Page 124 of Torment Me Knot
Ronan's voice carries from the hallway. “We roll out in five minutes, Dawson.”
I look at Espie, then Aubrey. “Come with me. I need to get you both kitted out before we move.”
I take them to the living room where the gear is laid out across the dining room table. I pick up the smaller vest and hold it out to Espie.
“Arms out,” I say.
She takes it and shrugs into it, lifting her arms without being asked twice. I step in and thread the side straps through the buckles, pulling each one until the vest sits flush against her ribs with no gaps and no slack.
“It's heavier than I expected,” she says.
“It's meant to be.” I check the chest panel with my palm, pressing in to test the fit. “If it feels light, it's not doing its job. Tell me if anything digs in when you move.”
She rolls her shoulders once, testing it. “It's fine.”
I turn to Aubrey. He's already holding his arms out, watching me. I fit the vest across his chest and start on the straps. He's thinner than I'd like, and I have to take each strap in further. I don't say anything about it. I just pull until it's right and lock the buckles.
“Okay?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he says. Then, quieter: “Thank you, Kev.”
I press my palm flat against his chest panel, checking the fit the same way I checked Espie's. He looks down at my hand.
“Good. Both of you.”
I pull the jackets off the table next and hold Espie's open for her. She slides her arms in and I settle it across her shoulders, tugging the collar flat. Then Aubrey's. I pull the tracker clips from my jacket pocket.
“Turn around,” I say to Espie.
I take the first tracker, lift the back of Espie’s collar and press it against the nape of her neck until the adhesive takes. She stands perfectly still through all of it, chin tipped up, gardenia warm against my skin.
Ashcroft waits five floors underground and I’m about to walk her into it.
I cup her jaw and kiss her instead.
Not rushed. Not desperate. Just steady enough to say everything I can’t put into words right now. She makes a small sound against my mouth and grips the front of my jacket.
Aubrey shifts closer before I even turn toward him. I fit the second tracker against his nape and activate it, his cedar warm beneath the chamomile.
Then I kiss him too.
Same slow certainty. Same promise.
He goes still for half a second before kissing me back, both hands wrapping around my wrist like he needs the contact.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“No,” he says. Then: “I'm going anyway.”
I keep my hand at the back of his neck for a second longer than the check requires. He doesn't pull away from it.
“Yeah,” I say. “I know.” I pause. “I'm glad you're here.”
He lets out a slow breath through his nose. Some of the white goes out of his knuckles.
Levi comes out of the kitchen, shrugging his vest on. “Ready?”
I’m not nearly ready.
