Page 85 of Unbound
The group insisted on driving me to the airport. Adrian refused to say goodbye.
"I'm not saying it," he announced as we stood at security. "This isn't goodbye."
"Adrian—"
"No. We're going to fight this. I'm going to get you out. This is temporary. That's all. Just temporary."
I didn't have the heart to argue. Let him have hope. Someone should.
But as I moved toward the security line, Adrian caught my wrist.
"Wait." His voice cracked. "I can't—I need—"
He pulled me aside, behind a pillar where the others couldn't see. His hands framed my face, thumbs brushing away tears I didn't realize were falling.
"I love you," he whispered fiercely. "Do you hear me? I love you, and I'm going to move heaven and earth to get you back."
"Adrian, I—"
"Promise me you'll remember this. Promise me you'll remember how much I love you, no matter what they do to you in there."
My chest felt like it was caving in. "I promise."
He kissed me then, desperate and heartbreaking and full of everything we couldn't say. I kissed him back like it was the last breath I'd ever take, memorizing the taste of him, the way his hands shook against my skin, the soft sound he made when I deepened the kiss.
When we finally broke apart, both of us were crying.
"Come back to me," he breathed against my forehead. "Whatever it takes, come back to me."
"I'll try."
"Don't try. Do it. That's an order."
Despite everything, I almost smiled. "Yes, sir."
He kissed me once more, quick and fierce, then stepped back before his resolve could crumble completely.
"Go. Before I do something stupid like follow you onto that plane."
I walked toward security on unsteady legs, his taste still on my lips, his words echoing in my ears. At the checkpoint, I turnedback one last time. He was still standing there, arms wrapped around himself, watching me disappear.
I carried that image with me onto the plane, into the nightmare waiting in Montana. Adrian, refusing to say goodbye, believing against all odds that we'd find our way back to each other.
Maybe love really could move mountains. I was about to find out.
The flight to Montana felt endless. Rebecca had taken a different flight, keeping distance as we'd agreed in case Covenant members were watching the flights. I sat in basic economy, surrounded by normal people living normal lives, and wondered if I'd ever be normal again.
Probably not. But Anthony Whelan might have a chance now.
My parents waited at the small Montana airport. I hadn't seen them in two weeks, but it felt like a lifetime. My mother's face when she spotted me: relief mixed with disgust. Like she was happy to see me but revolted by what I'd become.
"You made the right choice," my father said as I approached.
"Where's Anthony?"
He showed me his phone. A photo of Anthony Whelan at an airport gate, boarding pass in hand, tear-streaked but alive.
"We keep our word. Even if you don't."
