“Don’t give them this power, Noah. Don’t let anyone tear us apart.”

“I don’t want to let anyone do that, but I feel like they’re getting more desperate, and that means that we have to take this threat seriously.”

“And we will. We’ll be extra careful; we’ll make sure neither of us is alone for long. And we’ll keep trying to figure out who’s behind this so they can be locked up.” I took his head in my heads, drawing his glassy eyes up to mine. “Please, trust me. I don’t want to lose you.”

The words were the most honest I’d ever spoken. They were imprinted on my heart, across my ribs, down my spine. I didn’t want to lose Noah. Not now, not ever. He was the best thing to have ever happened to me. The reason why I woke up with a smile on my face. A smile. I thought only sociopaths woke up grinning, but I was wrong. There were other reasons to feel thrilled about the day ahead, and all those reasons were looking directly into my eyes. He was a story that I never wanted to end, never wanted to get to the last page. He was my everything. Sun, stars, ocean, and air.

“I can’t lose you.” I rubbed away a streak of moisture just under his eye.

“I’m sorry…”

He pulled away from me, turned his back to me, his head shaking. It was like getting impaled with a harpoon. A sudden and painful shock spread through me. Had I really lost him? Was this really going to be the thing that snuffed out our growing flame? I didn’t want it to be true—I couldn’t have it be true. But what else was I supposed to do?

Beg. I’ll get down on my knees and beg for you, Noah. Please.

He turned back around, his upper lip quivering. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”

That gave me a dose of momentary relief. But our relationship still wasn’t out of danger yet. “Are you kidding me? My life could use a little extra excitement. I was getting so bored of my routine that I was seriously considering selling my shit and trying out van life.” I was able to muster up a wink, trying my damnedest to inject some light back into his situation.

“Really?”

I shook my head. “No, just joking. I can’t live without my memory foam mattress and rainfall showerhead.”

“Yeah, I was gonna say.” He arched a judgmental brow at me.

“What? You don’t think I can do it.”

“You just said it yourself, you can’t do it.”

My lips curled into a half-cocked smile. “I can never win an argument with you.”

“No, you can’t. And that was an argument?”