Page 132 of I Am Salvation

Then the lesser emotions.

Guilt that I’m here in the safety of a SWAT van while he’s out there in the chaos.

Jealousy, stupid as it may be, that Griffin is the one by his side in this moment of real danger.

The van grinds to a halt, and I lurch forward. Through the windshield, I see a figure slowly approaching us.

Dragon!

Griffin is clutched tightly against his side. Relief floods through me like a tidal wave.

Without a word, I scramble toward the door. The second it swings open, Dragon is there. His face is streaked with dirt and blood, his eyes holding a steely determination. But they soften when they land on me.

“Diana,” he breathes out, his voice a rough whisper. He guides Griffin inside the van, his attention focused solely on her as he murmurs words I can’t hear. But then his gaze returns to me, and all I see is relief.

“Are you okay?” His voice carries a raw edge, and for a moment I feel my own vulnerability mirrored in him.

I swallow hard, nodding as I choke back the lump in my throat. “Yes…now that you’re here.”

He nods stiffly as if fighting back his own wave of emotion before pulling me into a crushing hug. His body is hard and unyielding against mine. We stand there, wrapped in each other, and for a moment—just a moment—all is right.

“Dragon,” I whisper against his chest.

His mere presence has brought about a sense of calm I didn’t realize I was craving, and his arms around me feel like home.

“I’m here, Diana,” he murmurs into my hair, his voice shaky but strong.

He sounds so real, so alive.

Griffin watches us with wide eyes as she clings to the door of the van, her skin pale. Her gaze flutters between Dragon and me before she finally lets out a sigh of relief.

“We made it,” she whispers to no one in particular.

We made it.

She and Dragon made it.

“Griffin,” Dragon says to her, “I’m going to take care of you. I should have found you long before now, but I’m going to take care of you and Bridget. No one will ever hurt either of you again.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Dragon

I stay with Griffin as she tells her story to the police.

Her blond hair is dirty and stringy, and she’s too thin. She looks underfed.

I stay by her side, and as she recounts how Sir, as she calls him, gave her to the cult, rage courses through me.

But I have to stay calm. If I’m going to be any help to my sister—and we truly don’t even know each other at this point—I must be strong and control my emotions.

Malcolm.

She remembers Sir’s name. Mack.

Griffin was only five years old, so she never knew his last name. Osborne.

Brother to my best friend, Ricky Osborne.

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