I hold up a hand. “Don’t even go there. Moose is a good guy and had nothing to do with any of this.”
“He seems to be. I’m just spitballing how Sylvia would have found you,” Harding says.
“We will have to find her and ask,” I say.
“Have at it,” Harding says. “I’m afraid that’s not part of my assignment.”
I stew on that idea for a moment. “But what if Sylvia comes after me again?” I ask.
Harding shakes her head. “If she comes after you again, call me. Otherwise, unless she gets between those weapons and me, I’m not dealing with her. And once we retrieve the weapons, she’ll have no more interest in you.”
“She goes free?”
Harding tilts her head. “If you’re concerned she’ll come for you again, you can stay here. We have a room with a bed.”
While I am exhausted, I just want my own bed at this point. “Thanks, but I think I’ll go home.” I walk toward the door.
“Durango.”
I turn back.
“For what it’s worth, I don’t think she’ll come after you.”
I nod and walk out of the building. I hope she’s right.
CHAPTER 33
Willow
“The first one was fine,”Samantha yells to me from the couch.
I stare at the fourth dress I’ve tried on. “I don’t understand why I’m so nervous,” I say as I walk back to the living room.
She grins at me. “Because this is your first date. I think I like that one the best.”
I stare down at the blue dress.
“It really brings out your eyes,” she says.
“It’s a first date with a man I’ve known for years. We’ve already had sex. I shouldn’t be nervous.”
“Well, tell your body that because I think it disagrees.”
There’s a knock on the apartment door. I panic. “That can’t be him. He didn’t buzz from the outside.”
Samantha gets up and walks to the door. Before she can ask, he speaks.
“It’s Durango.”
“Tell him I’ll be a minute,” I say as I run to my room.
While taking a moment to breathe, I check myself one last time in the full-length mirror on the back of my door.
I’m struck by the woman staring back at me. For so long, all I’ve seen is the meek woman I became while with Tyler, shrinking back from everything. But that’s not who is staring back at me now. No, I dare say I’m vibrant. And it’s not just because I got away from Tyler. No, it’s how I feel when I’m with Durango. I feel alive.
Maybe that’s why I’ve been so nervous. I’ve wanted to be free to live again, and now that it’s here, I’m scared something or someone might try to take it away. But that’s not logical. Tyler is dead. No one else is coming for me. Durango and I can finally go out and live our lives.
I step out of the room. Durango is in the living room with Samantha.
