chapter424

Connor dropped from above like a shadow, arms out, cutting through the night with single-minded focus. As he got closer to the ground, he bent his knees and landed without a sound, cool and steady, as if jumps like this were nothing to him. In the army, they pretty much were.

"Lydia." His voice was low.

He spotted her in the darkness, just a faint outline. Without hesitating, Connor pulled her into his arms and held her close.

Jonas, who had been hiding nearby, was still trying to recover from the shock of what he'd just seen. Before he could even process the chaos, Connor appeared out of nowhere and dropped another bomb on him. His brain felt like it had been fried.

How was Connor even here? And why was he hugging their Miss Lydia like that? This was wild.

"I'm ok," Lydia whispered.

Connor let out a shaky breath, holding her tighter, like letting go wasn't even an option. "That's all I needed to hear."

Suddenly, Lydia pushed him back a little, her eyes meeting his, serious and searching. "Connor, I killed a lot of people tonight."

Only then did Connor really look around. The helicopter had landed, its lights cutting through the darkness, showing all the bodies scattered on the ground. Men dressed in black, lifeless.

Lydia's voice was steady. "I've wanted to tell you... You and I, we're not the same. I'm not who you think I am. Not perfect, not even close."

He used to be a soldier, loyal to his country, to his people, to his duty. Everything he had, he gave for the greater good. Protecting others was the highest honor he could imagine.

But Lydia played by her own rules. She'd done things he never could have. Things that left her hands stained. In some ways, they were opposites. She wasn't a hero, not in the way the world wanted her to be. Even after leaving the army, Connor's sense of right and wrong hadn't faded. It was part of him.

little

Connor just smiled, soft but a little dangerous. His voice dropped to a whisper who says we're not from? the same world? Lydia, wherever you go, that's where you'll find me.

He wasn't going back to the life he left. He wasn't here to stand against her. He was standing with her.

"Connor, those lives I took... it's real. It's on me."

"They deserved it. What, were you supposed to let them hurt you?" Connor didn't even flinch.

He knew what she was really saying. She wanted him to see the truth. She wanted

to know if he could love her, knowing what she'd done.

"Lydia, those men should have paid for what they did years ago. They got what was coming. If you hadn't stopped them, I would have.

promise you that

She was cleaning up a mess the world needed gone. Lydia never pretended not to

know right from wrong. Whatever she did, he was in her corner.

The blood on her hands belonged to

men who deserved it. She just

wanted to know if Connor could

handle the truth. If he couldn't she'd

get it. Sometimes people just can't walk the same road.

Connor reached for her again, pulling her in, holding her so close it felt like the whole world had narrowed down to just the two of them.

Lydia, don't question me. For the rest of your life, you're with me. I'm never letting you go."

Jonas's eyes went wide, his breath catching. He looked up at the night sky, trying to wrap his head around what he'd just seen.

A dark night, bodies on the ground, and two people promising forever. Seriously, what a scene.