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"Yeah," I murmur, answering the question brimming there. "We came together, cara. He's responsible for a good number of the men at your feet."
"He came for me," she whispers. Her tone breaks my heart for her. The fact that she doubted he would. The fact that she's happy he did. To me, he's always been the enemy…but to her, he's always been her father. Family never stops being family, even when they break your fucking heart. I think I forgot that somewhere along the way.
"He loves you. Everything he's done lately, he did to protect you," I say, setting them both free. "You don't have to believe him or forgive him, but you should know that I believe him."
Her teeth sink into her bottom lip, and then she nods.
Domani and her father reach us.
"Alamilla's dead," Domani says without preamble.
"The guns are here. They leave with you."
He jerks his chin in a nod. "We found them. Mattia and Diego are already on the way to help load them up." His gaze drifts to Karina at my side. "You should get out of here."
Karina doesn't notice his eyes on her. She's staring at her father.
"Thank you," she whispers to him. Her words tremble but stand strong. "For everything."
Miles is a statue carved from granite, his hard eyes softening just enough to indicate he heard her. He nods, once, sharply. "You never should have been here in the first place, kid," he says.
I think it's the closest to an apology he's ever come.
His eyes find mine. "Get her out of here. We'll hold it down until the guns are out of play."
I nod, more than happy to get her the fuck out of here. And then I pause. "Our deal still stands."
"I know," he says. "I won't try to change it now."
"Come on," I urge, tugging Karina gently toward the doors and the freedom waiting beyond—freedom from this place, freedom from the past, and freedom from the sins of her father.
Chapter Twelve
Karina
Coda and I don't speak as we race through the murky early-dawn light toward his condo, but the silence between us isn't strained. It's peaceful, easy.
I forgave him hours ago…right about the time I realized there are bigger monsters in this city than he could ever be. He's flawed and imperfect, but he isn't evil, and I don't believe he set out to hurt me. If he had, I don't think he would have come to save me with my father at his side.
He would have left me there. But he didn't. Because that's not Coda. The man I love is dark and complicated, mired in shadow, but he's loyal. It hurts to know that he ever thought about using me. But can I really judge him so harshly?
He didn't know me. All he knew was the taste of vengeance. He'd carried it since he was a little boy. If it guided his hands the night we met, can I really castigate him for it?
No. If love isn't betrayal, it isn't demanding either. It doesn't expect perfection, especially from one who has never loved before. He's given me every piece of himself every step of the way.
He's loved me, fiercely, wildly, so perfectly that it hurts not to have his arms around me and his body moving against mine. He's protected me with the rage of an avenging angel—merciless and unyielding. And he's changed for me, in ways so profound I don't think he even realizes he's changed yet.
He isn't the same man I met at the party.
And I'm not that girl, either.
We're something different now. Something stronger. We built that together.
He pulls into the parking garage and kills the engine. Before I can reach for my seatbelt, he places his hand over mine. "I've got you, cara."
I meet his gaze and nod.
He circles around the SUV to me. My heart pounds as he pulls my door open and leans over me. His intoxicating scent—now laced with gunpowder—swirls around me.
