Jake’s eyes are fierce, his jaw tight. His devotion to his sister will not help us here. “Wait,” I say to him. “Please.” I watch as defiance swells in his eyes, and I expect him to try to shove past me, my request be damned. When Jake and I first met, he was belligerent and antagonistic, but he’s also brave and loyal, just like his sister. In the moment I asked him to stand as my second, I said, “Taking orders requires trust, Jake. You would have to trust me.” “I can do that,” he said then. This is the first time I’ve ever asked him to prove it. For an eternal moment, he says nothing, and
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