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“I can’t risk anyone else dying. Not for me.”
I press her into my chest, arms around her, and scan the street, searching for anyone out of place. Anyone with a bulge below a suit coat. Watching the hands of every passerby. We’re sitting ducks.
I maneuver her to the side, next to a building, and scan the street, searching for the black Range Rover.
“I’m sorry I worried you. I thought about leaving a note?—”
“And why didn’t you?” She opens her mouth to answer. “Not that it would’ve mattered. Do you have any idea how scared I was? All the shit going through my head. Visions of what they might do to you. You realize I’m trained to know the absolute worst interrogation and torture techniques, right?” Her bottom lip quivers and tears flow heavily. I’ve unleashed a geyser. “Sage, these aren’t good people. They killed Felix.”
“I know! That’s why?—”
“You were going to hand yourself over to them.” It’s a statement. Not a question. And I grit my teeth, hating that Jack was fucking right. She doesn’t value herself.
“No one else is going to die for me. No one.” Her palm flattens against my chest.
“Baby, let me explain something to you. Felix didn’t die for you. He died on the job. A job he loved. You should’ve heard the sermon today. Ryan explained it better than I could’ve. He died upholding justice and protecting the innocent. That’s you, babe. The innocent. You didn’t ask for any of this.”
“No, but…didn’t you hear Sloane? They won’t hurt me. I just need to go to them, and then she and I will get out of whatever she’s involved in.”
I tilt her chin up to me. Red splotches cover her tear-streaked face. Those brown eyes are glassy. She’s sad. Determined. Completely misguided. And I’m completely and totally in love with her. There’s no way in hell I’ll let those bastards come near her.
“Sage. Babe, I need you to listen to me. Are you listening?” She blinks, and more tears fall. “You can’t trust those men. Sloane was under duress. You can’t trust what she says. People will say anything in those situations. They have to, to stay alive. You can’t trust anything she said in that video.”
“But—”
“No.” I put my finger over her pale pink lips. “You’re not going to them. They aren’t getting their hands on you. Not while I’m alive.” She looks up at me, and damn if more tears don’t fall. “I love you, Sage. Do you hear me? I love you so goddamn much. I don’t think I fully realized how much until I thought I’d lost you.”
“Don’t say that.” She can’t mean it. “You can do so much better than me. And…and…you don’t understand.”
A black Range Rover approaches. I give a hand signal for Max to loop around again as I try to process what she’s saying to me. “Sage, what are you getting at? Are you not healthy? Do you need another transplant?”
“I mean, no, but it’s?—”
“Sage. What’re you saying?”
“I just…”
“Are you going to need another transplant?”
“It doesn’t work like that. You don’t just get a new heart.” She swipes her nose and sniffles.
“Tell it to me like I’m a kindergartener. Are you sick? Right now. Are you sick?”
“No.”
“Well, then?—”
“I’m good. Now, I’m good. But my longevity is…it’s not promising. And, you know how bad it can get. You were there, before the…” She rubs the side of her hand above her breasts. A familiar movement, one I suspect she does without thinking. “You deserve the best?—”
I stop her by pressing my lips flat against hers.
“Do you love me?” She nods. More tears fall. “If you love me, then I have all I want. The best for me.” The truth is dizzying. And I hold tighter to her arms for balance. But I’ve never been more positive about something. Never more sure.
“I debated buying a plane ticket home. Back to Asheville. Figured they’d definitely find me there, but I thought I might put Jimmy in danger.”
“Going back to Asheville to draw them out isn’t the worst idea. But it’s not the best.”
“What’s the best?”
