"Ha… haha…" The brittle mirth died as quickly as it had come. She dragged the back of her hand across her face, smearing a hot, salty mix of tears and blood. "I have nothing. Nothing that's worth anything."
The words fell between them, heavy as stones dropped into a bottomless well.
Kade didn't answer. He simply watched her, his stillness a stark contrast to the destruction surrounding them. His gaze was careful, the focused attention of someone approaching a wounded animal, not out of fear, but from a deep, instinctive knowledge that the wrong move could shatter what little was left intact.
Feeling the weight of his silence, Dakota pulled away, her arms wrapping tightly around herself in a gesture of pure self-preservation. The fine wool of his jacket, still draped over her shoulders, was a stranger's armor against a world she no longer recognized.
