Page 78 of Carter
River shook his head, calm as always. “We take what matters. Leaders. Intel. Cut off the head. Leave the rest in rubble.”
Carter didn’t answer right away. His eyes flicked toward me, just for a heartbeat. And in that heartbeat, I felt the vow he wasn’t speaking out loud—that he’d burn Redwood to ash before he let them touch me again.
The fear in my chest hadn’t left. I doubted it ever would. But as I stood there, listening to them shape the end of something that had nearly destroyed me, the fear didn’t own me anymore.
I wasn’t just the woman they were protecting. I was the reason they were fighting.
And that gave me strength.
124
Harper
Their voices filled the room, steady and sure, weaving a plan that felt bigger than the walls could hold. Redwood wasn’t just an enemy—they were a storm. And these men, this team, were the ones willing to step into it.
For a long while I just listened, my heart pounding against my ribs, my fingers wrapped tight around the empty mug. But then something inside me shifted.
I set the mug down. The sound was small against the table, but it made every head turn.
“I can’t just sit on the sidelines,” I said, surprised by the steadiness in my own voice. “Not after everything. Not when they’ve already marked me.”
Cyclone’s brow lifted, his grin fading into something sharper. Gideon glanced between me and Carter, quiet, measuring. River’s gaze softened, just a fraction, though his silence said more than words.
And Carter—his jaw clenched, his eyes locking on mine with a weight that pinned me in place.
“I know I’m not a soldier,” I continued, pushing past thetremor in my hands. “But I can’t hide while you risk everything. I’ve lived with the fear, with the waiting. I won’t do it again.”
Silence stretched, heavy and taut.
Carter’s chair scraped against the floor as he stood. For a heartbeat, I thought he was going to shut me down—wrap me in the same walls he’d always tried to build around me. But instead, he came closer, his hand brushing mine where it rested on the table.
His eyes burned, fierce and unreadable. “This fight is mine,” he said, voice low. “But if you’re in it with me, Harper, then you follow my lead. No questions. No hesitation.”
My breath caught. Not dismissal. Not protection disguised as control.
Trust.
I nodded once, firm. “Together.”
The word hung between us like a vow.
River leaned back in his chair, exhaling slow. “Then it’s settled. We all fight.”
And for the first time since Redwood had stolen my breath and branded me as prey, I felt something stronger than fear.
ready.
125
Carter
Her word—Together—hit me harder than the gunfire we’d just survived.
Every instinct screamed to lock her away, to keep her safe behind walls and guns and every ounce of training I had. That was what I knew. That was what I was built for.
But the way she stood there, shoulders squared, eyes steady, refusing to back down—I couldn’t deny it. Harper wasn’t a weakness to shield. She was strength standing beside me.
And letting her in… that was the hardest damn thing I’d ever done.
