Page 127 of Thaw My Heart

“Now, stop fucking choking her, and leave,” Kit gruffs.

“I’m not leaving without her,” Markus snaps.

I’m going to pass out. I’m going to⁠—

“Fine. Take her,” Kit seethes through clenched teeth.

What? My heart sinks.

Markus releases his grip, and I gasp, choking on the air that now runs freely through me. He wraps an arm around my torso, keeping the gun steady on Kit.

“Move aside.”

“No need for guns here. I’m letting you walk,” Kit croons. “You came for your wife. You got her.”

The icy tone in his voice chills me, destroying everything warm and fuzzy in my heart. After everything we’ve been through, how can he just let him take me?

Markus debates for a moment. “Fine,” he finally drops the gun to his side. “Now grab your fucking dog, Emma, and let’s go.”

I can’t believe he’s letting me go. How can he be so cruel? I thought… I thought he loved me. But when I meet his eyes, they’re too cold. The feeling of my breaking heart wracks through me. Foxie isn’t even here. She’s at Kit’s, safe from all of this, but Markus didn’t even notice. He never cared for her. My legs shake so violently I don’t know how to move or what to do. I don’t want to leave without her, but I don’t want Foxie to have to live with Markus’s cruelty any longer.

Perhaps I should leave her with Kit⁠—

“Tequila.” My gaze snaps to Kit’s at the mention of my nickname, at the sound of his familiar soft voice. His eyes are the brightest blue, piercing into me as another tear stains my cheek.

It hurts to look at him.

“Eyes on me,” he smiles.

His smile confuses me. Alerts me.

Why would he smile?

Kit’s eyes avert behind me as a loud whistle escapes from his lips. In the next second, Bandit has his jaws tight around Markus’s wrist.

Markus screams, trying to pry Bandit off. He loses his hold on me, dropping the gun in the process. When his knees hit the floor, Bandit grabs him by the throat, cutting off his screams, leaving him gasping for air. Holding him down in place with the strength of his jaws.

I flinch when Kit gently strokes my arm from behind me. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay.”

There’s a breath of a moment as I take it all in, realizing that Kit was never going to let me go. And then my arms are around him, curling into his warm body. Everything snaps in place as he pulls me tighter against him, confirming his words. I’m safe.

“I’m so sorry. You’re safe now. It’s okay,” he says into my hair, lightly stroking my lower back.

“I thought—I thought—” I can’t even say the words.

He brushes a lock of hair from my face. “I love you, Sadie. I’ll never let you go.”

His words wash over me, replacing the chill in my body with the warmth of his. He loves me.

“I just needed him to lower his gun.”

A painful process, but it made sense.

“Did he touch…” he struggles to form the words.

“No,” I murmur.

Relief flashes across his face, and he pulls me back in.