Page 34 of My Mountain Man Stalker

She trembles in my arms, and I feel something inside me finally,finally, come undone.

“You okay?” I whisper.

She nods against me. “Just scared. Not broken.”

“No,” I say fiercely. “You’re never broken.”

Paramedics are flooding in now, checking the girls, wrapping them in blankets, shining lights in their eyes. I carry Wren outside myself, her body light against mine, her hand gripping the collar of my shirt like she’ll never let go.

I don’t want her to.

Liam is alive. Barely. They’ll patch him up, but I hope he remembers what it felt like to lose.

He won’t get another shot.

None of them will.

Three hours later,we’re back at a safehouse—one of Nate’s properties tucked behind an old ranger station.

Wren sits beside me on the couch, her legs draped across my lap, a fresh blanket around her shoulders. I haven’t let go of her hand since we got here.

She’s quiet for a long time. Then she says, “I thought I was going to die in there.”

I turn to her. “Not while I’m breathing.”

She gives me a look, searching my face like she’s trying to see past all the pieces I try to keep hidden.

“I love you, Hale,” she says.

It hits like a bullet to the chest.

Raw. Honest. Undeniable.

I pull her closer, my hand cradling the back of her neck.

“I’ve loved you for years,” I whisper. “I just didn’t think I had the right.”

“Youdo.” Her voice shakes. “You’ve always had it.”

And when I kiss her it isn’t rushed or desperate. It’s a promise.

A vow I’ll never break.

Just us.

Alive. Whole. And finally,home.