But because of the quiet strength she carried. Garrick and Merrell respected her. And I understood why. It wasn't just that she was beautiful. She was commanding.
"Dax." She said later as we were getting ready to turn in. "Can I speak with you?" "Alone?" We stepped out onto the porch. The night air was cool, filled with the sound of crickets.
Above us the stars burned bright against a velvet sky. "You sure about this?" She asked. "Helping me go after Holt. You could walk away. Start fresh somewhere else."
I turned to her. Once again struck by how she could meet my eyes without ever needing to look up. In the moonlight, she looked like something out of legend. Beautiful. Fierce.
Impossible to turn away from. "I'm not going anywhere." I said. "Not without you." "Dax." "We've only known each other a day."
"I know." I cut in gently. "It's crazy. But I've spent most of my life running from things. And I'm tired of it."
I took a slow breath. For the first time, I found something worth staying for. She stepped closer. Close enough that I could see the starlight reflected in her dark eyes. "And what is that?" She asked.
"You." I answered. Plain and simple. She kissed me then. Soft at first. Unsure.
Then deeper as I pulled her close. She was strong. Warm. And felt like she belonged right there in my arms. And in that moment, I knew one thing for certain.
No matter what waited for us ahead. No matter what we faced with Varick Holt. I wasn't going to let anything happen to her. "I've never felt this way about anyone." She whispered against my lips. "Neither have I." I said.
"And I'm not about to lose it now." The ride to Rook Vatcher's cabin took us through rough country. The kind that kept most folks away and gave a man a hundred places to disappear if he needed to. Exactly the kind of ground someone like him would choose to vanish into. "There." Sihaya said.