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“In a hotel or a mountain cabin?”
“Cabin,” she answered. “With a fireplace and chocolate ice cream.”
He chuckled. “We can make that happen.”
“I haven’t had chocolate ice cream in a while,” she said, her voice fading.
“Chocolate ice cream it is.” He held her close, loving how she fit against him. He closed his eyes, letting the stress of the day wane.
Her fingers curled into his shirt. “Judge?”
“Mmm?”
“Have you ever hit a woman?”
His eyes popped open. “No. Never.” He frowned. “Why do you ask?”
She shrugged. “Some guys hit their girlfriends. I just wondered if you were some guy.”
He tipped her chin up to the starlight. “I would never hit a woman. And certainly, not one I love.”
A single tear slid down PJ’s cheek. “I believe you.”
“Damn right, you should. And if anyone tries to hurt you, I’ll tear him apart.”
“I can take care of myself,” she said. “Now.” She gave him a crooked smile. “TCW gave me that. They taught me how to fight and defend myself.”
Judge brushed his lips across hers. “Did your last boyfriend hit you?”
She reached up and cupped his face in her palm. “The past is the past. All we have is the present and future.”
TCW had taught her more than how to defend herself physically. By default, they’d helped her shove the bad memories of the past behind her.
She stared up into his eyes, the starlight reflecting off her brown eyes, a frown denting her forehead. “I’m afraid.”
He smoothed a strand of her hair from her cheek. “Of the meeting with Augustus?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m afraid I can’t go home.”
“Why?”
She looked away from him. “I’m not the same person I was when I left.”
“Your family will love you anyway.”
“Will they?” She shook her head. “I was trained to be an assassin. I killed to keep my family and friends safe. In truth, I should be in jail.”
“Were they bad guys?” he asked.
“The worst,” she admitted. “One was a drug dealer who also raped twelve-year-old boys. He tried to get Wiley to sell drugs to the patrons of the bar where he worked part-time. When he refused, the man threatened to kill him if he didn’t.”
“Sounds like you did the world a favor.”
She shrugged. “Doesn’t make it right. There are laws and courts to determine one’s guilt or innocence.”
“True.”
“He died in a car crash,” PJ said.
