Page 87 of Tiny's Testament
“You’re okay,” he murmurs, voice splintering. “You’re safe now. I got you.”
His scent of smoke, sweat, leather, and the warmth I’ve been reaching for in the dark, floods my lungs. My fingers curl weakly into his cut, the smallest motion I can manage, and it still makes his breath catch. He holds me like the faint twitch of my hand is enough to anchor both of us back into the same world.
The hallway is chaos behind us. Brothers shouting positions. A pair of twins growling threats. Aloiki barking orders. Wait? When did the Hawaii chapter get here?
Capone is yelling for medics. But the moment Tiny lifts me tighter, the chaos dulls, as if the world agrees that, for this heartbeat, everything else can wait.
My voice breaks around a whisper. “I knew you’d come.”
He presses his mouth to my hair, breathing me in. “There’s no world where I don’t.”
Tiny’s arms never loosen, not even as my body shakes uncontrollably against him. Peanut stays tucked beneath my shirt, her small heartbeat fluttering frantically against my skin as Tiny carries us through the smoke-filled corridor.
The night air hits my face when we finally break outside, cool against my overheated skin. Voices blur around us. Shouts,orders, engines revving, but Tiny’s voice cuts through all of it, low and rough with fear he can’t hide.
“Red! Knight! Bring the van, now!”
They’re already running toward us. Red reaches us first, breathing hard, his eyes going wide when he sees the state I’m in. “Jesus, Tiny… she can’t ride. Get her in the van.”
“I’m not letting her out of my arms,” Tiny says, pulling me closer as if he expects someone to take me from him.
Knight swings the rear doors open and steps aside. “We’ll keep her safe. You need to clear the rest of the building.”
Tiny hesitates, looking between the smoke behind him and the van in front of him, torn in a way I’ve never seen. I reach for his cut, fingers trembling, and he bends closer immediately.
“You have to go,” I whisper, my voice barely working. “Finish it. Please.”
His jaw tightens, the muscles clenching like he’s fighting the entire universe. “Baby Girl… I just got you back.”
Red places a reassuring hand on Tiny’s shoulder. “We’ve got her. You trust us to do that?”
Tiny looks down at me again, eyes burning, and nods once. “Okay. But I’m coming right back.”
“I know,” I breathe.
He lowers me gently into the van, as if I’m made of glass. Peanut crawls higher up my shirt, burying herself beneath my chin, her tiny body curling protectively against mine.
Red crouches close enough for me to see the worry stamped on his face. “That cat really did go through the ducts for you,” Red mutters, smoothing a blanket over me. “Braver than half the men I know.”
Knight huffs out a tense laugh. “She led us right to the damn building.”
Tiny hovers. His hand curves around the side of my face, warm despite the trembling. “Stay awake for me if you can.”
I manage the faintest nod. “Be safe.”
His breath shudders, then he steps back, shutting the van doors with a final thud that vibrates through my bones. The engines outside climb into a fierce, relentless roar, the kind that shakes the ground and tells you the brothers are already carving their way back into the fight.
Knight climbs into the driver’s seat. Red settles beside him, twisting to look at me. “We’re getting you home now. Just breathe, Syvannah.”
I try.
The van rocks gently, soothing, blurring the edges of the pain, the fear, and the adrenaline still pulsing through me. Peanut’s purr vibrates against my chest, grounding me in a way nothing else can.
Red speaks again, his voice warmer now. “You’re okay. We’ve got you.”
Knight adds, “Almost there. Just rest.”
The world softens. The sirens fade. The lights streak past the windows like smudges of color. My thoughts drift between waking and dreaming, held together only by warmth, motion, and the lingering imprint of Tiny’s arms around me.
