AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I sat down on a chair across from hers. “I didn’t know your brother’s victims had it coming, or I’d have said no to the job. But as much as you might hate me for what I’m going to say next: I’m glad I didn’t know. I’m glad I took it.”
Her fiery eyes shot up at mine.
“Otherwise, I’d have never met you.”
Her gaze lowered again as she started to play with a loose string on the chair’s cushion. “You know what I hate myself for the most right now?” she asked. “When we first walked in here, I was so worried you’d show me the home and confess to having a wife and kids. I was terrified to look at the pictures on the walls because I didn’t know if I could handle seeing the face of the woman you love and married. But then I did anyway, and you know what? When I first saw you in that police uniform and not in a wedding suit, I felt so relieved. Isn’t that pathetic?” A new round of tears ran down her cheeks. “So at least tell me, Noah, was this,” she pointed between the two of us, “was this all nothing but dutiful, meaningless fuc—"
“No!” I cut her off, not even letting her finish the terrible thought. “No, it wasn’t. Just like Thor and the garden, everything I told you about how I feel about you is real.”
I rose to my feet; she tilted her head back to look up at me.
“You have to believe me. Even though I’m sure you hate me right now and never want to see me again, you have to know the truth about how I feel about you.”
“Please stop.”
“I can’t—”
Mila rose to her feet. “I said stop.”
My hand shot for her wrist, grasping it gently so she could pull free if she wanted to. I felt the cold metal of the gold bracelet under my touch. Her eyes dropped to my hand.
“Mila.” My voice was soft and kind. “Please look at me.”
She shook her head.
“Baby...” I ran my hand down her wet cheek, caught a tear with my finger, and wiped it away. “Look at me.”
Slowly, her gaze moved up my chest and finally found mine. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying; I felt like my chest was going to cave in. For a moment, we just stood there, looking at each other as if we were searching for the truth.
“I...”—still looking at me, she shook her head, but I had to say it anyway—“I love you.”
“No, you don’t. You’re a liar, and I’m a stupid, naive little girl.” She looked away, but I gently turned her chin to look at me again.
“I’m sorry for lying to you about who I am. But you have to believe me. I love you. More than I’ve ever loved anything else or ever will again.”
The air around us seemed to swallow my words, leaving us both standing in silence. We stood there as if neither of us knew a way out of this terrible situation, no matter how much we wanted it. It was Mila who broke the silence first.
“What about Andrei? Will you at least let me handle the situation with him and trust me that he won’t hurt anybody ever again? He told me he wanted out. This might be the chance for him to finally go through with it.”
My hand dropped to my waist.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Mila studied my motion; then her hands shot up to her lips in shock.
“No,” she whispered, pushing me out of her way. “You arrested him!” A desperate cry escaped her lungs as she ran to the front door.
“It’s too late,” I shouted, running after her. “There was nothing I could’ve done.”
Mila ignored me, tearing the front door wide open. It slammed against the wall.
“Mila, wait!”
She had already jumped the stairs when I was out the front door myself. I found her standing motionless on the walkway in my front yard. Blue lights were flashing from three cop cars, one undercover and two patrol vehicles, right in front of my house.
I reached for my badge in my pocket.
“Looks like your back-up is here for me,” Mila snapped. “I wish you’d have let them arrest me at the hotel room and spared me this little drama at your house.”
