Page 11 of Fallen Empire

The door clicked shut behind him.

Ben walked back in, silent as ever, but I knew something was off. His steps were slower. Tighter. His eyes landed on Savannah, then flicked to me.

I didn’t wait.

“Is he sober?” I asked, keeping my voice low. It wasn’t the question I wanted to ask, but it was safer than,what’s going on?

Ben nodded. “Yeah. He is. He’s on the way. Should be here in about ten.”

Ten minutes.

That’s all I had to figure out what the hell was happening.

My eyes drifted back to Savannah. Her chest rose and fell with the help of a machine that hummed steadily beside us. Her face—still bruised, still pale—looked more peaceful than before. But peace didn’t mean safe. And I knew the difference.

“You know…” I started, unsure why I was saying it out loud, “I never had anyone to count on growing up. It was just me and Jax forever. And when he left…” I let the words trail off.

There was more I could say. AboutHenry. About what almost was. About the way I nearly got my version of forever, only to watch it slip through my fingers like sand.

But I wouldn’t tell anyone else that story until I told her.

Savannah deserved to know the real me. The before. The broken parts. The shadows I didn’t show anyone.

We’d work through our truths together. Every messy, sharp-edged, painful piece of them. I’d make a vow of it.

I glanced up. Ben hadn’t said a word. Hadn’t interrupted. He just stood there, hands folded, watching me. Listening.

“Savannah is my world,” I said softly. “I know I haven’t known her long. But some people don’t need time to leave amark. She walked into my life and changed everything. She made me… softer. Better. Less guarded.”

My voice cracked. I swallowed hard.

“I need a favor, Ben.”

His brows lifted just slightly, but he looked at me. Really looked at me. Like he saw more than I was saying. This may have been my way of getting him to tell me what I needed… but for some reason, I wantedhimto see me more than anyone.

“If something’s going on,” I continued, “and it’s regarding her life being at risk… I need to know. I don’t care who’s involved, or what Jaxson’s keeping close to his chest. If she comes out of this, I can’t lose her again.”

She wasn’t mine in the way Jaxson loved her. But she was mine in all the ways that counted. My best friend. My heartbeat. My person.

And I wasn’t afraid to fight for her.

I could tell by the way he looked at me that my words struck something deep.

He didn’t have time to respond before a soft knock sounded, and the door creaked open.

The doctor stepped in with the nurse from earlier trailing behind, clipboard in hand. His eyes flicked to me, then to Ben, before settling on Savannah.

He moved with purpose, like someone who'd done this a hundred times before, but still carried the weight of it like it was his first.

“Hello,” he said softly, approaching the bed. “I’m Dr. Alvarez. I was called in about some movement?”

I nodded quickly. “She opened her eyes. She looked at me. Her fingers moved—she tried to talk. It wasn’t a reflex.”

He gave a small, thoughtful nod and turned toward the nurse. “Can you verify her latest vitals?”

She was already moving, checking the monitor and quietly relaying numbers.

Heart rate steady.