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I turn my face away when he strokes my jaw. “She’s protecting her family. I think it’s different to blackmailing someone when it’s for your family instead of money.”
“They’re not good people, Lib. No matter what they do or don’t know, no matter what they have to tell me, they’re not good.”
“You might be right. Maybe they’re not perfect, but I don’t believe that they’re bad either.” I swallow and meet his eyes. “Kinda like you, I suppose. Not good, but not bad.”
His brows pull closer. “I’m not a bad person. I’ve never hurt an innocent.”
I cup his hand and press it to my good cheek. The pain is growing, not easing, and makes me fear for tomorrow. “Sometimes, when it was necessary, you would steal things to help your mom make ends meet.” I turn and press my lips to his palm. “Sometimes we have to do what we have to do to survive, and as long as it’s not done cruelly or hurting the innocent, it’s fair game. Right? It means you aren’t good in the eyes of the law, but it doesn’t make you a bad person either. It just means you were given a shitty hand, and you’re doing your best to survive without stepping on someone in the process.” I step close enough that our toes touch, and when I place my hands on his hips and pull him in, we touch from the floor to our chests.
Then he closes the circle and presses his lips to my brow.
“I can go with you to see them,” I whisper. “I have your back. I’ve had it since I was a child.”
“Libby?” His hot breath moves over my skin and forces my eyes closed. I haven’t felt this comfortable this quickly with a man since… ever. “Babe?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think a boy can fall in love when he’s eleven?”
My heart thunders, lodging in my throat and rendering me speechless.
“Do you think it’s possible he held onto it this whole time? That we possess this pair of hearts that just couldn’t detach in all this time, despite the fact they should have? It was one hour.” He cups the other side of my face with the gentlest touch and draws my eyes up. “They were just children, but she saved him on all of those lonely nights in the streets. She saved him just by existing.”
“And he saved her,” I whisper. “He was the only friend she had for a decade, even if he was dead.”
His bright eyes soften as he pulls me closer. “And now we’re here. In this hotel, in the same town. I’ve already tasted you, because your body knows what your heart knows. Your brain is the only thing that has to catch up.” He leans in and presses a gentle kiss to my tender lips. “It shouldn’t feel like this, right? This isn’t normal.”
“It’s not normal for me,” I answer quietly. “It’s impossible.”
“And yet, here we are.”
“We can be on the same team, Gunner. We can have each other’s backs. But I won’t walk with you if you’re hurting people you literally don’t know. I cannot get on board with that.”
“You would be with me?” He pulls back and shows me a shaky smile. “What about your reputation?”
“Well…” My heart skips to a stop. “Would I be with Gunner Bishop; the dude with really unfortunate lineage? Or Theo Griffin, the dude with questionable money?”
He chuckles. “I swear to God, every cent is accounted for and thoroughly audited. It’s not dirty money.”
“How can I know?” I press. “How can you expect me to believe your company turns over that kind of money?”
“Because…” he hesitates. “I have the records to back it up. I have proof.”
“Does it bother you that I question your accounts?”
He nods. “I worked hard for that money, and while I was hustling, you were my only companion. For you to question it stings a little.”
“Right…” I pat his chest and ignore the sting that still pulses in my hand. “So when we speak to Sophia, perhaps you can remember that about her money.”
His eyes narrow when he catches on. “Whose fucking side are on you on, Elizabeth? You’re awfully fucking defensive of that family you supposedly don’t know.”
I turn away on a laugh, but make it barely two steps before his arm wraps around my stomach and my small laugh turns into silly giggles. I don’t recognize this giggling version of myself, but Gunner doesn’t care as he picks me up and tosses me to the bed.
My brain rejects the swift movement, but the bed is soft like a cloud, and mercifully, it absorbs my weight rather than bounces me. Then Gunner follows and climbs over top. He rests his knee between my legs, his hands on either side of my head, then he blocks out the harsh lights from the ceiling when he’s all I can see.
His strong jaw. His bright eyes that have hurt way too much for way too long. His shoulders are strong, broad, and seem to expand as his muscles bunch and he holds himself above me.
“Stay with me, beautiful Libby? You can’t go home anyway. Someone needs to make sure you wake up again.”
