Page 83 of When He Hunts

“What?”

“And she’ll want to get up early in the morning. Seeing the sunrise is important to her.”

“You know Esme doesn’t do mornings.”

“Seeing the sunrise is important to Luna.” Grim. “Set an alarm.”

“If it’s important, then show her the damn sunrise yourself!”

Ronan’s head turned. He stared at his friend. Tyler was one of the best men he’d ever met. Talk about having a true-blue core. Esme had originally sought Tyler out just because the guywasso good. Someone who couldn’t be bought. Or bribed. One of those few individuals who always did the right thing.

Ronan knew that was the reason Gray had sent Tyler to him on the island. Because Tyler would do what was right. He might not like it. He might want to fight Ronan, but in the end…you’ll keep her safe for me.“I’m leaving.” Words that he absolutely hated to say.

But they had to be spoken.

This will hurt Luna.Because she truly did believe she loved him, and he was going to leave her. Just as her father had left.

Leaving without a word. Dick move.A move he would never want to make. Never.Fuck.But if he stayed, if he told her his plans…

She would worry. She would fight him. She would refuse to let him go.Hewas the hitman, but he didn’t trust that Luna wouldn’t try to blow their cover and sacrifice herself in order to keep him safe. “It has to be this way.”

“Yeah, no. I’m pretty sure this deal can go down in a thousand different ways. So how about you slow your roll, take some breaths, and let’s talk.”

“Marcus wanted me to cut off her finger and give it to him as proof of her death.”

Tyler put down his drink. “Bastard.”

“Now he’s sending heavy hitters after me. Per your intel.”

“Uh, perGray’sintel. I’m just passing along the info that he gave to me.”

“They hunt me, they get near me, and they seeher?It will be over for Luna. And I happen to like her damn fingers.” He liked everything about her. “You can’t tell her I’m in danger.”

“I have never liked lists of things that I can and can’t do.”

“Yeah, I know. You’re more about giving orders than getting them. Noted.” An exhale. His gaze tracked back to Luna. She’d turned toward him.

For a moment, he didn’t move. He couldn’t. He wanted to remember her this way. The sun shining on her. That dark hair wet around her smiling face. The waves brushing lightly against her from that gorgeous water.

She waved to him once more. Then turned around to look down in the water before pulling up her mask again.

“If you only could see your face right now,” Tyler murmured.

Immediately, he locked down his expression. “She’ll fight if I explain why I’m leaving. So I’m not explaining.” He had to act, fast.Cut the ties before they are too deep.Hell, he already feared they were too deep. “Watch her. She’s a runner.”

“Fantastic.”

“I’ve had to cuff her a few times.”

“I do not need to hear about your kink.”

He’d never had that pleasure. Cuffing Luna during sex? That would have been great. So many things with her would have been great. “Some things are better left in fantasies.”

“Yeah. Like you and your cuffs. Say less, man. Say less.”

He wasn’t talking about cuffs. He was talking about the life that he might have been able to envision with Luna. But…it wouldn’t have been a life of safety. His gaze slid to the stupid snake on his wrist. He’d left his watch in the bungalow. “I hate snakes.” What if one of the enemies from his past came after him?

The same way Marcus is coming now?

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