Jax
The SUV doors slammed shut with a heavy finality, and for the first time since we crossed into Ember Forest territory, I could breathe. Sort of. The trip had been tense—tenser than I expected. I couldn’t stop replaying the moment Dane raised his hand to Daphne and the way Gavin stepped in like a damn freight train. The whole ride back, my jaw ached from clenching.
Heidi walked beside me, quiet, her hand brushing against mine but not taking it. She’d been silent the whole way home, and I wasn’t sure if it was exhaustion, shock, or her holding back the fire I knew she had. Maybe a mix of all three.
We made it to the threshold of our cabin, and I unlocked the door and held it open for her.
She walked in, shrugged off her jacket, and finally turned to face me. “I wanted to punch that a
