Page 36 of Deception

He held me closer, as if afraid I’d slip away. “You’re all that matters to me right now. Just the thought of anything happening to you tears me apart. I know it’s crazy, and I can’t explain it, but please let me do this for you. Let me save you the only way I know how to.” He buried his face in my hair. “I know you’re not mine to keep. No matter how much I wish I could,” he whispered, and I almost missed it, not sure if he wanted me to hear it.

“You want to be with me?”

“More than anything. Eternity wouldn’t be enough time with you.”

His words lodged in my heart, making it feel a little less heavy, a little less like it was going to crack in half. I tipped my head back and kissed him as if he were my air, my soul, my reason for being. He returned the kiss just as desperately, his whole body pressed tightly against me.

How would I ever be able to let him go once the time came?

The sound of a gun magazine clicking in place made us break apart. Santino held out a gun to Lucius. “We don’t have much time left.”

They both strapped their guns on, and we left the house.

Lucius stepped inside my open door after I slid onto the back seat of the car. “We’ll be at the airport in less than an hour. I can’t go inside with you.”

He trailed a finger down my cheek, and I shivered as he leaned in and placed a soft kiss at the edge of my mouth.

Lucius looked in as much pain as I was and eventually turned away with clenched fists. “Let’s go.”

We drove through back streets and over deserted gravel roads, making the journey slow but also safe.

We pulled up in front of the main entrance that would take me inside, the busy airport overwhelming after my time spent in the jungle. Lucius opened my door, his face drawn. He hid his emotions well, while I was openly battling my own sorrow that threatened to swallow me whole.

I slid out of the car, and Lucius handed me my bag. He kissed me again, and I whimpered when he pulled away. “When you get back to the States, go to Chicago and find the offices of Locked Security. Ask for Elijah Anderson and tell him I sent you.” He handed me a small hard drive and a phone, closing my fingers around it when my hand stayed limp. “Give him these. It’s important that you don’t tell anyone else you have them. Only give them to Elijah, nobody else.”

He hugged me to him and I held on with all I had, burying my nose in his neck. When I’d composed myself enough to talk, I untangled myself and put a hand on his stubbled jaw. “Thank you for saving me.”

He pressed a hard kiss to my lips. “You’re the one who saved me.”

Throat closing up again, I turned to the front door. “Promise not to get killed.”

He grinned at me, and I nearly ran back into his arms. “I’ll try not to.”

I continued walking, turning back once I’d reached the doors. The car was still sitting at the curb, but pulled away once I was safely inside the building.

The rest seemed almost too easy. I checked into the flight Santino had organized for me and then boarded two hours later. The hardest part of my journey was getting on the plane, knowing I was leaving half of my heart behind.

But I could do this. If Lucius could sacrifice so much to get me out, I could be strong enough to get myself back home.

18

EVERLEIGH

I checked the address I’d written down and then looked up at the shiny chrome-and-glass high-rise. They must have paid someone a sizeable chunk of money to keep it that clean and sparkling. Even the doors were free of streak marks.

I’d flown straight from Guyana to Chicago, having arrived a few hours ago. I’d had to switch planes two times and had been travelling for nearly twenty hours. I desperately needed a shower and sleep. But I wanted to do this first. For Lucius.

Clutching the hard drive in a tight fist, my other hand holding the phone, I stood frozen on the sidewalk.

I didn’t know why I hesitated. All I had to do was go in, hand over the hard drive and phone, and get out. Scraping up what little courage I had, I opened the glass door.

Here goes nothing. Or everything.

Taking a deep breath, I walked up to the immaculate reception desk. “Hi. I’m here to see Elijah Anderson.”

The receptionist raised a brow at me. “Do you have an appointment?”

My hands shook around the hard drive that was about to leave a permanent imprint on my hand. “No. But this is important. I have something for him.”

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