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She’supset?What could she possibly have to be upset about? She’s safe—unlike my sister.

I huff out an irritated breath. “I’ll be back in five.”

Jake smirks at me but doesn’t say a word as I walk past a poker-faced Adena. “She’s in the last bedroom down the hall.”

I’m still irritated, and my gut twists into knots when I enter the bedroom and find Samantha staring out of the window, her back facing me.

“It’s going to rain,” she says.

I lean against the doorframe and fold my arms across my chest. “That’s what you’re upset about?”

She turns, slowly, tears tracking down her face as she shakes her head and drops her gaze to a hole in the thin carpet.

Sighing, I drop my arms and cross the room to her. “I told you you’re safe here. Don’t you believe me?”

Her brow wrinkles, and she blinks rapidly, dislodging another tear. “I believe you, but I don’t believe them.”

I don’t have time for this, and I can’t allow myself to get distracted again. Not when we’re so close to going in and retrieving Brooke. I allowed this to happen, but I’m not allowing Hightower to take all the risk.

“They could have let the cops catch you.”

She chews her lip, chin wobbling as she edges closer to me. “I guess.”

I glance at the door. “I should get back. They’re receiving?—”

Her arms slide around my waist, and she looks up at me. “Can’t you stay with me for a minute longer?”

Frowning, I place my hands on her wrists. “I can’t.”

She swallows, her face twisting, as she slides her hands up my back. “Thirty seconds?”

Before I can say no, she lifts her chin and brushes her lips against mine—so softly my lungs seize and I forget how to breathe.

“I’m scared,” she whispers.

My arms go around her without thinking, and she leans into me, her body pressing closer. “You’re going to be okay,” I say.

Her brow knits. “You don’t know that. You could be killed.”

She’s right. I can’t promise her I’ll make it back. So I give her the only reassurance I can—a kiss that says what I can’t. That she matters. That she’s not alone in this, even if I can’t stay.

My mouth finds hers, deeper this time—fierce, steady, lingering. I pour everything I’m not saying into it, and it takes everything I have to pull away.

“You’re going to be okay,” I say again.

She won’t look at me, her hands hanging loose at her sides as she backs up and presses against the wall. “Be careful. I don’t… I wanted to say…”

She’s flustered. And I’m not that conceited to say it was just the kiss that caused it. “Say what?”

She swallows and looks over my shoulder. “Don’t die.”

A lump settles in my throat. “That’s up to God, but if you care, you can pray.”

Samantha’s smile is weak. “I’m not sure He’ll listen to anything I have to say. I’m not exactly on His good side.”

My heart squeezes in my chest. “So get on His good side. Ask Him to forgive you. Ask Him to take control of your life.”

I don’t get to hear her reply because Jake calls me from the hallway. “Time to get geared up.”