Page 113 of Final Exit

“Why didn’t you kill Gannon?”

Her question surprised him. “Are you worried he won’t be held accountable?”

“I worry that he didn’t get what he deserved... after what he did to you, and to others. He shouldn’t be alive when so many others are dead. Kade, if I’d known that he was behind all of this, that he was the man who’d ultimately pulled the strings to kill my friends, to kill Hawke.” She closed her eyes briefly. “To kill Sebastian and Amber as we confirmed just a few days ago. He hurt so many people, including you. I’d have killed him. Once I realized that you had no intention of killing Gannon, I was prepared to take care of it. If that agent hadn’t come through the door when he had, Gannon would be dead right now.”

He gently pushed her hair out of her eyes. “I know.”

She shoved his hand away from her. “And?”

“And what?”

“You can’t just say you know, and act like everything’s okay.” She thumped her chest with the flat of her hand. “I’m a killer, don’t you get it?”

“Bailey, I’ve killed, too. Even before the fight with the mercenaries, I’ve killed. And you’re one of the few people who really knows what happened to Faegan.”

“That’s different.” She turned back toward the fire just as the roof of EXIT Inc. imploded, consumed by the flames from the top floor.

“It isn’t.” When she ignored him, he put his hand beneath her chin and gently forced her to turn her head. “You can stop this martyrdom mentality. I’m not going to let you get away with it. We’ve both done things we’re not proud of, but we did them with the best of intentions. Neither of us is some evil bad guy wanting to run around hurting people. Everything we’ve done was to save and protect others. We’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.”

Her jaw tightened and she didn’t look at him.

“Did you enjoy killing people?”

Her brows drew down. “Of course not.”

“Did you ever kill someone for fun, when you didn’t have an order to go after them?”

“That’s just sick.”

“Then I pronounce you a normal person. You’re not some psychopath intent on killing innocent people. And Gannon was far from innocent. I can understand you wanting to take him out. It’s part of your training, to take out the bad guys. But you didn’t.”

“I couldn’t. The Homeland Security guys—”

“Came into the room after you trained your guns on Abby and Gannon, but not that exact second. If you really wanted to kill him, you had time. And you didn’t do it.”

Confusion clouded her eyes, as if she were considering what he’d said.

“You’re a good person, Bailey Stark.”

She shook her head no.

“You’re a good person,” he repeated.

A single tear traced down her cheek. “Not good enough,” she whispered.

“Good enough for what?”

“You.”

That one word, sounding so desolate, nearly broke his heart. But it also gave him hope. He smiled, and the fact that she frowned in response had him smiling even more.

“What’s so funny?” she demanded.

“Are you always going to be prickly?” he asked.

“It’s worked for me so far.”

He chuckled and pulled her close. Then he kissed her. She stiffened, so he pulled her closer and worshipped her mouth with his until she groaned and sagged against him. The kiss turned hotter, and by the time they broke apart they were both out of breath.

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