My chest tightens. “Always.”
Salem exhales, and something inside her shifts. Like a wall that has been holding for too long finally cracks open. “I don’t want to go back to my life,” she whispers. “Not the old one. The one where nobody cared if I disappeared.”
My jaw clenches. “You are not going back to that.”
Salem’s voice trembles. “Promise.”
I lift my head and look at her. I want her to see the truth in my face. “I promise.”
Her eyes search mine like she’s trying to memorize me.
I feel something in my chest rise, hot and urgent, because there is no clean, perfect moment for this. There is only now. I inhale slowly. “Salem?”
She blinks. “What?”
My voice comes out rough. “I love you.”
Her eyes widen. For half a heartbeat, she looks stunned, like she doesn’t know what to do with the words. Then her expression changes, something soft and fierce blooming at the same time. Her throat works. “Ozzy…”
“I’m serious,” I say, my hands sliding to her sides, steadying her. “I know the timing is ugly and insane and not romantic. I know we’re in a hospital and we’re talking about moles and syndicates and your father being half dead. I don’t care. I love you.”
Salem’s eyes fill. A tear slips down her cheek, and she wipes it away like she’s angry at it. Then she cups my face with both hands, fingers trembling. “I love you too.” The words hit me like oxygen. Like relief. Like the only good thing in a world that keeps trying to rot.
I close my eyes for a second, pressing my cheek into her palm. When I open them, she’s still looking at me like I’m real.
She whispers, “I don’t even know how.”
I give a small, shaky laugh. “Neither do I.”
Salem leans forward and kisses me. It’s not wild. It’s not desperate.
It’s solid.
A promise.
A stake in the ground.
When she pulls back, her forehead rests against mine again. “This isn’t over,” she whispers.
“No,” I agree. “But we’re not alone.”
Her mouth tightens. “What if the mole is someone close? What if it’s someone we trust?”
My stomach twists again, but I keep my voice steady. “Then we find them.”
Salem swallows. “And Serafina.”
I nod. “We find her too.”
A knock sounds at the door. Sawyer’s voice comes through, calm but urgent. “Ozzy. Salem. We need to move.”
I pull back, keeping my hands on Salem’s waist. “Ready?”
Salem nods, then hesitates. Her eyes lock on mine again. “Say it again.”
“I love you,” I say without blinking.
Her lips tremble into a smile that is both broken and beautiful. “Okay.”