Page 172 of Blackwood

“I can’t do this.” I say under my breath.

I turn away, eyes burning and walk straight to the window. Seeing the view, our view breaks me in half. I can’t contain it anymore and drop to my knees. The blanket slips from my hands as I cover my face and sob, raw and silent. Like my lungs don’t work. Like the grief is eating me alive from the inside out.

Warmth washes over me as Cade crouches behind me. His hand is on my back, voice low and tender as his words tremble. “If I could take this pain from you, I would. Every ounce of it.”

Lex moves with quiet strength, his arms slipping around me. “Come here, baby,” he murmurs. He lifts me up, holding me like a baby, and carries me to the couch. Easing me down into his lap, he tucks me into his chest and holds me.

There, surrounded by the two men I love, I shatter completely. For the first time since I left this place, I let myself grieve. And it hits like a tsunami crashing into a quiet village. No warning or protection. Just devastation. Total and inescapable.

I wipe my eyes, still sniffling, voice hoarse. “Thank you,” I whisper. “For being here with me.”

Lex presses a kiss to the top of my head, his arms tightening like he never plans to let go. “Always, baby,” he says. “Even if we have to hold you through hell, we’ll be right here.”

Cade slides closer, his hand brushing mine. “You’re not alone anymore, sweetheart,” he says quietly. “You never have to carry this grief by yourself again. You’ve got both of us for every heartbreak, for every tomorrow.”

“I love you both so much.”

“We love you too, baby.” Lex says softly.

“Always,” Cade adds.

When I finally start to breathe, I turn my head toward the window, eyes tracing the skyline. “I really did love it here. Not at first, though. I gave Zeke a hard time. I was a bratty fourteen-year-old when we got here. Called it Gotham Tower.”

I let out a soft, shaky laugh. “He hated it when I said shit like that. Said this place was a fortress, not a comic book lair. But he was kind of a Batman. Always watching. Always protecting. Always one step ahead.”

Lex’s hand rubs slow circles on my back. “Sounds like he was a hell of a big brother,” he says, voice low and steady.

“He was,” I whisper. “Do you guys want me to show you around?”

“Of course,” Cade says as takes my hand to his mouth and kisses it softly.

I show them around. I point out the built-in espresso bar and the fingerprint-secured wine cabinet armory.

“Tex called it multi-functional,” I say dryly.

Lex barks a laugh, “We’re totally putting one of these downstairs.”

We step out onto the rooftop terrace and I pause for a second, breathing it in. The view, the breeze, the skyline, it’s all exactly as I remember it. But nothing hits me quite like walking into my room.

Cade’s the first to speak, voice low and full of wonder. “It’s beautiful…”

His artist eyes sweep over everything—the soft lighting, the layered textures, the hand-painted mural stretching across the entire back wall. Razorback Stadium. Every seat, every shadow, every blade of grass. Perfect.

“The detail,” he says as his eyes scan the mural. “It’s like we’re standing on the field.”

I nod, arms wrapping around myself. “It was my favorite place in the world.”

“You used to talk about it all the time. The chants, the way the air smelled before kickoff.”

A soft laugh escapes me. “And how I swore the 50-yard line had magic in it.”

My throat tightens. “Zeke had it painted for me when we moved here. Said if I couldn’t go back, he’d bring it to me instead.”

We all go quiet. Just breathing it in.

DING.

NATE:Krolek is stateside.