Page 63 of Unplanned Target

I’ve been real fucking lonely for a long time, and some days finding the person who fits with me felt like it was never going to happen. I was beginning to think I would end up alone while everyone around me found what they were looking for.

The relief at knowing that isn’t going to happen is immense. Now, the only thing standing between me and everything I want is figuring out the best way to make it happen without scaring Miranda off.

I’m sure I could get her back, but I don’t want to waste any more time. Especially now. Allie is only going to become more confident in who she is, and I love that. But it’s also going to be terrifying for Miranda since who Allie is might be a lot like who I am. Having me there to guide everyone through it, would be ideal. So I have to play my cards right.

Luckily, I’m pretty good at playing cards. Among other games.

I hunt through the property in search of Miranda, excited to tell her I avoided being sent out on another op. I also want to tell her about what happened with Luca, because I just want to tell her everything. I want to discuss the events of my day. I want to hear about hers. I want to be there for her while she’s there for me.

I want to give her everything she’s ever wanted, because I’m pretty confident that’s what I’ll be getting out of the deal.

A fact I’m even more certain of when I finally find her. She’s been taking walks around the property every day, but I haven’t paid much attention to where specifically she goes, or what she does. I figured she just wanted fresh air and a little exercise that didn’t involve her treadmill.

But now I see she might have had a specific destination in mind. A destination I find very interesting.

“Pretty view, isn’t it?” I lower to sit next to her on the rocky slope leading away from one of the building lots.

“I don’t know why I love it so much.” Miranda looks over Nashville as the sun sets. “It’s just a city, but when I sit here I imagine what it would be like to look out the windows of a house and have this be what stares back at you.”

“I imagined the same thing.” I turn my gaze from the setting sun to rest it on the woman beside me. “That’s why I bought this lot.”

Miranda’s eyes widen, jumping to meet mine. “You own this lot?”

I refocus on the skyline. “I do. Bought it right out of the gate when we started the neighborhood.” I pull in a lungful of the cool evening air. “I just haven’t pulled the trigger on building yet.”

Miranda twists in her spot to fully face me. “Do you have a house model picked out?”

“I haven’t done anything more than make the initial purchase.” And now I know why. “I don’t actually care much what a house looks like, so I could never choose an option.”

Miranda’s head tips, confusion pinching her brow. “You don’t care what your house looks like at all?”

I shake my head. “Not even a little bit.” I meet her gaze. “As long as the people I care about are inside it, nothing else matters to me.”

Miranda slowly smiles. “That’s a really great way of looking at things.” She sighs, eyes dropping to her lap. “I spent so much time and effort trying to make my house feel like it was somewhere I wanted to be, and now I’m not even a little interested in going back to it.” She meets my gaze. “Is that weird?”

“Not at all.” I smooth back a little of her hair as the wind tries to blow it into her face. “Especially since someone ruined all your hard work.”

“It doesn’t actually have anything to do with that.” She shrugs. “Even if it looked exactly the way I left it, I can’t make myself excited about returning to Memphis.”

I force myself to stay calm, trying to keep my tone even when I say. “Then don’t.”

I don’t want her to feel pressured. I don’t want her to know how much I want her to stay here in Nashville. How much I want her to stay with me. How much I want her to pick out whatever house will make her happy and fill it with all the floral print everything she can find.

“You make it sound so simple.” She turns to take in the skyline again. “And maybe it is. I do have a tendency to over complicate things.”

“Nothing wrong with that. Keeps you prepared.” I drape an arm around her shoulders when she shivers, pulling her close. “And you probably have plenty of time to think about it, because it doesn’t seem like shit’s calming down anytime soon.”

Her brows lift in surprise. “Did something happen?”

I fill her in on who Raven is and how I know her. Then explain that Zeke initially wanted me to go help her, but Luca basically demanded he be the one to step in.

“Interesting.” She gives me a sly smile. “I’ll have to remember to bake Luca some cookies as a thank you for taking one for the team.”

I chuckle. “I’m not sure the team is who he was thinking of when he peeled out of the parking lot.”

“It will be interesting to hear what happens.” Miranda wiggles her brows. “Maybe he’ll have to save her from the bad guys.”

“Oh, he’s definitely going to have to save her from the bad guys.” I shake my head. “I’m just not sure who’s going to save him from her, because I am afraid that woman is going to chew him up and spit him out.”