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31
LIAM
SHE’S SO GODDAMN beautiful.
I can’t believe I went this long without seeing her.
“What are you doing here?” Her voice doesn’t crack like I expected it to, and it isn’t soft like it used to be. Instead, it’s hard, confused, and not so nice.
“I told you I’d come back,” I say, standing up from the bed. I put the framed picture I was studying back on her nightstand and take a step toward her. I don’t get far due to the gun that is still pointed at me.
“Two years…” Her tone is exasperated, her head shaking with disbelief. “Two years ago, you made me that promise.”
“And I’m here to keep it.” I never intended to take this long, or to be here for more than one reason.
She scoffs and raises the gun again, like I’m an enemy. Maybe I am in her eyes. “You don’t get to come into my life like this. I’ve made something of myself. I have a real career, a real life.”
I nod at her, eyeing her uniform. I knew she worked for the police department, but I didn’t realize she was an officer. It isn’t exactly a safe job, and not something I ever thought I’d see Margaret doing, but I guess I didn’t know her like I thought I did.
“I realize things have changed…”
“Yeah, ya think?” I try not to smirk at her snarky tone. The spice that attracted me in the first place is still firmly intact. “This is pathetic—truly, really pathetic, Liam. I don’t know what you want but—"
“You.” I walk forward until the gun is pressed into my chest. “You gonna shoot me, Mo?” I ask, my voice low, an attempt to draw out the girl I once knew. This isn’t that girl anymore, though; she is all woman. The Mo I once knew isn’t the only one there now. There is a maturity to her, an air of authority that surrounds her, one I find appealing.
“I don’t know,” she replies, lifting her chin and cocking her head to the side. “Do I have a reason to?”
I don’t answer. Does she have a reason to? Probably. There are things I’ve done that shouldn’t be forgiven just because of my job, but have I ever purposefully hurt Mo? Never. I don’t intend to either.
“Where have you been?” she asks, taking a step back.
“Russia.” I watch her head snap back in surprise.
“Russia,” she murmurs. It’s not a question, and her brain—the one that has been trained to put the pieces together—starts churning. I see it when she gets it. “You had to finish the mission.”
“I did.” I leave off a bit of information on purpose, given that her gun is still aimed at me.
“I thought after we got Anton, that was it.”
“That’s what I thought, too, but as it turned out, he was a very small part of the bigger picture.” I reach up and push the gun down. She doesn’t release it, but she does lower it to her side. I take a minute to take in her features. She’s even more gorgeous than I remember, and her face was a permanent fixture in my mind for the last two years. Her hair is back to its rich chocolate color and almost as long as it was when we met. It makes me want to throw her down on the bed and get back to where we were, but it’s her eyes that stop me. There’s a wariness there, something holding her back, and I know it would be foolish of me to rush this too much.
She’s not ready.
“So, did you finish it then?” she asks, walking around me, putting space between us.
I keep my hands at my sides, turning to follow her movements and resisting the urge to pull her back. “I did, for the most part.” I’m not technically lying.
“So…” She pauses, licking her lips. “What now?”
“Now, we make love, we live that life I promised, we work normal jobs, and we love the fuck out of each other.” I don’t actually say any of that, of course, but I want to. “Now…it’s up to you,” I say instead, letting her take us in the direction she needs to go.
I would do anything for her, even keep a lid on my feelings.
“I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“Are you seeing anyone?” I didn’t think so. I kept tabs on her through the FBI and there was no indication that she was, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t miss something.
“Not really.”
