Page 44 of Escape You

“I didn’t know if I could trust you before.” I opted for the truth because I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. I trusted Chase with all my heart. “And if I’m being honest”—I shrugged, eyeing the bed—“I wanted to be with you again. Mostly just to see if all that insane chemistry was real. To see if you were real.”

“And?”

“You tell me.”

“I think what we have here is real. One thing hasn’t changed since that night, though. Bad timing.” His gaze shifted from my face to his lap, as if he had a million things going through his head. He stood and offered me his hand. “Come on. It’s almost sunrise.”

I let him usher me to the terrace, where he’d set up another table full of desserts, cheesecake, and other pastries. “You remembered.” I teased.

“Well, you did only say it just a few minutes ago.” He chuckled. “I wish you would tell me more. I want to know everything about you.”

“I never met my mother, my brother got himself killed, and Dad was killed. My crew is my family. And now you know everything.” I frowned at my hands. I’d never said any of that aloud. It’d happened so long ago, sometimes it felt as if it had happened to someone else, some other fifteen-year-old, but not me. It was odd that I very much wanted to say that to Chase.

“You had a rough start in life. I’m sorry.” He circled his arms around my waist.

“That wasn’t your fault.”

“I know, but still. Don’t think for a minute that I won’t keep poking. I won’t stop until that shell of yours breaks away. What you just told me was the hardest thing to say about you, but it was definitely not everything there is to know.” He kissed my shoulder and that spot behind my ear. “With time, I hope you’ll let me in with the easier stuff. Like, which side of the bed do you sleep in? Left bathroom sink or right bathroom sink?”

“Some newlyweds, huh?” I laughed, patting him on his chest. Everything with him felt so familiar, so natural. “Now what?”

“What do you mean?”

“Rossi has the baby he wants. Where does that leave us?”

He let out a breath and cradled my face. “I want to have this baby with you. Rossi and everything else can go to hell. Do you believe me?”

My chest tightened at his words. Of course, I believed him, but for the life of me I didn’t know why. “I do.”

He wrapped me in his arms tighter. We kissed as if we had all the time in the world. Though we both knew we had very little of it left. Chase pulled away first and offered me a warm smile that showed all his perfect teeth.

“Look.” He gripped my shoulders and turned me to face the breaking dawn. An orange hue blasted across the sky as if the city were ablaze. White clouds smeared in long, thick strokes over the buildings and let in a bit of blue. A new day.

I’d never seen a sunrise before. And I’d never met someone like Chase. Maybe it was the pregnancy and the hormones, but suddenly it felt possible for Chase and me to start something new, a family of my own. After all, we were already married. To me, that would’ve been the biggest hurdle.

“It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.” It was the truth on both counts. “Chase, I’ve never been in love before. Don’t break my heart.”

He hissed, and I fell into his embrace again. “In that case, I have something to tell you. Promise me you won’t be mad.”

14

Don't Shoot

Tyler

Mia stepped back. Her green gaze turned dark in an instant. In retrospect, I should have told her everything since day one. Hell, I should have told her who I was the day we met. Who was I kidding? I would have done and said anything she wanted to get her to stay. Even now with the way she was looking at me, half bracing for the worst, I didn’t want to tell her the truth and risk losing her again. When did I become such a coward?

Maybe it happened the minute I’d found out I was going to be a dad. Mia finally trusted me enough to tell me about the pregnancy. She took a chance on me because of her feelings. She hadn’t exactly said she was in love with me, but she came close. If I were being honest, I was already there. I’d become addicted to her energy and her presence. Being in the same room with her made me feel alive.

But I couldn’t let my fear of losing her get in the way of the job I came here to do. Get Rossi and stop him from following through on his plan to start a human trafficking venture with the Venezuela cartel. Even our baby was caught up in this mess now. So yeah, it was to everyone’s best interest if Rossi rotted in jail for the rest of his life. Letting Mia go would be the hardest thing I’d ever done, but it had to be done.

Were Mia and the baby the reason the FBI and even my own boss thought it would be a great idea to have me go undercover and play the part of Rossi’s grandson? They figured I would be their puppet forever if it meant staying close to Mia to protect her. She was my family now, even if she was technically married to the wrong guy, a dead guy. What a fucking mess? Why would Clifton sign up for this? He was desperate. No doubt he needed a big win and fast.

“If you’re asking me not to get mad, that’s because you already know I’m going to. Out with it.”

“Just know that I never lied to you. Everything I’ve ever said to you has been true.” I cleared my throat, getting lost in her green eyes. Her lips were still red from our kissing. “I’m falling for you. I know the timing sucks, but I can’t stop it.”

She offered me a warm smile, cupping my cheek. I was going to miss this. Cocking my head, I bent down to press my mouth to hers. Her breath came out in urgent puffs as her tongue found mine in a desperate attempt to stop time or what I had to say next. Holding her tight in my arms, I tried to memorize her smooth skin and how good her body felt against mine like this.

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