Page 104 of Whispers of Fire

His body freezes.

I try again, “Vox,” my voice breaking, tears filling my eyes. It’s too painful to talk.

His hold tightens. “I’m here, Angel, I hear ya, I got ya. We're getting you to a doctor, it's gonna be okay, it's gonna be okay.” His voice is like a prayer, as if he was trying to convince himself.

“Hold on tight, love.”

Love .

His strong arms are under my back and knees, holding me like I’m the most valuable thing he ever had. That’s how he always makes me feel, like I’m the only person he’s never tired of seeing, the only one he wants to be with. Noises are getting lost in the background, my mind only focusing on him.

My stranger, my savior, my man.

Because that’s who he is.

My man.

Even though our worlds and pasts couldn't be any more different. Even though I can’t speak a word. Even though he doesn’t want to talk about the dark tasks he does for the club.

Despite it all, he is my man.

And we were brought together by some strange sense of fate.

“Faster, Carter!” Vox’s deep voice urges, the vehicle roaring and suddenly moving at a faster pace.

“Vox, calm the fuck down. I’m fuckin’ racing already. We’ll get there in a minute!” the man behind the wheel answers.

“Shadow, call the doc, tell him we need him yesterday.” Vox’s voice isn’t carrying his usual calm; this one is rushed, worried, panicked.

“On it,” another man says.

The car turns roughly, making us sway, Vox’s arms protecting me from bouncing against the sides.

“Won’t let them get to you. Ever,” he mumbles, perhaps more to himself than to me.

Then a firm kiss melts on my forehead, making my belly churn from his protectiveness.

“Fuckin’ hate myself for arrivin’ too late, Angel, I thought, fuck, I thought…” His voice breaks, thick unshed tears echoing in his throat. One of his hands strokes my hair, making me feel safe and… loved . So loved I want to cry my heart out in the arms of the only man I’ve ever loved.

“When I saw you in there, when… when you were so fuckin’ still, I thought-” He stops, my body feeling his breath stop in his chest as if he was trying to suppress the memory, to shove it as far away as possible.

“I thought I had lost you.”

I lock my eyes with him, trying as hard as I can to see him. My vision gets clearer, letting me watch this breathtaking man, his gaze fixed on my face as if his world starts and ends with me. I have to blink to make sure that it is all happening for real.

“I had to stay away to protect you, I’ve fucked up… I… I should have never let them get to ya, Angel. Fuck.”

I wish I could tell him that I trust him, that I know he did what he did for a reason and whether it was the right decision or not, I know he tried his best to protect me. I know that because he's the only person in this world who would move mountains to make sure I'm okay. But instead, I reach his cheek, and let my hand stroke the back of his tense neck.

Feeling bold, I mouth to him the words that scare me the most.

The words that will change it all.

But perhaps everything has already changed, perhaps it all started the day I saw him in his garden.

I didn’t know it then, but I know now.

“I love you,” I say silently, his eyes widening while he stares at my lips. He stills, frozen at my words. My heart skips a bit, terrified of his answer, of him rejecting me.

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