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I was too mad about the whole situation to appreciate how scared I was. I was too angry to even think about what the world would be like if Cassandra Cantrell’s light had been snuffed out.
It was so close.
She was so fucking close to slipping out of my grasp.
“Hans, Baby.” One of her hands slides over to press against my chest. Pressing over my racing heart. “It’s okay. I’m right here.”
Another swell of emotion fills my body.
Baby.
No one has ever called me by an endearment.
No one except Cassandra when she called me a grizzly bear.
No one has ever had the right to.
No one I wanted to hear it from.
Her knee presses into my thigh as she turns toward me, and the arm not reached across between us twists around mine, hugging my arm to her body even as my fingers dig into her thigh.
Until now.
I force my lungs to fill, my expanding chest pressing against her palm.
“Call me that again,” I rasp.
Her hand moves in a small circle. “Baby?”
I nod.
“It’s okay, Baby.” Cassandra presses a kiss on my shoulder. “I’m right here. I’m safe.”
Her sweet breath is close enough for me to taste.
My favorite girl with a mouth flavored like my favorite candy.
My exhale is rough, but my next inhale is smooth.
Her hand makes another circle over my heart. “That’s it. You’re good, Baby.”
She kisses my shoulder again, then rests her temple against it.
My muscles start to loosen.
I take another breath.
I’ve never had a breakdown, or whatever that just was, in front of anyone before. But if decades of working to rid the world of evil has taught me anything, it’s to embrace the good.
I haven’t had much good. But the woman next to me, she’s my good in this world.
And losing her would destroy me.
After a moment, Karmine breaks the silence. “What do you need me to do?”
My voice is steady when I speak again. “I’m going to need intel. When we find out who he works for, we can cross it with names on incoming shipments.”
“They might be expecting you,” Karmine points out. “If there are breadcrumbs to follow, we’ll have to assume it’s a trap.”
