Chapter 17 - The Anchor
I didn't back down.
I stepped right into his space, tilting my head up to meet his furious gaze.
"I am not one of your soldiers, Adrian," I told him, my voice steady and fierce.
"You do not get to give me orders."
"It's not an order, Nia, it's a necessity—"
"Shut up and listen to me," I interrupted, poking a finger hard into his chest.
He actually looked stunned.
Nobody told Adrian Vale to shut up.
"I fought a traitor in your basement."
"I rammed a truck on the highway."
"I have picked up the pieces of your broken sons and put them back together."
"I didn't do that for a paycheck, and I didn't do it to run away when things got hard."
Tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
"You are my family now," I whispered fiercely.
"And you don't abandon family."
Adrian stared at me.
The tension in the room was so thick it was hard to breathe.
He raised a shaking hand and gently traced the line of my jaw.
"You are too good for this world, Nia," he murmured.
"Then it's a good thing I'm tough," I replied.
A ragged breath escaped his lips.
He didn't push me away anymore.
Instead, his hands tangled in my hair, and he pulled me against him, crashing his lips down onto mine.
It wasn't a gentle kiss.
It was desperate, hungry, and full of all the terror of the afternoon.
I kissed him back just as fiercely, wrapping my arms around his neck, anchoring him to me.
When we finally pulled away, we were both breathless.
Adrian rested his forehead against mine.
"I have to leave tonight," he whispered into the quiet kitchen.
"I have to finish the Morettis."
"I know," I said, my heart aching.
May you like
"Go."
"Make it safe for us to go home."
