But that left me with nothing to say. I couldn’t become a doctor living the way we had for the last couple of days. And I refused to live a life under the ever-present fear that the man I loved would end up murdered.
“I’m getting out of the game,” Leon continued as if reading my mind. He held my hand tightly, his skin very warm against mine. “I want a chance with you. I know this is what I need to do.”
“That’s not fair. I never asked you to do that.” It was what I wanted, but I’d never made any demands on him. I’d accepted what he was, good side, bad side, his ruthlessness, his tenderness, his stubbornness, and the way he’d done everything to protect me once he’d given his promise. But again, there was something I’d be a fool not to make certain he understood. He’d glossed over it once already. “You’d only resent me for it eventually.”
Leon didn’t let go of my hand. His expression was grave—no smile now, only a deadly seriousness and an intensity that was almost frightening. He slowly brought my hand to his lips. He kissed my fingers tenderly, his striking green eyes on me.
“I thought long and hard about this all last night. I couldn’t sleep. I was afraid I was going to lose you forever—all because I was too stubborn, too arrogant in believing I knew best, no matter what. Too afraid to take a risk and change. You are brave, smart, amazing, beautiful, andgood. Only a fool would let a woman like you go without fighting for her. Without sacrificing to make her his own, no matter what. This is the sacrifice. Leaving behind my old life. Becoming someone new.” He stared hard into my eyes, intensity radiating from him like heat from a flame. “Someone better.Thisis my choice, and I take responsibility for it. I will never resent you. That’s my promise to you. And I’m a man of my word.”
“And my father…?” I asked in a quiet voice, staggered by his words and what they might mean for us. For me.
“Your father can fuck himself. I’ll never forgive him for killing Cal, but I won’t go after him either. If you come with me, I’ll put all that vengeance shit behind me. For you.”
“Come with you? You keep saying that.” I shook my head. “Where would we ever be safe? My dream is to be a doctor, not live like a fugitive, always looking over my shoulder.”
“It just so happens that I have a plan I want to run by you.” His somber expression vanished, replaced with a little boy grin full of mischief. It looked oddly endearing on his ruggedly handsome face. “We use my brother to help cash in the Bytecoin. We steal a page out of your father’s book and keep it all in accounts in the Caymans.”
A frown began to form on my face and my heart sank. I opened my mouth, meaning to ask if the money was what he was really after and not me. Was I being conned by a man I was falling in love with? But then why even give me the thumb drive in the first place?
He held up a finger, smiling wider as if he’d read the worry and confusion in my eyes. “I know what you’re going to say, so I’m asking you to hear me out. Will you?”
It was still strange having him ask instead of demand or order me. He was confident and driven and charged ahead without fear when he wanted something. But he had been almost deferential to me today…as if he wanted me as a partner. His equal. As if my opinions mattered to him, and he wanted me to know it.
“I’ll listen,” I replied with a nod for him to go on.
He nodded back, pleased. “We use the money to pay for your medical degree in Ireland. The Royal College of Surgeons. It’s a good school. They train lots of doctors. And they teach in English.”
“We’d live in Ireland?”
“Until you got your medical degree. Then we’d settled down in Andorra.”
I shook my head. “Where’s Andorra? And why there?”
“Europe. A tiny place between the south of France and northeastern Spain. Lots of mountains. They speak Catalan. But also French and Spanish.” He raised his hands palms up. “We’ll need to learn one of those languages. The ‘why’ is simple. They don’t have an extradition treaty with the U.S., and they’re not part of the EU. So if we steal a bunch of Bytecoin from crypto hucksters, we won’t ever be dragged anywhere to face charges.”
“What about Ireland?”
“They do have an extradition treaty. But, with Declan’s help, we can get fake identities that should pass muster. We’d have to cross our fingers and keep a low profile while we lived there until you got your degree. Andorra doesn’t have a medical school, unfortunately. So for a few years, it will be a risk.”
“And you’re willing to risk that for me?”
“That and more. I promise you that if our luck ever runs out and the authorities come down on us, I’ll take all the heat. I wasn’t lying when I said that I need you in my life. Nothing else matters. I’ll risk anything to make it happen—to make you happy. I’m willing to walk away from my old life for good. Foryou.”
His eyes were at once fiercely determined and desperately hopeful. It all came down to whether I believed his promises…
And I did. Leon had never lied to me. He always did what he said he’d do. So when he promised to walk away from the crime and the violence for me, I believed him. When he promised to move on from his brother’s death—for my sake—I believed him.
Did I love Leon enough to wager everything I had and everything I’d worked for on a plan so risky, brazen, and even crazy that it barely seemed possible?
Yes. And I could feel that love growing with every hour we were together. Because he was like no other man I’d ever met. I wanted him to love me. I wanted to love him back. I wouldn’t allow fear to keep me here, in a life that no longer fit me. A life that I no longer trusted, no longer desired. Everything had changed since the night Leon MacCarrick invaded my life. I could no longer deny it. And I no longer wanted to.
“Let me sweeten the deal,” Leon said before I could tell him that I would go with him on his half-crazed, frightening and exhilarating adventure. That he didn’t need to be the only one willing to take a risk. “After you get your degree, we use the rest of the money to build and fund a clinic in Andorra. Think of the good you could do. We could make people’s lives better.”
“We?” I asked gently.
“Yeah. You’ll need a receptionist. And I’ll be out of work.”
The absurdity of that image made me laugh. He took the cue and pulled me into his embrace and kissed me. I held onto him for dear life and kissed him back desperately, feeling alive, feeling hope. Feeling excitement instead of fear. Anticipation and an enthusiasm to really make a difference somewhere that needed me.
