Page 61 of Laura's Truth

They turned back toward the hotel and settled in a sunny spot back from the incoming tide to watch the sunset. Drew couldn’t decide if he was relieved or annoyed when Ross finally sent the message that Hackett agreed to a place and time for his deal.

“Eva’s good,” he said, putting down the phone.

Laura smiled at him. “You were doubting her, weren’t you?”

“I’m a natural-born skeptic.”

“That I doubt.”

He refused to dignify that remark, choosing to watch a young family playing in the surf.

“We take him alive,” Laura said quietly. The clipped words left no room for argument.

The abrupt change of topic and mood shouldn’t have startled him, but it did. “Have I said differently?”

“Only several times.” She rolled to her side and removed her sunglasses. “I’m serious, Drew. If you aren’t willing to do that, leave now. I’ll be sure you have a forty-eight-hour head start.”

How generous, he thought, stifling a laugh. Taking Hackett alive still felt like a mistake, but he understood why it was necessary, that it was one more hazard of working as a team. The man knew too much about too many things. If they didn’t close every loophole, Hackett would slip free or keep leaking secrets like a sieve from inside the system.

But she believed they could do it. Together.

Drew pushed a hand through his hair, wishing he could just tell her yes. But leaving Hackett alive would also make it damn hard to keep himself out of prison. An honored JAG officer’s word against an operative presumed dead for years. An operative who’d—

“I won’t let Hackett take you down with him,” she murmured, her hand warm and gentle on his arm. “Trust me.”

“I do.” It wasn’t a lie. He did trust her. In everything, he realized with a weird sinking feeling in his gut. She had skills and connections, had proven that time and again, but his past was full of darkness and secrets. The things he’d done to stay alive… the jobs he’d accepted to get him closer to Hackett… no government agency would touch him if all of that came out. She would regret touching him if all of that came out.

So this was the end.

Drew gazed across the blanket, soaking up every nuance of Laura as the ocean rolled up onto the sand. The sound of the water, the steady breeze, the fading sun still strong enough to warm her skin. The simple timelessness of it would forever remind him of her, whether he had days or decades left to live. She was steady, consistent, unflinching. She pushed forward, the ‘right thing’ at the forefront of every decision.

He didn’t deserve a gift as special as she was. Rewards like Laura should be doled out to worthy men. Men who didn’t compromise as easily as he had. He wanted to resent her integrity, but he couldn’t quite manage it. Her values guided her, shaped her, and led her to become the woman he loved.

His heart stutter-stepped in his chest. Loved? Loved. He tested the word, weighed it in his mind, but couldn’t risk letting it slip past his lips. Love would only make it harder to walk away.

Thank God for dark sunglasses, he thought, turning his attention back on the ripples of foam where ocean kissed sand.

When had it happened? When had he been fool enough to let her get into his system that way? But he knew. It had been that first night when he’d realized she could see right through his lies.

He wondered if she felt the same or if their deal to keep it simple and physical would work for her in the long run. He couldn’t change the parameters now, not when Hackett needed to be their focus. But he likely wouldn’t have the opportunity to tell her later, after they apprehended Hackett, even if he lived through that encounter.

One more secret to keep buried.

“Drew?”

“Yeah?”

“You can leave. I wouldn’t blame you. I’d understand.”

He marveled that she could understand when he didn’t have a clue. “We take him alive,” he said, echoing her words. “And deal with the fallout after.”

She rolled to her side, pulled her sunglasses down her nose and those changing hazel eyes held him captive. “Whatever you decide—”

“I’ve decided,” he insisted. He’d stay, give her the assist, and let the rest happen as it should.

“Whatever you decide works for you,” she repeated, “please know your decision will work for me.”

He gave her a smile, watched a reflection bloom gently across her face as she replaced her sunglasses and relaxed, letting the sun warm her back.

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