ISLA~
"...What do you say?"
I was trying not to let my thoughts spiral while I waited for her answer.
Elara wasn't safe. Not fully. I couldn't guarantee her safety the way I wanted to, not with Chris now hurt and in a hospital bed, not with Axel Williams name sitting in my phone like a loaded gun I hadn't figured out how to aim yet. Brian still hadn't sent the follow-up Intel I needed.
But in this moment — this specific, fragile, terrifying moment — I wasn't losing her to some easy smile who she claimed actually listened to her.
Waiting for her response was its own kind of torture. What was I even doing, asking for a second chance? Would that mean we were actually dating?
I chuckled inwardly. Dating. God. I was so far gone it wasn't even funny anymore.
Was I reading this wrong? Was this a mistake I couldn't take back?
"I don't know what to say." Her voice was soft. "I'm obviously scared. Like — what exactly are you asking right now?"
