Page 131 of Nuclear Option (Owens Protective Services)

I cocked my head at him, confused by the question. “When?”

“When you say goodbye,” he answered in frustration,

“Oh, I’m going to wish her well, and then I’m going to get back to work.”

“And you can just do that. Just watch her leave without it breaking your fucking heart.”

“Of course not. I have a camera installed right here,” I tapped the mirror. “I’ll be watching her the whole time. I also made sure to install a tracker in her watch, phone, purse, and even a few pairs of shoes. I have to admit, putting one in her flip flops was a little difficult, but Can’t never did anything. Try killed him.”

He rolled his eyes at me and shoved the door open. “Boss, I’m only going to say this once.”

“Shoot.”

“You’re out of your fucking mind.”

Then he slammed the door and marched away. I laughed, finding it all pretty fucking hilarious. There was no way on earth I wanted her to leave, but she was determined to do it, and I was determined not to lose her forever. No one ever said all was fair in love and war. Although, at the moment, I wasn’t sure if this was love or war, but I was going to win it all.

I got out and headed for the front where I knew Eva would be arriving any minute. As if on cue, she walked forward with her small luggage slung over her shoulder. Her face was sad and lonely, but she wouldn’t be that way for long. Not if I had anything to say about it. The benefit of knowing where she was going and having Fox follow her was that I could literally make all her dreams come true with a simple phone call. Yes, that was technically cheating, but like I said, this was war.

“You got everything?” I asked as I walked up to her.

She had a sad look on her face as she nodded.

“Hey,” I bent down to her eye level. “No sad faces. This is going to be good. You’re going to see all that shit you want to see. Make sure you take plenty of pictures.”

“I don’t want to leave you,” she said, tears clogging her throat.

I nodded. “I know, but it won’t be forever.” I grabbed the bag out of her hands and headed out the door to her SUV. I grinned as I turned around and held my hand out proudly. “What do you think?”

She looked stunned, but she wasn’t looking at the vehicle. “Cash…you do realize I’m leaving, right?”

Oh, shit. This was the part where I was supposed to look all forlorn. I schooled my features and pretended I was sad. “Yeah, you know…it’s going to be hard with you gone. I’m just gonna dive into work and…maybe take Sally out for some practice.”

She looked at me with a stunned expression. I had the feeling I wasn’t quite pulling this off. So I pretended to wipe at my eyes.

“Well, you should get going,” I said, sniffling for added effect.

“Uh…sure.”

I shoved the bag in the trunk and shut it, then walked over to her, pulling her into my arms. I kissed her hard. I mean, in reality, she was going to be gone for a while. I wouldn’t be able to hold her or kiss her. It would be hell, but I had a plan, and my plans never failed. This was going to be good for us.

When she stepped back, she shook her head slightly. “I guess I’ll call you when I know where I’m going to land.”

“You do that,” I nodded.

She shot me a funny look and got in the SUV. Eli walked up to me as she started backing out. I waved at her the whole way, grinning that my plan was working so well.

“You know you fucked that up, right?”

“I think it went perfectly.”

44

EVA

What the fuck was that?

I pulled out of the driveway where I had been staying for the past four weeks. But instead of feeling sad, I was pissed as hell. I was leaving the man I loved, and he didn’t seem to care at all. In fact, he seemed eager to get back to work. It was like the past seven months meant nothing to him. All that talk about needing me and begging me not to go was just that.

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