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Tyson sighs and gets up, pacing back and forth across the room. “This isn’t up for discussion, Aria.”
“No, this is very muchnotup for discussion because it’s not even a consideration. You willnotbe going after my father. There are other agents who can do that. You’re going to stay safe because I am not raising our baby without their father.”
“You’re going to stay here,” he says as he grabs the phone. “You’re safe here.”
“Like hell I am.” I get up and hurry out of the room, grabbing my gun from the box in the corner. I grab the car keys and put them in my pocket. “If you’re going, I’m going.”
“That’s not happening.”
“You’re damn right it’s not. Not without me. Now get your shit and let’s go.”
Tyson sighs and grabs his gun. A small wave of triumph rolls over me when I win. The feeling is short-lived as we head to the car. In a few hours, this could all be over. I might not have to worry about my father coming after me ever again. Or we might be dead. Either way, it’ll probably be over for good.
As we get in the car and leave the safe house behind, Tyson dials Jameson’s number.
26
TYSON
Aria sits behind the wheel, staring at the warehouse in front of us. There’re no people guarding the outside but I have no doubt that her father’s men are waiting just beyond the door. They’ll shoot first and never bother to ask questions.
“What’s the plan once we get in there?” Aria asks, backing the car behind a shipping container and hiding it from sight. “You do have a plan, don’t you?”
I roll my eyes and check my gun. “Of course I do. I’m going to go inside and you’re going to drive away. You’re going to go to the nearest police station and wait for Jameson to come get you.”
“Like hell I am. The backup isn’t even close to being here. Jameson said it would be an hour before they could get a full raid mobilized. Another thirty minutes to get here after that. You and I both know that you can’t walk into that building, take out all the men there, and hold onto my father until the FBI gets here.”
“Aria, I have to try. You know as well as I do that this is our one chance to end this once and for all. I can make it happen, but I need the element of surprise. We have that right now.”
She turns off the car and checks her own gun. “You’re not going in there alone. You either wait for backup or I go in too.”
I look at her, wondering how I’m going to convince her to stay in the car. Though I can try to mention our baby, she knows that she’s pregnant. She’s going to do whatever she wants regardless of what I say.
She always has.
But I have to try my hardest. I can’t bear the thought of her putting herself and the baby in danger.
“Aria, please. I can’t have you in there. If I have to worry about you too, then I can’t properly focus on dealing with your father.”
“That’s a load of bullshit and you know it. You keep telling yourself that, but we both know you can keep your emotions out of it. If you couldn’t, the FBI never would’ve taken you. Besides, I’ve been seeing you doing it with me day in and day out for months now.”
I roll my eyes. “We both know that’s not exactly the truth. If it were, you and I wouldn’t be here right now.”
Aria glares at me. She’s tiny but fearsome when she wants to be. There’s no doubt in my mind that going in there with her is safer than not, but I can’t allow her to put herself in danger.
“I need you to be safe, Aria.” I take her hands in mine. “Both of you.”
“And we need you to be safe too. You can’t ask me to just sit here and wait while you run into your death. That’s not fair! I won’t let it happen. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“That doesn’t mean that I’m not going to try my hardest to make you see my side.” I take a deep breath. The emotions she accuses me of keeping out of it are boiling inside me and I can’t keep them in anymore. Looking deep into her eyes, I take the leap. “I love you, Aria. And I love our child. So much it kills me inside.” Her eyes dance between mine trying to find a lie in my words, but I’ve never been more truthful in my life. “That means that I am going to do whatever it takes to protect both of you. Which also means that you’re going to do what I ask for the first time in your life.”
“Do you mean that?” she whispers, vulnerability showing for the first time in her voice.
I move as close to her as the car allows and cup her face with my hands. She sighs and leans into my touch, closing her eyes. I brush my lips over hers.
“I mean that, Aria. I do love you and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you and our baby safe.”
“I love you too.” She takes a deep breath. “This feeling scares the ever-loving hell out of me. I’ve spent all this time trying to avoid falling for you. I’ve been taught my entire life to protect my heart from people like you. But I couldn’t. Not when I didn’t even see it coming. I fell for you without even knowing I was falling.”
