Page 27

He didn’t question it. Just nodded once.

“Arizona,” I added. “Desert. Nothing for miles.”

Tag leaned forward slightly. “You sure it’s still there?”

“No,” I admitted. “But it’s better than nowhere.”

The helicopter jolted again, and I gripped the straps harder.

Cyclone leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes for a brief moment.

“We’ll get there,” he said.

His voice was so certain, so grounded, that for the first time since this whole nightmare started, I almost believed him.

The pilot’s voice crackled through the radio. “Touchdown in fifteen. We’ll refuel, swap birds if needed, then move out.”

Fifteen minutes.

I pressed my head back against the vibrating wall of the helicopter and let the storm inside me settle.

For now, we had a destination.

For now, we had each other.

The helicopter toucheddown at a secluded airstrip cut into the jungle. It was little more than a patch of cleared earth and a hastily assembled fuel station, but it was enough.

We moved fast, the Golden Team securing the perimeter while the pilot and ground crew refueled the helicopter.

I stayed close to Cyclone, my instincts too raw, too battered to let me drift far from him.

He noticed. Of course he did.

“Almost there,” he said quietly, adjusting the strap of his gear.

I nodded, swallowing against the knot in my throat.

Once the fueling was complete, we climbed back aboard a fresh helicopter, one better suited for long-distance flight. The rotors roared to life, and soon we were airborne again, cutting across the endless stretch of jungle toward a safer airspace where we could transfer to a long-haul transport.

Cyclone shifted in his seat beside me, closer than before. His hand brushed against mine, a barely-there touch, and I found myself curling my fingers into a fist to keep from reaching back.

As we flew, he leaned in, his voice pitched low just for me.

“I’m not leaving you,” he said.

I turned to look at him, startled.

His jaw was set hard, his eyes fierce. “I don’t care if you like it or not, Jude. I’m not walking away until I know you’re safe.”

Emotion slammed into me, fierce and unrelenting.Do not shed a tear!

“Cyclone—”

He shook his head once. Final.

“You don’t have to say anything. Just know it’s not negotiable.”

I pressed my lips together, the words trapped behind everything I couldn’t let myself feel.