Chapter 13: The Choice That Cut Him Free
They left before sunrise.
Rafe stole a car.
Isla didn't ask how.
Somehow, that frightened her more than the theft itself.
They drove through mountain roads, fog clinging to the cliffs like ghosts.
At a remote gas stop, Isla waited while Rafe went inside.
She felt it before she saw it.
The pull.
A pressure behind her ribs.
A direction.
Her head turned slowly.
Toward the trees.
Toward nothing.
Toward something.
"Isla."
Rafe's voice snapped her back.
He was watching her.
Not confused.
Afraid.
"You felt it," he said.
She nodded.
"What was that?"
He exhaled. "The beginning."
They drove in silence after that.
Until Isla finally said, "What did you mean before… when you said you were sent to observe me?"
Rafe's knuckles whitened on the wheel.
"I was part of the network tracking bloodlines," he said. "I was assigned to locate you."
The words cut.
"So you found me."
"Yes."
"And stayed."
"Yes."
Her chest hurt. "Why?"
His voice was low. "Because the first time I saw you, you were laughing over spilled coffee like the world wasn't hunting you. And something in me broke."
She turned toward him.
"You betrayed them."
"Yes."
"And if they catch you?"
"They won't bring me back."
The finality in his voice made her stomach twist.
"They'll kill you."
"Probably."
The car slowed.
He pulled to the side of the road.
Turned to her fully.
"Isla… if we keep going, there is no version of this where I am forgiven."
Her breath shook.
"Then why are we going?"
"Because I choose you."
The words were not dramatic.
They were devastating.
She reached for him.
This time, when they kissed, there was no hesitation.
Only decision.