Page 159 of Here and Now
Ihold Kai in my arms, tears streaming down my face as I rock back and forth. We’re in a room, and Liam, Ben, and Quinn are standing around us protectively.
None of us speak as we wait for either time to expire or Miles to come through the door.
I kiss the top of Kai’s head and keep chanting to whatever higher being there is to please let Miles come back to me.
I need him.
I love him, and want to spend the rest of my life with him—no, that’s not how it ends.
He loves me and that was not a proposal, I want him to say it to my face. Not as a way to get me to leave him in the hands of men who won’t hesitate to kill.
Ben steps closer to Liam, keeping his voice low. “One minute.”
Liam nods, and I track him moving around the room to Quinn. “We should move her and Kai. Get them out of the building.”
Quinn shakes his head once. “Not yet.”
“We are running out of time, Quinn. We need to get out of this building.”
I get to my feet. “We’re not leaving him,” I whisper. “He saved me, and we are not walking out of here without him, do you understand, Liam Dempsey?”
My brother and Liam both sigh at the same time. “Penny ...”
“No.” Even though the word is barely audible, it rings out like a gunshot. There is no option here. “No, you go get him then. We’re not leaving here without Miles.”
Quinn turns to Ben. “You stay here with them and be ready to hit send to Ainsley, telling her to push the information immediately. Liam and I will go get Miles.”
Ben adjusts, moving us deeper into the room. “You both stay in that corner.”
I rest my hand on his arm. “Thank you.”
“Stay down and listen to whatever we say, okay?”
“Okay,” I reluctantly agree.
The three of them look at each other. “If we move, we can’t undo this.”
“It’s been a minute,” Ben says.
No, no, no.
No.
I refuse to accept this. That after all we’ve been through, I’ve lost Miles. I can’t.
He’s too good. He’s everything to me and he found me, just like he promised. Even though he didn’t know if I went willingly or not, he came for me and then saved me.
Tears fall unbidden down my cheeks in rivers. I have had my heart break more in the last five days than I ever knew was possible. I’ve felt despair deeper than I knew anyone could feel. I’ve also felt loved more than I deserve.
Miles walked into a room that he knew he might not walk out of—for me, for us. He allowed himself to be sacrificed just because he loves me.
It would be so cruel for the fates to give me this outcome after everything, but I see all three men check their watches, and the realization that time is up is clear in their eyes.
It’s been ten minutes, and Miles hasn’t come back.
He’s most likely gone, and it’s too late to save him.
I sink to the ground and cover my mouth as a sob tears through me, full of anger, sorrow, and anguish. Even though I muffle the sound, it rips through the room.
