Page 197 of On a Fault Line

But I’m not.

The only way to restore my state of happiness is to get my princess back. But I have nothing to bargain with until I wipe out Tanner.

“Should I do anything?” my ex-military buddy asks. “I can shut down the whole thing. Just say the word.”

“Nah,” I say after a minute. “Penny’s entire family will be there and they’ll keep her safe.”

“You really fell for her, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

It feels so weird admitting it out loud after all these months of keeping it a secret, but I owe it to our relationship. Being with Penny was the closest to happiness I’ve ever been.

I take a seat on the sofa and gesture for Chris to sit down too. I’m usually not this hospitable with the men I hire, but I could use a friend right now.

“Is it over-over?” he asks, genuinely interested.

“Not if I have any say about it. I thought I could move on knowing and believing I was doing the right thing, but I know I’ll never get over her.”

“It’s different this time,” Chris says thoughtfully.

“Everything about Penelope Hoffman is different. She changed parts of me irrevocably for the better.”

“She chipped away at your hard exterior.”

I think about his words for a moment. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess she did.”

He gives me a lopsided smile. “She’s good for you.”

I nod. “I just need to make sure I’m good for her too.”

* * *

Hacking into the security footage at Nic’s previous apartment building, I’m able to catch a glimpse of Penny leaving for the charity event.

She’s staying there, and I predict that was a boundary that she set.

A part of me wishes I had more self-restraint, but I can’t resist having this access when it’s all I have right now to feed my obsession.

My heart melts at the sight of her. She’s all dolled up in a designer dress. Her hair is pulled up in an elegant style, secured with a clip.

She looks spectacular.

Enchanting.

And all alone.

My mind can’t help but wonder what it would be like to have our relationship public.

Would Penny have allowed me to escort her to the fundraiser event? Would I have given her any other option?

There’s no way I’d want her showing up alone like she’ll be doing tonight.

Just seeing her in this gorgeous dress has my hands twitching from the strong desire to touch her, and that’s just from witnessing these surveillance videos.

Pacing my living room, I think of all the scenarios that can happen where Penny and I can end up together.

And it’s in my desperation that I vow to make that happen.

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