Page 83 of The World Undone

“Sarah?” Dec crouched down beside her, hands clutched around her chest like she was forcing herself not to pull her cousin to her. “It’s me, Dec. Are—are you okay?” She winced, then shook her head. “Of course you’re not okay.”

“D-dec?” Sarah’s voice was hoarse, cracked, barely discernible. Broken.

Dec’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears as she nodded, swallowing back the sob she was clearly trying to keep under a tight lid.

Tears streamed silently down Max’s cheeks as she watched their interaction, stilted and cold where it had been so warm before.

Sarah focused on her cousin now, her eyes raising slowly until they met hers. She took in a deep, jagged breath that broke on a sob. The sound pushed Dec over the edge and she joined her, both of the cousins collapsing into each other. Dec held her tight while Sarah wept through her pain—the scars still etched into her psyche even with her newfound freedom.

Those scars would probably never go away.

But she wouldn’t feel this bad forever.

“Sarah?” Jay ran into the room, skin pale and rimmed with black under her eyes. She must’ve been nearby, possibly sleeping in one of the adjoining rooms. Since her arrival, she’d hardly left her daughter’s side for more than a meal and few hours of sleep each night.

Sarah pulled back from Declan, eyes wide and filled with a childlike fear that I hadn’t seen since we were kids. “M-mommy?”

“H-how?” Jay hiccupped a cry and found her way to her niece and daughter. She collapsed into a hug around them, like a blanket of protection, as she pulled them to her, shaking softly. “I’m here, angel, I’m here.”

Jay repeated the words over and over, lips pressed to Sarah’s hair as Dec pulled back a bit, giving them a moment.

I pulled Dec to her feet while she tried to discreetly wipe her tears on the back of her hand.

“I, er,” Darius cleared his throat, tore the sleeve from his shirt and handed it to her with a shrug, “here, I guess.”

She snorted a half laugh and took it, mopping up the salty liquid while Darius stood around awkwardly, clearly feeling out of place with the emotional turmoil in the room.

“It’s true? She’s awake?” Charlie’s face appeared in the doorway, her face lit up with a giant smile as she watched the mother and daughter clutching each other, hovering over the spot where Sarah had crouched, restless and zombie-like since she’d arrived.

“She’s awake.” Max’s face lit up with unfiltered joy, any vestiges of exhaustion from the healing long tucked away. “Long road ahead, but she’s awake.”

Charlie’s eyes brimmed with tears too now, and I took a few steps back, until my shoulder bumped into Darius, suddenly understanding his discomfort with all of the emotions crowding this room. It was stifling, and I could feel my own getting lodged in my throat. I needed a breather after all of that.

I cleared my throat, thankful when Bishop appeared next to Charlie. He squeezed her to him, but his expression was just as stern and detached as it usually was, clearly either oblivious or unconcerned by the crowded, intense room.

“Glad to hear it,” he said, pressing a kiss to his wife’s head before turning his focus to me. “But we should give Sarah and Jay some space. It’s time.”

And with those two words, the emotional energy of the room shifted in an entirely new direction, just as loud, just as intense, but now laced with a fresh coating of adrenaline and fear.

17

ELI

“Be careful.” Max pressed her lips to mine.

I nodded, soaking in the last few moments of her.

“We’ll be fine,” Dec said, crushing Max to her in a hug. “As soon as we’re there, we’ll send a confirmation through.”

Levi sighed, clearly annoyed with the farewell processional. “For fuck’s sake, we’re all going to be back here in less than two hours. This doesn’t exactly warrant tears and parting gifts, does it?”

I swallowed back my annoyance, not exactly pleased that I’d been saddled with him and Evelyn for this mission. But even though I didn’t know him well, I recognized the waiver of uncertainty in his voice, the way his eyes kept darting about, like he was already on high alert, expecting an attack before we even left this little safe haven.

Was he going to be this jittery and prickish the whole time?

Evelyn squeezed his shoulder, a stern look on her face—both comforting and chastising him.

Fucking hell, was it too late to swap in for Wade’s group?

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