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“What?” I said.
“You’re still here.”
“Of course I am.”
“I had the horrible feeling I’d dreamed it all and I was going to wake up and you were gone.”
I smiled. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He pulled me against him and gave me one of those full-bodied hugs that made my heart swell with joy. I buried my nose against his skin and closed my eyes, unable to believe I had him back.
“When can we leave?” I asked him. “We need to get out of the city.”
He pressed his lips together, and his gaze darted away. My heart sank. I already knew what was coming.
“There’s just one thing I have to deal with before we can go.”
“Jayden, no.”
“I have to warn Tam about the Irish. They killed his brother at the altar and potentially set that bomb. Tam has a right to know about the threat. Hallie, too. What if I did nothing and something happened to Hallie or my niece? You said before, no more killing.”
“And what if you get hurt? I couldn’t handle that, not now.”
“One last job, and then I’m done, I swear it.”
I closed my eyes, going over my options. I could emotionally blackmail him right now. I could tell him that if he wanted me and the baby in his life, he needed to choose me now, but I also couldn’t do that to him. I knew he was right. If he decided—or I forced him—not to care about his sister and baby niece, what kind of man would that make him? Not one I wanted to have watching over me and our baby.
Jay tried again. “You don’t want Tam to keep believing your family are responsible for Harvey’s death and the bombing, do you?”
“Will it make any difference? He’s already pushing my family out of the city.”
“I know.” He bit his lower lip. “I helped him in that.”
“You did?”
“Yes, when I thought they were responsible for the bomb, I put plans in place. If you’d told me sooner, Ivy, maybe I wouldn’t have needed to.”
I exhaled long and deep. “We’ve both done wrong.”
Jay squeezed my hand.
“I want you to come with me and meet Tam and tell him what you know.”
I widened my eyes. “No, Jay. I can’t.”
“You can. What is it you’re afraid of? You weren’t the one who killed Harvey.”
Shame filled me. “No, but I left those notes. I could have just come out and told him the truth about what happened to his brother. I know how that feels now, but I didn’t before. I understand the sort of pain both Tam and Leo must have been going through, and they never knew who was responsible. I could have done something to help that, just a little, and I didn’t.”
He held my gaze with his. “Ivy, I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to, but now that I have you back, I also don’t want to let you out of my sight for a second.” His hand tightened around mine. “You know there are people who aren’t going to be happy about this.”
I nodded. “I know.”
“Tam will be fine, I promise,” he reassured me. “He’s not as much of an arsehole as he makes out.”
I managed a smile. “You sure about that?”
“Yeah. Hallie and the baby have softened him.”
