Page 199 of Never Die for a Sinner
Fuck, where do I even begin?
I finally toss the wrench down on the counter, looking at the broken engine torn apart in front of me, and silence fills the barn.
“You sound like a Hallmark card,” I grunt eventually.
Christian shrugs. “Sometimes Hallmark cards are right.”
Fucking hell.
I scrub a hand over my face. Look out the barn doors to the sky. Wonder what the fuck I’m doing.
“You think she’d even want me back . . . after what I did to her?”
Christian cocks a brow. “You’ll never know unless you try.”
Pain lances at my chest, and I rub over the spot absentmindedly. Maybe I’m getting old. Maybe it’s just the thought of her disappearing from my life.
I love her. That’s enough, right?
Fuck, I can’t believe I’m about to do this.
“Takes a half hour to get to her house,” I grunt, looking at the time on my phone. “Think you can get me there in the next twenty minutes?”
Christian grins.
“Make it ten.”
The ride to the little cottage in the woods feels like it lasts a lifetime. My head’s a fucking mess. My sanity is even worse.
I keep thinking about the outcome. If I manage to convince her to take me back, how the fuck am I supposed to keep her safe?
Lock her away in the cabin until this ends? Keep her prisoner in my bed so she can never see the light of day?
Fuck, I wish this shit were easy. I wish I could fucking find him, but there’s been no leads.
Even the shipments have stopped, though I know there’s just something I’m missing.
If I could, I’d give it all up. Just to know she’s safe.
If love means you’re willing to sacrifice the best parts of yourself to save even the darkest parts of them, then yeah, I guess I love her. Do I understand it? Fuck no. Does it matter? Not anymore.
We’re racing down the backroads, Christian driving my car while my mind works overtime with a plan.
What the fuck am I supposed to say?
Sorry, I fucking suck. Please don’t go?
I’ve gone toe to toe with some of the world’s most dangerous criminals.
Why the hell is it a little five-foot-three brunette that scares the fucking piss out of me?
When he pulls down the drive to Ava’s cottage, the place looks empty. If it weren’t for her car out front, I’d think it was completely abandoned.
Christian pulls to a stop beside the SUV, but I’m too busy staring at the slight crack in the door to notice when he shoves the car into park.
“What the fuck?” Christian murmurs under his breath while I climb out of the car.
I march up to the front door, hesitant at first, before I reach out and knock.
