Page 108 of The Last Promise You Made

Her smile grew wider. “That would be something to see.”

From somewhere outside, a car alarm sounded before quickly going silent. That simple sound was all it took to tear at the temporary reprieve we’d found in each other, forcing reality back at us. I wrapped my arms tighter around her, kissing her forehead, as cold facts flooded me. Ravyn was Jaime’s sister. Addy was his niece. He was hunting her as he’d hunted her mother.

“You need to find proof Jaime is involved,” I said softly. “So, let’s go get it and end this.”

She choked back a little huff. “Rory and I have a plan. I’m going to the gala while you’re at the safe house with Addy.”

The image of her being hauled across my house by a giant man filled me again and along with it, the fear, anger, and frustration that I’d felt. For those few seconds as I’d watched from outside my house, I’d been entirely helpless, so the idea of sitting around in a safe house, waiting while she went headfirst into danger, made bile crawl up my throat.

“You go, I go,” I grunted out.

“You can’t leave Addy, Ryder. After today, she’ll need all new assurances that she’s safe.”

“I can’t keep lying to her. We both know she’ll never be safe until this is over, and if it takes walking onto Jaime’s property to end this and protect her, then that’s what I’ll do.”

Gia’s eyes filled with tears she held back by slamming her lids shut. “Let me do this.” Her voice was choked, broken and raw from the deep emotions as much as what she’d gone through today. “Let me handle this on my own with my team. Let me do this so that little girl keeps the one person she really needs.”

When she’d first shown up with Addy, I’d told myself all Gia cared about was the case. That she didn’t care about the humans involved. But the truth was, she’d had to shield herself from others in order to do her job. But it was also a shield she’d learned to create when moving from place to place as a kid so she didn’t get her heart pulverized. And yet, over the last few days, I’d watched her fall for Addy and my family. Watched her fall for me. She’d said she wasn’t ready to talk about tomorrow, so I’d embedded every last emotion I had into my touch, hoping it would be the proof she needed, but I wasn’t sure she believed me yet. Wasn’t sure she truly understood how important she’d become to all of us.

“You’re wrong if you think I’m the only one she needs,” I said softly.

Gia’s lids popped open, surprise and hope mixing in those hazel depths. “What?”

“Don’t you see, darlin’? We’ve both fallen in love with you.”

She untangled herself from me, clutching at her stomach. She stared at me with fear and yearning and love in her eyes before she turned and reached for her clothes.

“That’s ridiculous.” She shook her head as if it was more at herself than at me. “All of this is nonsense. You don’t fall in love with someone in a matter of days—a handful of hours, really. You don’t… You just don’t.”

I slipped off the bed, pulled on my pants, and then went to her, dragging the flannel shirt from her hands and pulling her to me. She held herself tight, holding back, but I didn’t let go. “This is scary for me too. I thought my one shot at true love had come and gone before I was thirty. All I saw before me was a lifetime of empty one-night stands and the love of my family. Then, you tore back into town, bringing me a little girl I thought I’d lost.” I had to swallow back a lump of emotions. “Bringing me your fire, drenching me in it, and making me wonder if what I’d felt for Ravyn was all I’d imagined it to be. How could it have been when what I feel simply standing next to you is ten times more than I’d ever felt wrapped up in her?”

I felt her shudder at my words, and then finally, her shoulders relaxed, and her arms went around me. She put her chin on my chest and looked up at me, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks.

“You like everyone to believe you’re a brash, grumpy cowboy, but really, you’re a poet and an artist full of sweet words and passion you hide behind sarcasm and a wink. I feel lucky that you give me these glimpses of the real Ryder.” She took a shuddery breath and then continued, “You’re right. What’s happening between us is bigger than anything I’ve ever felt. It makes me want things I’ve never wanted before, and that does scare me, just like you said.

“But what’s even more terrifying is that having these feelings gives me tunnel vision. It put you and Addy and your family at risk today. I was waiting for you to come home to tell me about your day rather than walking the perimeter. So right now…” She breathed in and pushed herself away from me. “Right now, I have to tuck it away. Because if I don’t…people might die. You might die. Addy. Your family…” A sob escaped her.

Fuck.

I didn’t want to agree with her. I wanted to kiss her until she forgot everything again. But she was right. We needed to be thinking about more than just our feelings. We needed to consider Addy and my family—which was exactly why we had to end this.

Then, I could fight with her about what the enormity of our emotions meant.

Then, I’d find some way for us to be together without her giving up everything.

But first, we had to take care of business.

“I agree. We need to end this. But that’s not you alone. That’s us together. Jaime isn’t going to let you waltz onto his property by yourself. He’ll expect you to be on my arm. More importantly, he wants me there. That’s why he drove all the way down here to personally make sure I came. Like it or not, darlin’, I’ve got to come with you.”

“Addy.” She said my daughter’s name like a desperate plea, and it only made me love Gia more. Ravyn had taken our daughter with her, putting her in danger by keeping her close. Gia would tear herself apart limb by limb rather than drag Addy anywhere near this.

“We’ll tell her the truth. We’re trying to put a stop to the threats. If anything happens to me, she’ll have my family to take care of her. To love her.”

Gia didn’t respond, moving farther away to finish putting her clothes on. When she finally spoke, she said, “I need a dress. We’ll have to stop somewhere on the way.”

Her words sent a wave of relief through me. I thought of the piles of trunks in the attic that Granny had kept from her movie days. My siblings and I had created stories and put on performances with them for years. Fancy dress-up clothes, jewelry, plenty of things to sift through.

“I actually think I might have something that will work,” I said, grabbing her hand and dragging her toward the room Addy was sleeping in.

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