Page 273 of Iced Up Love: Part Two
Deliberate.
Her grip tightens on me.
“Please don’t leave me,” she says.
The words hit harder than they should.
Because for a split second, I was going to.
The instinct is there, sharp and immediate, to turn, to move toward the threat, to step into it beside my brother, to end it before it gets any closer, But she’s here. In my arms. Alive. Looking at me like I’m the only thing keeping her steady.
I stop. Just long enough to choose.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I tell her, my voice firm, leaving no room for doubt.
Even if every part of me is screaming to turn back.
We move faster after that. Through the back corridor. Out into the night. More men. More movement.
Cars already waiting, engines running, doors open, people being directed inside with sharp, controlled instructions.
I don’t let go of her.
Not for a second.
Zach stays tight to her side as we get her into the car, Jackson sliding in after her, and I follow immediately, pulling her back into me the second the door shuts.
The car lurches forward.
Fast.
Pulling away from the estate. Gunfire still echoes faintly behind us, distant now but not gone. My gaze stays fixed out the window.
Watching.
Tracking.
Waiting.
Christian is still there.
Lucian is still there.
They can handle it.
I know they can.
But that doesn’t stop the tension sitting in my chest, tight and unrelenting, because I don’t have eyes on it anymore. I don’t know how it’s unfolding, don’t know who’s still standing, don’t know if this is contained or just beginning.
Lia shifts closer into me, Zach’s hand still wrapped around hers on the other side, Jackson’s arm firm at her thigh as he leans over to touch her, grounding himself.
She’s surrounded.
Held.
Protected.
“I’m okay,” she says quietly.
