Page 29 of Colombian Chemistry

“They had your picture. That was you, right?”

“Yeah. That was my photo.”

“So there goes that idea. They are definitely after you. And you can’t think of any reason why? I mean, now that we’re being honest.”

“None. I honestly have no idea. I’m just a Harvard Chemistry student, and my dad is an environmental chemist.”

“Could your dad have gotten mixed up with the cartel? Or is he working on anything special that the cartel would be interested in?”

Irene choked on her laugh. “My dad working with the cartel? No. No way. He’s an even straighter arrow than me. Definitely not that. And unless the cartel is interested in natural, sustainable products, I can’t think of anything he could do for them.”

“Definitely not their cup of tea. And your mom? Any reason they should want you because of her?”

Irene swallowed. “She died when I was fifteen. Cancer.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

“She was a brilliant mathematician.” Irene’s eyes softened with her nostalgic smile. “And beautiful too.”

“Ah, a mathematician. I suppose that’s where you get your expertise on the statistics and shit you’re always spewing.” I stopped short of mentioning that must also be where she got her looks.

She chuckled. “Yeah. My mom was always rattling off statistics, and I guess I learned it from her. Honestly, I’d planned on following in her footsteps to become a mathematician until she died. After that, I wanted to do everything I could to help prevent cancer, and math wasn’t the answer. It’s part of why my father and I are so hell-bent on trying to rid the world of all these toxic cancer-causing chemicals. He used to do more commercial chemistry stuff working with a lot of harmful products and drugs, but he switched his focus to environmental chemistry after she died. We don’t want anyone to go through what we went through. No one should have to watch the ones they love die a slow and painful death. We loved her so much, and I wouldn’t wish that pain on my worst enemy.”

A tear slid down her cheek. She looked so sad. So soft. So in need of comfort.

My fingers moved to wipe the tear from her face, but I came to my senses and stopped them before I brushed it away.

That part of me that once lived so prominently inside awakened again underneath her solemn gaze. It was the part of me that joined the military because I wanted to help people. Save people. Make a difference. It was the same part of me that shattered when I’d realized how corrupt our world was after learning what went down behind the scenes. Every time I stared into the eyes of the worst of humanity, it died a little more. Eventually, it got extinguished completely. When I’d retired from Elite Stealth Force, I’d resigned myself to a life just letting the bad people tear each other apart because I knew there was nothing any of us could do to truly stop them. It was pointless. A lost cause. It was too much... too much ugliness.

And then I’d met Irene.

As much as I could sense the darkness in men, see the depth of hatred in their eyes, I could feel the light in Irene. She was pure goodness. She radiated it from every inch of her body, and it reminded me that there were still things on this fucked up planet worth fighting for. It’d been so long since I’d met anyone worth saving that I’d forgotten they even existed. That drive I’d had to save the world had gone out when I’d decided maybe the world wasn’t worth saving. Too much hatred and brutality to feel anything but hopelessness.

And then Irene’s light broke through the never-ending darkness.

One look into her eyes and that burning desire to protect and save reignited inside me once again. And every time I looked at her, I felt the flames burning higher and higher. They burned alongside another kind of flame I’d forgotten existed... a flame of passion for a woman that went deeper than just a one-night stand. Irene was different from all the women I’d met in my life. She was smart. Beautiful. Caring. Innocent. Too good to be used for a simple night of raw pleasure. Deep down, I knew that I could never breach that barrier with her no matter how tight my dick got in my pants every time I looked at her. Something about Irene connected to something deep inside of me, and I knew that if I spent one night with her, it would never be enough. I’d want to be with her again and again... and having a woman in my life wasn’t something I could do.

Ever.

Spending one night with her would open me up to a torture that I’d never been trained to endure. It would leave me wanting more and more of her, like a drug addict needing a fix they could never have again. I knew it as certainly as I knew she wouldn’t survive if I didn’t help her get to Bogotá.

As I stared at the beautiful face of the woman lying next to me, I swallowed down the need to lean over and press my lips to hers. Even though I couldn’t have her in my life, couldn’t risk my darkness snuffing out her light, I still wouldn’t let any harm come to her. She needed me, and somehow, I needed her too. Even if my past and my dangerous life meant I could never have her as my own, I needed to know a woman like Irene Saltzman existed in this world. A woman so good and caring and kind... the opposite from what I’d grown to know in my life.

She had to live, and with me at her side, she would.

“We’ll find him,” I said.

“Wait. We?” she asked, confused. “I thought you were leaving me to my own devices tomorrow, and we’d go our separate ways.”

I wanted to stop the words from coming out of my mouth, stop myself from enduring more torture having to spend time with Irene, not being able to touch her like I wanted, but they tumbled out anyway. “I’ll help you get to Bogotá.”

Her eyes lit up. “You will? Seriously?”

I exhaled a deep breath. “Yes. Seriously.”

“Marcus! Thank you!” She rolled over and tossed her arms around my neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

My breath trapped in my lungs when her arms closed around me. Emotions I’d never felt in my life exploded inside me like a grenade. My heart hammered against my ribcage as I felt the warmth radiating off her body. Slowly, I closed my arms around her small waist, closing my eyes while I hugged her back. We remained in our tight embrace for what felt like an eternity I never wanted to end but was more accurately only five seconds. Irene slowly pulled away from me as I loosened my embrace. When I opened my eyes, her face hovered just above my own.