Chapter 24

chapter

twenty-four

Rhiannon woke to find herself in bed with the blankets tucked firmly around her, and for a moment, she couldn't figure out where she was or how she got there.

She blinked groggily, her mind slowly piecing together the events of the day.

The rescue.

The safe house.

The mission planning.

Pierce carrying her upstairs…

She rubbed her eyes and sat up, glancing around the dimly lit room. The space beside her was empty, the sheets cool to the touch. How long had she been asleep?

She sat up, scanning the room for him, but found herself alone. A pang of disappointment twisted in her chest. She'd grown accustomed to waking up beside him, feeling the solid warmth of his body next to hers.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she padded to the door and eased it open. Voices drifted up from downstairs—the low rumble of male conversation punctuated by the occasional clatter of equipment being moved. The mission prep was still in full swing.

She started down the stairs but was distracted at the bottom landing by her brother's voice out on the porch. Since the door was cracked open, she figured Ethan didn't care if she went outside. If he'd wanted her to stay inside, he should've locked the door.

She saw Rylan and Izzy sitting side-by-side in the rocking chairs on the porch.

Rhiannon hesitated in the doorway, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. But as she turned to go back inside, a floorboard creaked beneath her feet, drawing their attention.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Rylan said and shot to his feet. He crossed to her and smoothed his hands over her shoulders, looking her up and down. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she replied, stepping out onto the porch. The cool evening air raised goosebumps on her arms. "How long was I out?"

"A few hours," Izzy answered. "Pierce carried you up like a princess. It was very romantic."

Rylan scowled at her over his shoulder.

She just grinned back unapologetically and pushed out of her seat when her cell phone rang. She held it up and gave it a little wiggle. "It's my mom. I'll take this and give you some time to talk."

Rhiannon watched Izzy disappear around the corner of the house, then turned back to her brother. "Where's Pierce?"

Rylan's expression tightened almost imperceptibly. "He's inside, going over some last-minute details with the team."

She nodded, trying to ignore the growing unease in her stomach. Something felt off. "Is everything okay? You seem... tense."

Rylan forced a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Just worried about tomorrow. Pre-mission jitters."

She didn't believe that for a second. Her big, bad, ex-SEAL brother didn't get jitters.

She crossed her arms and pinned him with a hard stare. "Don't lie to me. I know you better than that."

"It's nothing. It's…" As he spoke, his shoulders sagged like an extremely heavy weight sat on them and he couldn't hold it anymore. "I-I was so fucking scared for you, Rhee. I thought you were dead. I had to call our parents and—" His voice cracked, and he curled in on himself, a sob ripping out of him.

"Oh, Ry." She hurried to his side and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. She felt his body shake as he cried silently into her shoulder, and her own eyes stung with tears as she held him.

It was rare to see him fall apart like this. After he'd lost his arm and spiraled out of control, he had worked so hard to rebuild himself, to find balance and purpose. It broke her heart that she'd been the one to crack his carefully constructed armor.

"I'm here," she whispered, running her hand soothingly over his back. "I'm safe. You found me just like I knew you would."

Rhiannon held her brother for several long moments, letting him release the pent-up fear and anguish he'd been carrying. When his breathing finally steadied, she pulled back slightly, cupping his face in her hands. "Better now?"

Rylan wiped roughly at his eyes. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "I shouldn't be falling apart like this. You're the one who went through hell."

"Don't apologize. You're allowed to feel, Ry. You know that better than anyone. You don't have to be strong all the time," she whispered, her voice gentle. "Especially not with me."

Rylan nodded, though his jaw clenched as he fought to compose himself. He straightened, giving her a look that told her he wasn't quite done being her protective older brother just yet.

"Listen, Rhee," he began, his voice low and serious. "I need to talk to you about Pierce."

She tensed, a knot forming in her stomach. "What about him?"

Rylan ran a hand through his hair, clearly struggling with what he wanted to say. "I know you care about him, but?—"

She held up a hand to stop him. "No, don't. There are no good ways to end that sentence, Rylan. Yes, I cared about him. Deeply. I'd even go so far as to say I'm falling in love with him."

Rylan winced.

She ignored it. "I'm not naive. I know who and what he is. I know loving him is dangerous and makes me a target for the people who want to hurt him. But I don't care."

Rylan's eyes widened, his brow furrowing with concern. "Rhiannon, you can't just ignore the risks. Pierce's enemies… they're not going to stop coming after him. And if they know how much you mean to him..."

"I know," she said softly, her gaze drifting past Rylan to the darkened tree line beyond the porch railing. "But I also know that what Pierce and I have is real. It's the kind of love Mom and Daddy have. It's worth fighting for."

