Page 131 of Make Them Cry
But it’s over.
We’ve got her.
FORTY-FIVE
RIVER
The clock ticks.
Loud. Invasive. A cruel metronome of worry.
I’m sitting in the Maddox Security waiting room, white-knuckling a ceramic mug of untouched tea as if it’ll anchor me. It doesn’t. Not when every breath feels too shallow, too tight.
Juno and Lark flank me on the leather couch. We’ve migrated here from Rae’s comms room an hour ago, when we realized that hovering over her shoulder wasn't going to make anything go faster. Rae had promised updates the moment something changed, and we’re trying to honor that promise by not pacing a trench in the floor.
But it’s hard.
It’sso hardnot knowing what’s happening out there. Not knowing if Gage is okay.
“Why aren’t they back yet?” I ask, even though no one can answer.
Lark offers a soft hum, her eyes distant. “Because missions take time. Especially ones that corner someone as dangerous as Helena.”
“She’s not just dangerous,” I whisper. “She’s calculated. Cold. She doesn’t flinch.”
“She’s also outnumbered by some of the most capable men I’ve ever known,” Juno says, crossing her arms with a little more defiance than necessary. “And Dean doesn’t play games. If he said they’d bring everyone home safe, then they will.”
I nod, but it’s brittle. Everything in me feels like it’s been strung too tight, stretched across the sharp edge of panic.
Lark glances at me. “You’re quiet.”
I blink and look down into my tea.
“I’m scared,” I say. “I’m so, so scared that something will go wrong and I’ll never see him again. That he’ll take a bullet or?—”
I can’t even finish the sentence.
Juno scoots closer, sliding her arm around my shoulders. “He’s coming back. Gage is too damn stubborn to die. You’ve seen him. The man is made of sarcasm and sass.”
That pulls a soft laugh out of me. “Sarcasm and sass. That’s… oddly accurate.”
But even laughing doesn’t feel right when my stomach’s a pit of fear.
“I love him,” I say suddenly.
Lark and Juno look at me.
“I mean, Ireallylove him,” I continue, pressing a palm to my chest. “It’s stupid and fast and maybe reckless, but it’s like… like my soul recognized him before my brain could even process it. And now the idea of not having him?—”
Tears sting my eyes.
“I’ve never felt this way,” I say. “Never. And I’ve had crushes and flings, sure, but this? This is like… breathing. And I don’t know what happens if I lose that.”
“You won’t,” Lark says firmly, her voice sharper than usual. “Youwon’tlose him. He loves you too, Riv. I see it every time he looks at you like you’re his whole world. I’ve never seen him like this before.”
Juno squeezes my hand. “I mean, he tried to take on three grown men just for making fun of you.”
I sniffle a laugh. “Yeah. Alpha idiot.”
