Page 39 of Vengeance

"Tell me something." His eyes met hers. "If we go back, can we save them?” She swallowed around the lump in her throat. He didn't answer, but she already knew why, because the answer was no.

Tears burned her eyes. "You don't think we'd even make it there."

"No, I don’t,” Vengeance said.

Doc folded the letter and slipped it back into the envelope. "This wasn't a threat." Both of them looked at him. "It was bait."

Chloe shook her head. "I don't understand."

Doc walked to the fireplace and tossed another log onto the flames. "Dante knows exactly who Bowie is." The flames crackled. "He knows Bowie won't abandon his family."

"He won't,” Chloe agreed.

"No." Doc nodded. "And he knows you won't abandon Bowie."

Reality slowly settled over her. "So, if I go home—” Her voice barely existed.

"You lead Dante straight to them,” Doc finished. She closed her eyes. Every instinct screamed at her to get in Doc’s truck and ride until she reached Huntsville. Every bit of common sense told her Doc was right.

Vengeance slowly crossed the room. His movements were stiff from the stitches. He shouldn't even have been standing, yet there he was, stopping just in front of her. "I need you to trust me."

She looked up at him. "I don't know if I can."

"I know, but I'm asking anyway,” he said. She searched his face and noticed that there wasn't an ounce of manipulation there—only concern and fear. Not for himself, but for her.

"What are we supposed to do?" she asked.

"We stay alive,” Vengeance said.

"That's not enough,” she insisted.

"It's the only move we've got."

She laughed through her tears. "My dad always said the best defense was a good offense."

A faint smile crossed Vengeance's lips. "Savage also said never start a war you can't finish."

She blinked at him. "He told you that?"

"He said it after I picked a fight with three guys outside Doc's clinic while I was still recovering." Despite everything, she smiled.

"You picked a fight with three people, and it upset my father?"

"They were older,” Vengeance boasted.

"How much older?"

"College kids,” he said.

She couldn't help it; she laughed. "You were an idiot."

"I was sixteen,” he said.

"That's your defense?" she asked.

"It's all I've got."

The laughter faded almost as quickly as it came. She looked toward the rain-speckled window. "I miss him."