Rylan's expression darkened, a mix of frustration and concern etching deep lines into his face. "Your safety, your life, matters more than anything else. I can't..." He swallowed hard, his voice dropping to a hoarse whisper. "I can't lose you. Not again."

Rhiannon's heart clenched at the raw pain in her brother's eyes. She reached out, grasping his hand tightly in hers. "You won't lose me, Ry. I promise. But I can't walk away from Pierce. He needs me."

"He's not the only one who needs you," Rylan argued, his grip on her hand almost desperate. "Ma, Pa, me... We need you, too. We need you safe, alive. Pierce's demons, his enemies, they'll destroy you if you let them."

She shook her head, a sad smile tugging at her lips. "His demons are already a part of me. I can't just turn my back on him and pretend I don't feel what I feel. I have to help him face this, Rylan. Just like you do. Don't deny it," she scolded when he opened his mouth to likely do just that. "I know you would still be here helping him even if I wasn't involved in this. He means a lot to you, too."

Several seconds stretched by in silence.

"Fuck," Rylan finally said with feeling and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I told him if he loved you, he needed to back off."

She sighed. She supposed she should've expected it. "Oh, Ry…"

"I just wanted to protect you."

"I know." She hugged him

Rhiannon held her brother tight, feeling the tension slowly drain from his body. When she pulled back, Rylan's eyes were heavy with resignation.

"I'm not going to change your mind about this, am I?" he said, a wry twist to his lips.

"No. And now I need to talk to Pierce," she said softly, her gaze going toward the door. "I'm sure he's in there beating himself up for ever touching me."

Rylan hissed out a breath like he was in pain. "I really don't want the mental image of him touching you, Rhee."

She laughed and bumped her shoulder against his. "Speaking of lovers…"

He groaned and looked at the ceiling. "No, we weren't. We absolutely weren't."

"We absolutely were. So, what's going on with you and… Izzy? Is that her name? You two seemed pretty cozy out here before I interrupted."

Rylan's cheeks flushed, and he rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly unable to meet her gaze. For a badass, her brother could be adorably awkward at times.

"Yeah, uh, Izzy. She's… Well, we're…"

Rhiannon grinned, enjoying her brother's rare moment of flustered self-consciousness. "You're what? Dating? In love? Having wild and crazy sex when nobody's looking?"

He choked. "Jesus, Rhee. It's not… We're not… No, none of that!"

"Uh-huh. But you want all of that, don't you? Especially the wild sex."

"We're just friends," Rylan said quickly. Too quickly.

"Friends who cuddle on the porch and gaze longingly into each other's eyes?" she teased.

Rylan shot her a flat look. "We do not gaze longingly. And there was no cuddling."

"If you say so." She lifted onto her toes to kiss his cheek. "If there's one thing I've learned this week, it's life's too short not to take a chance on love. If you like Izzy, take the chance."

Rhiannon left Rylan on the porch, still flustered and red-faced, and went back inside the house. The living room was empty now; the tactical gear and maps cleared away. Low voices drifted from the kitchen. They must have moved the "war room" in there.

She found Pierce deep in conversation with Ethan, Zak serving as his translator. When he caught sight of her, his expression softened for a brief moment, but then his walls came back up.

Yep, he'd taken Rylan's advice to heart. He was trying to pull away.

She waited until Ethan nodded and moved away, then approached him.

"Pierce, can we talk?"

He didn't turn at first, and her stomach sank. She'd finally breached his walls, only to have Rylan come in and give him the mortar to build them up thicker than before.

Zak glanced between them. "I'll just…" He motioned vaguely over his shoulder. "Be over here somewhere."

Pierce remained quiet for a beat. His lips pressed into a thin line before he gave a slow nod. "Let's go outside."

Together, they slipped through the side door and onto the small porch that overlooked the backyard. The night air was cool, a welcome relief after the heavy tension inside. The quiet stretch of trees beyond the house provided a false sense of security—like they could pretend the world wasn't falling apart around them for just a moment.

Izzy was out there, pacing the treeline as she spoke to her mom on the phone. She was too far away to hear, so Rhiannon figured their conversation was as private as it was going to get.

She wrapped her arms around herself and faced Pierce, biting her lip as she tried to figure out where to begin.

Right to the point, she decided.

She met his gaze. "I love you."

His eyes all but bugged out of his head. He stared at her, his expression a mix of shock and disbelief. "You can't. We can't. It's too dangerous, Rhiannon. I won't let you get hurt because of me."

The sharp pain of rejection twisted in her gut, but she ignored it and scowled at him. "I see you've been listening to my brother."

