I stare up at Ozzy, something sharp and aching forming behind my ribs. “That’s…” My voice wobbles. “That’s a real friend.”
Ozzy nods once. “Yeah.”
I swallow hard, blinking too fast. “I’ve never had that.”
Ozzy’s eyes sharpen. “Never?”
I shake my head, embarrassed by the honesty. “I’ve never trusted anyone like that. Not really. People… leave. Or they want something. Or they turn mean.”
My voice goes quieter. “It always felt safer to keep everything inside.”
Ozzy’s expression shifts to anger, and then to a fierce control. He cups the back of my head gently, bringing me closer. “You can trust me.”
My chest tightens. I laugh weakly, trying to deflect. “Ozzy?—”
“No,” he says, voice low and unwavering. “I mean it.” His eyes lock on mine, intense and steady. “I’d do anything for you.” The words land like a weight. A beautiful, terrifying weight.
My throat tightens, and I hate how close I am to crying. “Why?” I whisper, because the question has haunted me since the moment he pulled me out of that compound.
Ozzy’s gaze drops to my mouth, then returns to my eyes. “Because you’re you.”
That’s not a logical answer. It’s not one I can argue with. It’s not one I know how to accept without flinching.
My lips part, and for a second I don’t know what to say. So I do the only thing I can. I press my mouth to his.
Ozzy makes a low sound in his throat and kisses me back immediately—slow, deep, like he’s been holding himself back from the moment we woke up. His hand slides down my back, firm and protective, and my body reacts like it’s been trained to crave him.
When we break apart, my breath is shaky.
Ozzy’s forehead rests against mine. “You okay?”
I nod, even though my chest hurts with how much I want to believe him. Then reality taps me on the shoulder again, because it always does.
Ozzy’s phone buzzes on the nightstand. Once. Then again. Ozzy’s eyes flick toward it, and his expression hardens slightly. It’s work. Or danger. He sighs. “I’ve got calls to make.”
My heart sinks instinctively. Not because I’m jealous. Because I’m scared the moment he steps away, the safety will go with him.
Ozzy must see it on my face because he kisses my temple and says, “I’m not going anywhere.”
I nod slowly.
He shifts, careful as he slides out of bed, and I immediately miss the warmth of him like my body is offended by the absence. Ozzy pulls on a shirt and sweatpants, then turns back to me. He looks… different like this. Less vulnerable. More like a weapon. Still mine, my brain whispers, and I shove that thought down fast.
He comes to the side of the bed and brushes his knuckles over my cheek. “Stay here. I’ll be right outside.”
I nod again.
Ozzy’s gaze holds mine for a beat longer, then he steps away, grabbing his phone.
As he leaves the room, I curl into the pillows, the sheets still smelling like him, my body still humming.
I stare at the dim lamp and the quiet walls and think about what he said.
You can trust me.
I’d do anything for you.
I’ve never had a friend like Poe. Never had a person who showed up in the alley with a bat and no fear. But maybe— maybe I have something else now. Something dangerous. Something real. And for the first time, instead of flinching away from it?—