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She nods along as she eats mindlessly, her entire brain likely trying to determine if I’m lying to her.
But I’m not.
I’ll never lie to her. Others, sure. Her, never.
I’m loyal to those I love.
“What if I decided that I didn’t want you in my life? Would you leave?” Her question hangs heavy between us, and I swallow against its weight.
“I would. But I would never be far, Carina. I’d be in every shadow you passed. The edge of every dream. Every alleyway. Hidden in every tree. Lurking behind every corner.”
She breathes in but holds my eye contact.
“I meant it, Carina. You’re mine. I’ll give you whatever you want. If you don’t want me here, I won’t be. But you’ll never be alone again.”
I mean every word.
“When I’m with you, I feel like I’m losing my mind. You feel safe, you feel like home. But you’re a killer. A person who makes things disappear. Someone who almost made me disappear.”
I come around the bar, and she turns in her stool to face me. Her teal robe slips a little, the top of her breast teasing me in the warm morning light.
“I think that’s what called me to you. I think that’s why I couldn’t forget you after that day in the market,” I admit.
She quirks a brow in question.
“Because you and I had unfinished business. I needed to right my wrongs against you. And though I can never give you back your sister, or your memories, I can protect you for the rest of your days. And love you to the ends of time.”
Her breath hitches. “You can’t love me. You don’t know me.”
I scoff. “Love has no timeframe. There’s no minimums or maximums to feelings, Carina. I know myself, and I know I love you. And what you do with that is your own business.”
“You didn’t kill my sister,” she whispers as I reach up and cup her cheek gently. Her eyes close, her face leaning into my touch.
I love these moments between us. How far she lets her walls drop when she feels me near. How one touch between us changes the particles in the air.
“I know that. But I ruined your chance of knowing where she was. Of her having a funeral. Even though I didn’t know it, I hid her from you. And I am sorry.”
She opens her eyes, her face still in my palm. They pin me in place, the world seeming to go on around us, while she and I are suspended in time. “Did you kill Conner?”
I shake my head. “No.”
She nods. “We need to find out who did. It’s too much of a coincidence. Do you think your father…” she trails off, likely worrying she’s just offended me.
“It’s crossed my mind since I found out. But I have people watching his every move, and they all say he’s not involved in this. I do think it’s too much of a coincidence, though. I agree with you there.”
“I’m going to go back to work for Emery when this is all over.” I know she’s said it to test how I’ll react, and I smirk at her brazenness.
“You know, as much as I think Emery Stanner is a blond-headed twat, he seems like a good man. I’ve vetted him, long before you even stepped foot in his building for your first day of work. I won’t stand in your way.”
She smiles. “You two have a hate for one another, that’s for certain.”
I cup her face with both hands, leaning forward and kissing her forehead. “No, little one, we both have a love for you. It pits us against one another naturally.”
She scoffs. “He doesn’t—Well, I don’t think he…”
“Trust me. He does.”
“Well, I don’t have feelings for him like that. There was a moment…”