"Because Rylan is right. I'm not good for you. I've brought nothing but danger into your life, and I can't—" He stopped, his hands flexing like he was trying to contain his frustration. "I can't let you get hurt because of me."

She merely shook her head. "You don't get to decide what's good for me, Pierce. Neither does Rylan. I'm the only one who has that privilege."

"I have to protect you, even if that means ? —"

"No," she cut him off. "No, you don't get to push me away. Not after everything we've been through. I'm not some fragile thing that needs protecting. I'm not running from you. From this." She wrapped her hands around his and pressed her lips to his bruised knuckles. "From us."

Pierce's eyes darkened, and he took a step toward her, pulling his hands free from her grip. "The people after me—they're never going to stop. I can't— I won't lose you."

"No, you won't." Rhiannon's throat tightened, but she held his gaze, refusing to let him retreat into that dark place.

He raised his hands to argue, but before he could say anything, the sound of a step creaking behind them drew their attention.

Izzy stepped up onto the porch, her face pale and her expression tight with agitation. Her phone was clutched tightly in her hand, the glow from the screen casting eerie shadows across her face.

"Everything okay?" Rhiannon asked.

"Um." Izzy looked down at her phone as if surprised it was still in her hand. "Yeah. Just… a problem with my mom."

"Nothing serious, I hope."

"Uh, maybe. I-I need to go." She hurried to the door but paused and glanced back before opening it. "I'm sorry."

Then she was gone.

Her abrupt exit and strange apology left an uneasy feeling in the pit of Rhiannon's stomach. She glanced at Pierce, her brow furrowed with concern.

Pierce's expression mirrored her unease. His hands moved slowly, his signs measured. "Something isn't right."

Before she could reply, a sudden noise from the woods beyond the house shattered the quiet—an unmistakable crunch of footsteps.

Pierce was already moving, grabbing her arm and pulling her toward the door. " Inside. Now."

But it was too late.

Pierce pushed her down, shielding her with his body as the air filled with the sharp drumming of automatic rifle fire. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Her world narrowed to the feel of Pierce's body on top of hers, the hard press of the porch floor against her back.

Glass shattered. Wood splintered. The rapid pop-pop-pop of gunfire seemed to come from every direction at once.

Pierce grunted in pain above her, and she felt something warm and wet soak through her shirt. Blood. His blood.

"Pierce!"

He lifted his head, his face tight with pain and grim determination. He signed rapidly with one hand. "I'm okay. Stay down."

Then he was rolling off her, rising into a crouch. He pulled a gun from the waistband of his jeans and returned fire, the muzzle flash illuminating the darkness in staccato bursts.

Rhiannon crawled toward the door, her heart in her throat. She had to get inside, had to find Rylan and Ethan and?—

"Inside. Now."

Rhiannon didn't argue, her heart slamming against her ribs as Pierce hustled her through the door. He slammed it shut behind them and twisted the lock.

Pierce let out a sharp, questioning whistle.

Rylan came running, a gun already in his hand. "How many out back?"

"Too many," Pierce signed.

"Shit. We had multiple enemy contacts out front, too. Zak and Ethan's men are holding them off, but I don't know how much longer they'll be able to." Rylan's eyes narrowed. "Halston?"

"Most likely."

Rylan nodded grimly. "Get into the safe room. We got your six."

Pierce grabbed Rhiannon's hand and pulled her deeper into the house.

"And Pierce?" Rylan called after him. "Take care of her."

Pierce looked back at him, and for a split second, neither man moved, a million words passing between them without a sound being spoken.

Then gunfire ripped through a window and peppered the wall behind Rylan's head.

"Ry!" She lunged toward him, but Pierce roughly pulled her toward a room off the kitchen. Just before he shut the door, she saw Rylan pop to his feet and run toward the fight. He was okay.

She stumbled after Pierce, her mind racing. How had Halston found them so quickly? Unless...

Unless someone had tipped them off.

Her stomach dropped as she remembered Izzy's strange behavior and ominous apology.

Dear God, what had she done?

They burst into a bedroom, and Pierce shoved the bed aside, revealing a trapdoor hidden beneath. He yanked it open to expose a ladder leading down into a small, concrete room.

"Get in," he ordered.

She hesitated at the edge of the opening. "Pierce, wait. I think Izzy?—"

A loud crash echoed from the front of the house, followed by shouting and the unmistakable pop-pop-pop of gunfire. Pierce shoved her toward the ladder. The door burst open, and at least a dozen armed men poured into the room, their weapons trained on Pierce and Rhiannon. Pierce shoved her behind him, his body a human shield as he raised his gun.

But they were hopelessly outnumbered.