Page 118 of Passion and Payback

“If I don’t get in the way.”

I snorted, cupping his face. “Stitch was right. There’s a lot more to you than meets the eye. Even I, who should know you best, am surprised by what you’re capable of and how well you’ve done. If they’re going to make us partners, then I’m glad. Not just because I’ll be there to have your back, but because I’ve come to believe that you having my back in every sense of the word is the best I could ask for.”

“Flattery will...well, flattery from you will get you a lot of places, actually,” he said. “I know it’s our only choice if we want to get through this in one piece but damn if that doesn’t piss me off. We were one step away from being in the clear, and that fucking asshole had to invadeourhouse and attack us inourroom and?—”

I kissed him, shutting him up. For a moment, he grumbled before giving in to the kiss as I pulled him closer. Sure enough, I felt him relax until, eventually, he could stand without the posture of a boot camp recruit on inspection.

“What was that for?” he asked, sounding slightly grumpy.

“You called it our house and our room.”

“Because that’s what it is,” he said with genuine confusion, and it was the sweetest thing he could have done.

For the first time in my life, I had arealhome to look forward to. Things would never be the same for either of us, especially with the direction our lives were headed, but I had Hunter, which was more than enough.

“We’re taking this deal, aren’t we?” Hunter asked, no longer looking unhappy but resigned.

“I think we should,” I told him softly. “We deserve the chance to have more to our lives than going to prison because some rich pricks got what they deserved.”

Hunter snorted. “You’re starting to sound like me. I think I’m rubbing off on you.”

“Mmm, you can do that after we get more sleep.”

“Dirty-minded horn dog.”

I laughed softly, kissing him again. “Well, if you want, we can leave. Just pack everything up, gather our money, and go wherever we want. I’m pretty sure we could make it down to South America before anyone realizes we’re gone.”

Hunter rolled his eyes. “I’m not leaving this behind. Even if it means selling my soul to the goddamn Devil...well, that’s a fitting statement. This is our home, our place, and I’m not leaving it. I refuse to let them win.”

“Somehow, I thought you might say that,” I said with a chuckle. “Plus, I don’t think we’d have made it too far anyway. You would have wanted to come back halfway to Brazil after realizing you didn’t leave enough food out for the cats or something.”

“Says the man who would have stuffed Clem in a duffel bag to take with us.”

“Like hell.”

“You love that cat. Admit it.”

“No, I meant I’d get him a nice cat carrier. I might even have found a temperature-controlled one so he wouldn’t have to deal with the heat while traveling.”

At that, he softened and let out a low breath. “So...should we tell him?”

“Yeah, we should.”

“And then we should think about finding somewhere to sleep and get a bite to eat if we’re not needed around here.”

“Hey, Hunter?”

“What?”

“One thing at a time, remember?”

“Right,” he said, his hand fitting perfectly into mine. “One thing at a time.”

EPILOGUE

One Year Later

With a heavy grunt, I pushed the back door open, and once I heard the door slam shut behind me, I waddled my way to the stack of boxes I’d been bringing in. The last thing I needed was another cat to get loose. As sweet as it had been for so many of our customers to come together to form a search party for an adventurous cat, I didn’t need to go through that again.

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