Page 41 of Say You're Mine

But the flutter beneath my palm, the tiny, precious life depending on me for survival... it stops me cold. Forces me to confront the terrible, inevitable truth of Natalie's words.

I can't be there. Can't be the one to pull June from the wreckage, to hold him close and whisper desperately needed words of love and comfort.

Not this time. Not when the risk, the price of failure, is so unbearably high.

"Promise me." The words rasp from my throat, raw and bleeding. "Promise me you'll bring him back to me, Natalie. That you'll move heaven and earth to bring the father of my child home."

Natalie's eyes blaze with resolve, with a fierce, unshakable determination that sears itself into my battered soul. "I swear it," she vows, her voice ringing with conviction. "On my life, on my honor, on every drop of blood in my veins. I will not rest until Juniper Deveaux is back where he belongs."

She pulls me into a hug, fierce and desperate, two women clinging to each other amidst the gathering storm. "I will bring him home to you, Cara," she whispers, the words a solemn oath. "To you, and to that precious little life you're fighting so hard to protect."

I let myself sag into her embrace, drawing strength from the unwavering certainty in her voice. It feels like surrender, like a failure of the most fundamental kind. But deep in my bones, in the secret, shadowed corners of my heart...

I know it's the only choice. The only way to ensure that when the dust settles, when the battle is won and the smoke clears...

There's something left to come home to.

"Okay," I whisper, the word tasting like ashes on my tongue. "Okay, Nat. I'll stay behind. I'll let you and the others take point on this one."

I pull back, fixing her with a stare that could cut glass. "But you have to swear to me, on everything you hold dear, that you'll be careful. That you won't take any unnecessary risks, or let June do anything stupid in the name of vengeance."

A ghost of a smile flickers across Natalie's face, there and gone in a heartbeat. "I'll do my best. But you know our boys, Cara. They've never been ones to shy away from a little necessary stupidity."

A choked laugh bubbles up in my throat, mingling with the tears that won't seem to stop falling. "Bastards," I mutter, but there's no heat in it. Only a bone-deep, soul-deep affection for the brave, beautiful, reckless men we've given our hearts to. "If I can't be there, I'll send you the contact of someone who should be…needs to be, if not for me – then for June."

"You do that, anything to make you and my future godchild Onyx happy." Natalie presses a kiss to my forehead, soft and achingly tender.

"And Cara, we'll bring him back," she promises again, a vow and a prayer and a blood-soaked benediction. "No matter what it takes, no matter how long the road or how high the cost. We'll bring him home to you."

I close my eyes, breathing in the scent of her, the familiar comfort of my best friend, my sister in all but blood. "I know you will," I murmur, the words a talisman against the fear, the doubt, the crushing weight of helplessness. "I trust you, Natalie. With my life, with June's life. With everything."

She squeezes me once more, a final, fierce embrace. Then she's pulling away, squaring her shoulders, the mantle of leadership settling over her like a second skin.

"Rest now," she instructs, her voice soft but brooking no argument. "Gather your strength, for yourself and for the little one. Let us handle the rest."

I nod, too spent, too hollowed out by grief and desperation to protest. I let her guide me to the bed, let her tuck the covers around me like a child in need of comfort.

And as I drift off into an uneasy, fitful sleep, my hands curled protectively over the swell of my belly, a single thought crystallizes in the whirling chaos of my mind.

Hold on, my love. Hold on through the darkness, through the pain, through the lies that twist like poisoned vines in your mind.

We're coming for you. Natalie, Dante, Sarah... an army of light, battling through the shadows to bring you back to yourself. Back to me.

Back to the family that waits for you, the love that will never, ever let you go.

So fight, Juniper Deveaux. Fight with everything you are, everything you've ever been.

And know that no matter how long it takes, no matter what horrors rise up to block our path...

I will always be here. Waiting, hoping, loving.

Until the last star burns out and the last breath fades from my lungs.

Yours, forever and always.

My heart. My home.

My once upon a time.

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