Page 48 of Damian
Cyclone clicked again, and a map bloomed across the screen. Not here. Not even close. A warehouse district two counties over.
“They funneled the signal through three relays,” Cyclone said. “But they got sloppy with the last one. Too fast, too much data. I pinned it. If we move tonight, we can hit them before they wipe it.”
“Is it a hub?” Damian asked.
Cyclone’s mouth pressed thin. “Looks like it. Not main operations, but definitely a feeder. Storage, maybe comms. Either way, it’s Luthor’s.”
I realized my nails were digging crescents into my palms. I’d thought I was helping, pushing the team closer to answers. Instead, I’d painted a target on my back and lit up a breadcrumb trail for the enemy to follow.
Damian’s gaze found mine, steady, unflinching. “This isn’ton you,” he said, like he could read the guilt plain on my face. “You gave us the break we needed. Now we use it.”
Cyclone slammed his laptop shut, already reaching for his gear. “They think they’re watching us. Time to flip the script.”
The room felt smaller suddenly, charged. Ruby’s door cracked open down the hall, her eyes wide, her face pale. She didn’t say anything, just looked at me, and in that moment I understood—no matter what Damian and his team uncovered, no matter what trail we followed next—everything I loved was tangled in it now.
And there was no going back.
64
Morgan
The cabin buzzed with quiet urgency. Cyclone packing cords and drives into his bag, Oliver loading weapons, Gage checking comms—every man moving with that calm, efficient energy that meant they were gearing up for something big.
I noticed they changed men and wondered if Cyclone and Damian needed a break. I watched them and knew that no matter how tired they were, both of them would stay with us.
I stood half in the shadows, trying not to be in the way, my arms wrapped tight around myself. Ruby lingered close, arms crossed, her eyes darting between the men like she was trying to memorize every detail. She was sixteen, but in this moment she looked older, harder, like she’d aged years in the span of a single night.
Damian was at the center of it all. Solid. Commanding without barking a single order. Every glance, every motion seemed to anchor the team. Watching him, something inside me broke open.
Maybe it was the way Ruby’s eyes softened when she looked at him, like she knew I wasn’t alone anymore.
Maybe it was the memory of his hands on me last night, steady when mine shook. Or maybe it was just that life had gotten too dangerous for silence.
I moved before I could second-guess myself. Across the room, through the tension, straight to him.
He saw me coming. His eyes caught mine—dark, steady—and for a heartbeat the room seemed to still. I reached for him, my hand curling into the front of his shirt, and before I could lose my nerve, I kissed him.
Not a chaste brush. Not something you could explain away later. It was a kiss that admitted everything: the fear, the longing, the truth I’d been swallowing since the first time he told me to trust him.
He didn’t hesitate. His arm came around my waist, pulling me flush against him, his mouth answering mine with a heat that made my knees weak. For a moment, it was just us—no team, no safehouse, no danger pressing at the door.
When we finally broke apart, my breath caught, the cabin deadly quiet.
Oliver smirked first. “Well, that’s one way to boost morale.”
Cyclone didn’t even glance up from his bag. “About time,” he muttered.
Gage chuckled low, shaking his head like he’d seen this coming all along.
Ruby, though—Ruby just gave me this look, half amusement, half relief. “Guess you’re not as subtle as you thought, Morgan.”
Heat rushed to my face, but I didn’t look away. I stayed pressed against Damian’s side, his arm still around me like he wasn’t about to let go anytime soon. And for once, I didn’t care who saw.
Damian’s voice was low, meant only for me, even thougheveryone could hear it. “No more hiding.”
I nodded, my throat too tight for words. Because he was right. The time for secrets was over.
And in that tiny, stolen moment in front of everyone, I realized something fierce: I wasn’t just surviving anymore. I was choosing him. Choosing us. Even in the middle of the storm.
