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“I know.”
“You can’t miss that.”
“The timing is shitty. But there’s nothing I can do, baby. I have to do my job.”
Fresh tears fell down her face.
I hated it. Fucking hated it. I held up a single finger. “One more time.”
“One time too many,” she whispered. She covered her face with her hands for an instant, giving her a second to control her quivering lip. “Doesn’t matter if it’s the last time. What you’re doing is still dangerous. You could still get killed—”
“Not gonna happen, baby.” Any other man would get fed up with her disapproval, but I was better than that. If I was going to make her cry, then I was going to be the one to listen to it. I would stand there as long as she needed me to, go in this circle as many times as it took before she could let me go. “I promise you.”
“You never know…”
“Ask any Barsetti, and they’ll tell you I’m the strongest man they’ve ever met.”
“Even the strongest regimes fall…”
“Not me, baby. I’m not doing this for the money anymore. I’m doing this job right because I have to get back to you. I have something to live for, not something to die for.”
She tilted her gaze to the floor, her tears glistening in the light. “Griffin, I’m never going to be okay with this… I don’t want you to leave.”
“I have to. The sooner I leave, the sooner I come back.”
“What if you don’t come back at all?”
I dropped the bag on the floor then moved my hands to her hips. “Baby, look at me.”
She kept her chin angled toward the floor, her eyes closed.
“Baby.” I could redirect her gaze with my hand, but I didn’t want to. I wanted her to look at me when she was ready, to obey me when she felt like it.
After thirty seconds, she finally looked into my eyes.
My hand wrapped around the back of her neck, keeping her in place as I spoke to her. “I will come back, baby. You can do this. This is the last time, and it’s over forever. Instead of worrying about me, be happy that you never have to do this again. This will be the last time. I promise you. Even if Max comes to me and asks for a favor, I will say no. I made it clear these would be my last jobs. That was the deal we made. I won’t change my mind. When I return, we’ll be starting a new life together. I have no idea what I’m going to do, but I will find something. So spend time picking out what house you want. When I get back, we’ll buy it.”
“I want to do that with you…”
“Then pick your favorites, and we’ll visit them together.”
She rested her palms against my chest, her breathing a little less shaky. The tears stopped falling, but her eyes were still wet. “Okay…”
I rested my forehead against hers. “Have faith in me, baby. Remember who I am. Remember what I’m capable of. You shouldn’t be worried about me, but all the men who face me.”
“I don’t care how strong you are, Griffin. My fear comes from love. Love makes me irrational, makes me paranoid. I’m so scared of losing you that even a one percent chance is too high.”
“It’s not even one percent, baby.” I pressed my lips to her forehead. “I want that list of houses when I get back. And hopefully I return before Sapphire goes into labor. But if I don’t…tell them congratulations for me.”
“I will.”
I rubbed my nose against hers. “I love you, baby.”
She started to cry again. “I love you too…”
I kissed her tears away before I turned my back on her and grabbed my bag. I walked out the front door without looking over my shoulder, unable to watch her cry as I left her. The only thing keeping me going was the fact that this was my last mission before permanent retirement. After this, it would be a quiet life of…I wasn’t even sure. I would have to find something to keep me busy. If Vanessa was working in the gallery all the time, I couldn’t hover over her and distract her. And I certainly couldn’t work out all the time. When this mission was complete, I would give it more serious thought.
I got on the way and headed to the airport. I called Max through my headset.
“On the road?” he asked.
“Ten minutes from the airport.”
“Alright. The guy will meet you in Morocco. Before you take the trip to the mountain, he’ll meet you with the artillery.”
“Good to know.”
“Bad mood, huh?” he asked.
“Vanessa…”
“Gives you shit every time you leave?”
“I wouldn’t phrase it like that. It’s just difficult for her. I keep telling her it’s my last mission, but that doesn’t make her feel better.”
