Page 203 of Blackwood

“No,” I cut her off. “You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to lie, disappear, and then act like this is just another fucking mission.”

Cade steps forward and tries to be the buffer. “Lex, maybe just let her—”

“Don’t.” I jab a finger at him. “You didn’t see what I saw. You didn’t watch her get dragged across the pavement like a rag doll while some fuck tried to throw her into a car like she was cargo.”

Bella’s chin lifts. But she still doesn’t speak.

“You could’ve died, Bella,” I bite out. “You think this is just another chapter in your tragic little war story? That this is some heroic solo mission? What the fuck were you thinking?”

Still.

Fucking.

Silent.

I step forward. “Do you get it? If I was ten seconds later. If Russo…” a deep breath shudders through me. “If Russo hadn’t showed up, you would’ve been gone. Disappeared. Or worse.”

“She was just trying to—” Cade cuts in.

“She should’ve had backup,” I snap.

“I did have backup,” she says, voice sharp now. “I thought Laing would be there. And I had Cal.”

“You hadCal?” My voice rises. “The guys a quarterback. What the fuck was he going to do, throw a spiral at the guy? Bella, come on. He’s not built for this.”

“Stop, Lex.” Her voice cracks. “Just stop.”

I’m too worked up to stop. My fists are clenched, my chest is tight, and my blood’s a wildfire. I want to grab her, scream at her, kiss her until she remembers who the fuck she belongs to.

I roll my shoulders to try to calm the fury rising within. “We can’t lose you, baby. I can’t. You matter too damn much.”

She lets out a broken laugh, sharp and empty. “You think I don’t know that? You think I didn’t want to tell you? You think I didn’t want you there?”

“Then why didn’t you?” Cade asks, stepping beside me. Calmer now, but just as wounded.

She spins on both of us. “Because I knew you wouldn’t let me go to The Obsidian. You’d try to stop me. And I had to see him.”

I pace a few steps away, trying to hold back the rage clawing up my chest.

She comes after me, eyes blazing. “I didn’t ask for any of this! I didn’t ask to be born to a ghost. To find out my mom was just as broken as me, or have Roman fucking Russo show up dropping bombs about knowing Zeke’s family!”

Her hands fly out, voice cracking. “Everything’s twisted and connected and fucked, and I don’t even know who to trust anymore!”

Her voice finally breaks, soft and shaking. “I don’t even know who I am.”

She falls to her knees. Like the weight of it all finally cracked her open. Her knees slam the floor.

I’ve seen this before—after ops, after trauma. When her emotions crash into her all at once and she can’t breathe through them.

Cade’s faster than me. He drops beside her in an instant, pulling her in. “Hey. Hey. It’s okay,” he whispers. “You’re okay, sweetheart.”

She clutches his shirt, sobbing. Fingers in her hair, clawing at her chest like she’s trying to crawl out of her own skin.

I stand there frozen. Watching her fall apart in his arms. Watching him hold her. Watching him completely fail to calm her the fuck down.

I drop down beside them and shove Cade back without even looking at him. “Get off,” I growl.

He doesn’t argue. Just backs up. Because he knows he isn’t what she needs right now. Not for this. He’s the calm. The light.