facility.
