Page 63 of Colombian Chemistry

She paused and looked at me with tears streaming down her face. It killed me to see them there, but we were running out of time.

“Go, Irene! Hurry!”

She swallowed hard and shook her head, then started running toward the plane. Knox stuck his head out the door, waving at her to hurry. Irene made it six yards from me before stopping and running back.

“What are you doing? Get to the plane!” I started running toward her.

She launched into my arms and held me tight, sobbing into my shoulder.

“I know,” I said as I kissed her head. “But we don’t have a choice. You have to go.”

“I just want you to know that even though I’ll never understand it, and it makes no sense, the feelings that I have for you aren’t just chemicals. All my life I’ve thought that people were stupid, and they just didn’t understand their attraction was a biological need to reproduce, and that love wasn’t real. But it is real. And I feel it. And it’s not just oxytocin or nature’s need to force us into reproducing. I... I...” She bit her lip as she struggled to say the words I knew she wanted to. The words that were mirror images of my own.

I stopped her with a raised hand and then uttered the words I’d never said to anyone in my whole life. Not my mom, not my dad, not any girlfriend who’d breezed through my past. The three words had been saved for her and her alone.

With a smile, I said, “I love you too, Irene.”

Her face lifted into a bright smile as she touched my face.

“You do?”

“Yes. And I can’t explain it either. But I’m not as smart as you, so that’s not surprising.” I chuckled.

“I do, Marcus. I love you. And I’ll always love you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I’ll wait for you. No matter how long it takes.”

“The best way you can thank me is by staying alive. Now go, Irene. They’re almost here. I’ll hold them off while you two get away.”

“Promise me that I’ll see you again.”

“Irene. I can’t prom—”

“Promise me!” she shouted, glancing over her shoulder at the direction the cartel would arrive from. “I’m not getting on that plane until you promise!”

I stood staring at her, struggling to form the answer I so desperately wanted to say... to burn the demons from my past into ash and watch them blow away in the wind.

A gust of wind blew up her hair, and she pushed it out of her face. “I decide what risks I want to take in my life, and I choose you. I choose to take whatever risks that come our way and handle them together. Don’t make me live without you, Marcus. Please.”

After spending so many years thinking I couldn’t settle down, couldn’t endanger anyone with my lifestyle, I reminded myself that those days were gone. It was safe for me now. I could let someone into my life... let Irene into my life. And even if they did come back, even if my past found its way into my present, I would protect her. I would always protect her. The realization that this goodbye didn’t have to be forever slammed into me like a Mack truck and sent my heart racing.

I glanced over and saw the dust clouds coming toward us, knowing the cartel would be here any second. I slid my hands onto her face and stared into those blue eyes, begging me for an answer. I uttered the promise that I hoped that I could keep. “Okay. I promise. It may take me some time to take care of all of this, but I promise you, the minute it’s safe, I’ll find you.”

“How long? How long until I can see you again?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know, Irene. It could be a while before it’s safe. Could be months, maybe even years. But that won’t matter if the cartel gets here and kills us all. But no matter how long it takes, just know that I love you. I’ll always love you. Now go!”

She jumped at the sound of my voice and started running, but I caught her by the wrist and yanked her back into my arms. I bent her backward with the force of my kiss, relishing the taste of her tongue and inhaling the sweetness of her skin one last time. Long before I’d had my fill, I stood her back up.

“Now go.”

She rose on her toes and kissed me one last time. I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces when her soft hands released my face. I knew I’d promised her I’d see her again, and I meant it, but in order to keep her safe, I needed to do more than just save her father... I needed to take down an entire cartel. As long as the Jungle Kings existed, she’d never be safe. Eradicating a major cartel wasn’t something I could do in the span of a few days. And even being apart for a few seconds felt like a torture I didn’t know if I could endure. Not knowing the next time I’d feel her in my arms again nearly dropped me to my knees.

“I love you, Marcus,” she whispered one last time before spinning on her heel and bolting toward the plane.

Knox helped her up the stairs and waved at me once before pulling the door shut.

The red Jeeps carrying a dozen cartel tore around the corner onto the airstrip as I heard the engine of the plane growing louder. It started its slow crawl down the runway, and I saw one Jeep heading straight at it. They were going to try to stop it.

With a growl, I reached into the car and pulled out the duffle bag. I clutched the assault rifle in my hand and propped it up on top of the car I now used as a shield. Bullets started flying in my direction, but I ignored them. I aimed at the engine but knew the bullets of my AR15 wouldn’t penetrate the hard steel. Instead, I redirected my aim to the tires, shooting several times before a loud pop preceded the first Jeep skidding to a sideways stop. I easily picked off every member of the cartel as they jumped for safety.