Page 145 of GAF Factor

“You tell me so many things.”

“About what you mean to me.”

His spark. I swallowed hard and nodded. “Remember that. You’ll always be my spark.”

Something about the way he said that left an unsettling feeling in the center of my chest, but then his lips sealed over mine, and I forgot about everything he said as he thrust forward and buried himself deep inside me. My fingers clawed at his back, holding him to me with everything I had as he rocked his body into mine over and over again.

Our bodies were fused together, meant to be this way forever. I could feel it deep in my soul. It was in the way he kissed me,in the way he held me, and the way my heart seemed to melt whenever I was with him. Everything was perfect.

No one was chasing us.

No one was trying to kill us.

It was just the two of us for the rest of our lives.

35

IKE

Regret filledme as my phone buzzed.

I rolled over, shutting it off before it woke Isla, who was still sleeping peacefully in my arms. I pressed a kiss to her temple, wishing I could stay in her arms a little longer, but things had to be taken care of, and the longer I waited, the harder it was going to be.

I pulled the blanket up from where it fell to her waist. Despite the warmth from the fire I made, her back was still chilled, and after all the shit we’d been through in that damn shipping container, there was no way I’d ever let her be cold again if I could help it.

I glanced at my phone again, swallowing hard. They wouldn’t wait forever. I’d been gone too long. I hadn’t answered in weeks. How much longer before they came for me?

My eyes dropped to Isla, her sweet face shadowed by the flicker of flames from the fire. Would she understand when I told her? Would she forgive me for what I had to do? I was no better than Kavanaugh. I’d kept this secret from her all along. I’d known that this would come between us, that it might tear us apart. Yet, I refused to give her up.

I couldn’t.

I rolled to my back, sighing as I shoved my fingers through my hair. This was such a clusterfuck. I had no right to make any promises to her, not when I knew what was coming.

“Knox?”

My chest tightened at her voice. “Yeah, baby.”

“Why are you awake?” She snuggled into my side, draping her arm across my chest as she tucked her leg between mine.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

That was the last thing I wanted to do. Thankfully, she was already drifting off to sleep. I brushed my lips against her forehead. “I wish I could,” I whispered.

I stayed up the rest of the night trying to come up with a plan of attack. I was going to need it if I was going to get out of this alive. Isla could never know. I knew that went against everything I promised her, but this was one thing I just couldn’t tell her.

But as the sun rose in the morning and the thought of leaving her became a reality, my plan started to slowly fall apart. Walking away no longer seemed like a viable option. How could I leave and tell her nothing when there was a possibility I might never come back?

I grabbed my phone and turned it on, expecting the multiple voicemails that were waiting for me, all of them just as angry as the last. I had been gone for too long. If I waited any longer, I wouldn’t be the only one in danger.

I stood and started dressing, putting my feelings for Isla aside. I couldn’t think of her right now. I had a job to do, and if I considered her in all this, I might never leave. And then where would we be? No, the job had to come first. I needed to end this, and then we could be together.

Focus.

“What are you doing?”

“I need to leave,” I answered, not bothering to look at her.

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