Page 6

“It’s Ani,” I cough.

“Well it is very nice to meet you, Ani. If you’re uncomfortable staying with us, you can stay at the firehouse for the night.”

A third man joins them then, taller than the others and broader through the shoulders. His face is harder to read, carved from something colder, his mouth set in a tight line.

He studies me for a long, uncomfortable moment, then shifts his gaze to the others. "She’s not our responsibility," he says, voice clipped. "We don't know what she’s running from."

The man who first spoke meets his gaze evenly. "Doesn’t matter right now. She needs help."

For a moment, I think they are going to get into an argument. Finally, the tall one exhales, the sound harsh against the crackle of flames behind us. "One night," he says. "Until morning. Then we figure it out."

I clutch the blanket someone must have wrapped around me and nod, my throat is too tight to form words.

I wait there for what feels like hours, watching the firemen put out the fire completely. My mind keeps looping through what just happened and what’s going to happen next.

Finally, one of the men finds me and tips his head toward a truck parked along the edge of the lot, engine idling quietly. "Come on. It’s a long drive up the mountain."

I follow them numbly, legs stiff with cold and nerves. One of them—the nicer one—climbs into the driver’s seat, whistling low under his breath as he adjusts the heater. The steady one settles beside me in the back, offering a reassuring nod as I tug the blanket tighter. The tall one drives behind us in another truck, his headlights a steady presence in the mirror.

The road stretches out ahead, winding through darkness that feels endless.

I don’t know these men, but so far they seem to be kinder than the men I left behind. That may not mean anything, but I’m clinging to it for now. I have no idea where they’re taking me, but it isn’t my parents’ home.

And for now, that will have to be enough.

Chapter 3

Boone

Ilean my shoulder against the kitchen doorway, eyes steady on the girl. From here I have a clear view into the guest room where Finn and Jonah are getting her set up for the night.

Ani. That’s what she said her name is.

She stands in the middle of the room, hands wringing the edge of the blanket that still covers her shoulders. She doesn’t touch anything else. She just stays frozen there, scanning the space like she’s waiting for a trap to spring.

Something about the way she’s acting screams trauma response. But, it could just as easily be that she’s uncomfortable being a young woman in a house full of older men she has only just met.

Still, something doesn’t sit right with me. After being in the Green Berets for fifteen years, I have a six sense about these things.

Ani isn’t hurt. There are no bruises, no blood, and the EMTs cleared her. But it’s written all over her.

I know trouble when I see it.

It’s stitched into the way she keeps her head down, the way she clutches that blanket like it's a lifeline. She’s not just tired.She’s terrified. There’s a story there, and I don’t think it's a good one.

Trouble doesn’t always come in the form of swinging fists. Sometimes it drifts in quietly, wrapped in an old blanket, carrying nothing but fear.

I don’t want her here. But even I can’t turn her out into the cold tonight. Not after what she’s been through. Even if every instinct in me says it’s smarter to keep this house closed off from whatever storm she’s dragging behind her.

Finn keeps the conversation light, rattling off nonsense about the heater in the mornings and how she should call dibs on the bathroom early if she wants a hot shower. His voice fills the room with noise, trying to make the sharp edges of this night seem smaller. Leave it to my little brother to try to lighten the mood.

Jonah is watching her intently. The big guy has an even bigger heart, but he’s smart enough to keep his distance. Probably for the best. She looks skittish, jumpier than an abused puppy.

Finn cracks another stupid joke, something about how he promises not to burn breakfast if she’s brave enough to stick around for it. Ani’s mouth twitches, the closest thing to a smile she’s managed since we found her.

The heater kicks on with a whine. Ani flinches so hard her body jerks before she catches herself. She pulls the blanket tighter around her as her eyes dart toward the door.

Something about that rattles deep inside me. I drag a hand over my mouth and breathe out slowly.