Page 78 of Thaddeus

“You don’t wait, Doll. Two hours. Period. Not a second longer. If we’re not back, you and Emerson bounce. We’ll catch you at the rendezvous point. There are no friendlies in the area, be ready.”

“Brooks, I got it,” she told her husband.

“All you need is the go-bag and your packs, leave everything else. There’s extra magazines and ammo for you—”

“Not my first rodeo, cowboy. We’ll be fine,” Tatiana reminded him.

“Right,” Brooks mumbled unhappily.

“Great, that’s settled. Let’s roll,” Declan announced, and my nerves hit an all-time high.

Shit. He was leaving. This was real.

The guys grabbed their masks and rifles off the bed. Declan, Max, and Kyle headed for the door, Brooks went to Tatiana, and Thaddeus made his way to me.

“Be safe,” I whispered, staring at his chest.

His hand went to my chin and he tilted my head back, forcing me to meet his gaze.

Damn. This was harder than I thought.

“Always. Se agapó.”

“You, too,” I returned.

Thaddeus gave me a smile, one that was meant to be reassuring, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He bent forward, brushed his lips against mine, and mumbled, “Be back soon. Please follow Tatiana’s lead if something happens.”

“I will.”

With another chaste kiss, he pulled back and was gone.

Damn.

When the door closed behind the guys, Tatiana turned to me.

“What was all that smoke in the courtyard?” she asked.

“We burned all my stuff.”

“No shit? Everything? The clothes, heels…everything?”

“Yep. I didn’t want to carry the weight of my past and Thaddeus wanted it to burn. So that’s what we did.”

A wide smile formed, and hers did reach her eyes. They sparkled and tiny creases deepened at the sides.

“I love that,” she breathed.

“I do, too.”

“I give it two weeks.”

Her statement knocked the wind out of my sails, and the already nervous feeling in my stomach turned sour.

“What?”

“Fifty bucks says it won’t be more than two weeks until he hauls your ass to the nearest chapel and makes you Mrs. Emerson Bench.”

“You’re crazy.”