Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 135958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
“I love you too.”
His eyes turned sad.
I knew why.
“I started that first night when you slept with me in the same bed, even though you knew I wanted to kill you. Then I did try, and you caught my knife, but you did nothing. I fell a little more. Then you called me ‘slicer.’ Then I found out you won’t let your family fly because you love them that much, and how you know it’s ridiculous, but you don’t care…”
I went down the list. It was long, but I told him every moment he’d taken a piece of my wall away.
“You gave me the bigger room at the hotel. You let me run from you at the warehouse, but I knew I was safe, even if you caught me. Part of me wanted you to catch me. When you let Blade go. How I knew, no matter what, that you would protect me.”
My voice dropped to a whisper. “You made me feel special, and loved, and beautiful, and you did all of it without saying a word. There were no proclamations. I just knew. I felt it. It was everything I never felt growing up. You knew me before I realized it. Coming into my life, shattering my walls, taking me, and making me a different woman—you challenged me. You still challenge me. Your life, what you do, you’re as captive to it as your siblings are. You’re a prisoner to your own last name.”
My heart started to beat harder. It hurt. There was something I needed to know. It hurt to say it, but I had to know.
I held his hand tight and never looked away, the importance of this question pressing heavily against my chest. “If you’d found out about her, would you have let me stay away? Or would you have come to get us?”
He didn’t answer, just held my gaze.
A wall slid away from him. I hadn’t even known it was there. He had been letting me see him this whole time, but that wall, it was his last one. I saw the love shining back. It was overwhelming, and I was stunned by it.
I had known, but I hadn’t known how much.
Then a shadow crossed his face, and I ached.
He ran his thumb over over my knuckles. “I know the romantic answer here is that I would’ve come for you no matter what, but that’s not the truth. You were leaving to give our child a life away from this world, so no, I would’ve let you live your life there.”
I turned away, a bittersweetness filling me.
He shifted, his hand catching my chin and turning me to him again.
“But I would’ve watched you,” he said fiercely. “You’re right. I am a prisoner to this life so I would’ve watched you from the other side. And I would’ve loved you from afar. I would’ve done anything in my power to make sure you and our daughter had the life you wanted. It hurt so much when I found out about the baby, but I understand why. I do.”
He stopped, still so stricken. His thumb rubbed over my bottom lip, and he gripped my hand with other. “But I can’t let you go. The first time I tried, it nearly killed me. Please don’t ask me to do it. I love you too much. I need you too much.”
My hand rose to cover his as he cupped my face. “No.” I reached for him, cradling his cheek. “I love you too much to walk away.”
He nodded, his forehead resting against mine. There were tears in his eyes. “I wish I had known about her from the beginning. I would’ve loved her so much. I do love her so much.”
“I know. Me too.”
Tears slid down my face, but I reached for him, and he was there.
Meeting me halfway.
EPILOGUE
Looking down the bank of the Mississippi River, I met the eyes of a boat captain I’d met five years earlier. This time, instead of ferrying the ex-guard Kai had decided to hide and not execute, he had a woman and two children—another thwarted mafia hit. When Kai had received the news of their planned hit, he’d opted to save them instead, hiding them and sending them up through the Mississippi, taking them the entire way to where I was waiting.
I waited, cloaked in darkness along with Blade and Carol, for the survivors. I stepped forward to see it was a shallow-bottom boat. They must’ve changed to this one when the river started narrowing. It was just sturdy enough to glide over the top of the water. It had no engine, and I eyed the captain’s arms. He set aside the paddles, giving me a nod in greeting as I caught the end of the boat and pulled them to the bank. I got it as close as I could, but we still weren’t quite there. Large boulders blocked the way, but this was the closest point we could find to get them to a waiting vehicle.