Page 76 of Carter
Emotion swelled in my chest, sharp and sweet, as I leaned into him, pressing my forehead to his. “Then stop thinking you don’t deserve me. Because I’m here. And I’m not letting go.”
The breath he let out shook against my skin. His arms came around me, holding me tight, like the battle wasn’t truly over until he felt me safe in his embrace.
And for the first time, I believed it wasn’t just him protecting me.
I was protecting him too.
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Her words hit harder than any bullet ever could.
Stop thinking you don’t deserve me. Because I’m here. And I’m not letting go.
I’d spent my whole life carrying weight, burying fear, living like everything I touched would break if I held it too tight. But Harper—she wasn’t breaking. She was standing. Right here, right now, in the middle of blood and smoke, her hands steady on me, her eyes fierce.
And for the first time, I realized I wasn’t holding her up. She was holding me too.
I drew in a breath, sharp and uneven, my arms locking around her. My heart hammered against her palm, faster than it should’ve, louder than I wanted it to. She pressed closer, unflinching, as if she wanted to memorize every beat.
“You make me believe it’s possible,” I said, my voice low, gravel scraping the words. “That I can be more than the fight.”
Her eyes softened, but she didn’t look away. “You already are.”
The lump in my throat nearly choked me. I’d fought wars,led men, survived ambushes and prisons. Nothing had undone me like this woman looking at me like I was worth saving.
I brushed my thumb over her cheek, smudging dirt across her skin. “You don’t know what you’ve done to me, Harper. You’ve made me need something I never thought I could have.”
Her fingers curled around mine, her voice a whisper. “Then don’t let go of it.”
I kissed her then—harder than I meant to, but needing it like oxygen. The taste of her, the feel of her, the sheerlifein her—this was why I fought. Why I bled. Why I’d keep tearing through Redwood until there was nothing left.
Because she wasn’t my weakness.
She was the only reason I was still standing.
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Iforced myself to pull back, though every part of me wanted to stay locked in Harper’s arms until the world burned out. But there wasn’t time. Not with Redwood circling, not with Sable still breathing, not with the fight unfinished.
River emerged from the treeline, his rifle slung but his eyes sharp. “We cleared the east. Temporary quiet, but they’ll regroup.”
“Of course they will,” I muttered, straightening, the soldier sliding back over my skin like armor.
Cyclone approached, bandaged arm stiff, rifle still hot from the fight. Gideon trailed close behind, his laptop tucked under one arm, eyes shadowed with exhaustion. They all looked worn thin, but there was no quit in them. Not here. Not with this enemy.
I tightened my grip on Harper’s hand before letting go, needing her to see it wasn’t distance—it was focus.
“We can’t keep waiting for them to hit us,” I said, my voice low, hard. “We hold the line today, they’ll come backtomorrow with more bodies, more firepower. This doesn’t end until we cut the head off the snake.”
River nodded once, jaw tight. “Redwood headquarters.”
Gideon opened his laptop, the glow catching his face. “I’ve been tracking chatter. There’s a hub—remote, heavily fortified, but it’s where they move money, weapons, intel. We take it down, we cripple their network.”
“Not cripple,” I corrected, my eyes narrowing. “We finish it.”
