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“You can’t spend your entire life thinking about the next bad guy. What do you get out of it? How do you sleep at night knowing that someone is always going to come after you because you got in the way?”
“I sleep just fine,” Johnny said, his lips tilting up menacingly. “I have my gun on me at all times, and I know that if anyone dares to come near me or someone I care about, I can take them out without thinking twice. And then I’ll roll over and go back to sleep.”
“Alright,” I said, stepping between the two of them. “This isn’t solving anything. Go to your corners and think about what you’ve said. Then come up with five ways you could have done it differently.”
“I could have just put a bullet in his head and shut him up before he opened his mouth,” Johnny snapped.
“And then I would have had to kill you,” I said dryly. “Go wait outside while I take care of this.”
With a final glare landing on Duke, he turned on his heel and walked out the garage bay door. Letting out a deep breath, it was time to face Duke.
“What was that about?”
“That guy pisses me off,” Duke muttered.
“And he’s also very good at his job and very loyal to the people around him.”
“Which doesn’t include you.”
“At one point,” I admitted. “I don’t think that’s the way it is now. I think he’s done with Rafe.”
“Thinking isn’t the same as knowing. Rae, I don’t like you going out there with him.”
“I won’t be alone.”
That seemed to put him at ease. “Who’s going with you?”
That was the part that wouldn’t help. “Jason.”
He threw his hands up in the air, spinning away from me. “How the fuck is that better?”
“Duke, I know you have a hard time with this, but you’re gonna have to put a cork in it. I have a job to do. Jack is out there, and I have to do my part to keep him safe.”
He sighed heavily, staring at the ground. I knew he didn’t like this, but I couldn’t back down just to make him feel better. That was no way to live my life, and would really hurt my job.
“So, you came here for what?”
“Well, your approval. Cash said I had to have it.”
“And if I say no?”
I grinned as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “You already know the answer to that.” He grunted, his eyes narrowing in on my lips. “But I’ll make you a promise.”
“It’d better be good.”
“When I get back, we’ll start planning our wedding.”
“Nope.”
The smile that was on my face fell instantly. I thought we were on the same page, that we were going to get married and start a family. Even if I was uneasy about getting pregnant, I knew that it would make Duke happy, and that was something that took some time to get used to.
“Oh—” I started to step back, but he hooked his arm around my waist and dragged me closer. “We’re not waiting until you get back.”
“But I have to leave now.”
“You can wait another fucking half hour.”
“We haven’t signed a marriage license,” I reminded him.
