Zeke shook his head and knew the truth. “Yeah. I hate it, but yeah. We’ve lost witnesses that way. A perfectly planned op can go sideways in a heartbeat. An innocent person can die. A criminal gets away. The whole thing goes to hell. It happens all the time.”
“I still can’t say no.”
Zeke exhaled heavily and shook his head. He pulled into his driveway and straight into the garage before he replied. “Why not? Why is it so important that you’re the one who takes her down?”
“That’s not what matters. I don’t care who gets the credit for it. I’m not doing this so I can say I stopped her. But she needs to be stopped. No matter what, she needs to be stopped. And if that means I have to die in the process, I’m willing to do that.”
“Why? Why would you sacrifice yourself? You just came back. You’ve been gone for so long, and you’re finally back, and you’re willing to die?” Zeke’s voice cracked with emotion. Hegripped her hand tighter and fought against the panic rising inside of him.
“Zeke,” she breathed.
He pulled back, removing his hand from hers and wiping at his eyes to erase the tears building. He didn’t say anything before he got out of the SUV and made his way around to her side. He opened her door, then led the way to the house.
Two meows sounded when they walked inside. Gene wrapped himself around Zeke’s legs, and Franklin jumped off the counter and made a beeline for Nina.
Zeke picked up Gene and nuzzled the cat against his chin. He pressed his cheek against the top of Gene’s head and cradled the cat.
Nina crouched down to pet Franklin, chuckling when the greedy cat jumped up on her knees and made himself at home on her lap. He stretched his front paws to her shoulder and bumped her chin with the top of his head.
Zeke watched his cat love up on his woman and knew nothing would ever be the same again. Even a week with her changed his life. She loved his cats like she’d known them forever. And they loved her like she was their person, too.
“I want more time with you,” Zeke whispered. “I’m not ready for you to be gone.”
“I’m not ready for that either,” Nina said. “I know you’re scared. I am, too. Can we… For tonight, can we not think about it? Can we just enjoy the night and not worry about tomorrow? Not worry about Gwendolyn or anyone else? Please?”
Zeke nodded slowly. He wouldn’t be able to turn his mind off, but he could try to at least act normal for Nina’s sake.
She smiled at him, the anxiety in her eyes saying she wasn’t any more sure about tomorrow than he was.
For now, that was going to have to be enough to convince him that she would be safe. Because nothing else would make him feel better about the day to come.
15
Every moment feltlike a goodbye for Nina. The way her brother hugged her a little longer than usual, the way Zeke kissed her before they got out of bed, the way they lingered in the shower and sipped coffee and took the long way to the Rose Protection Agency office. It was all a little slower than usual, a little softer, a little harder.
The bright sunshine outside was an unfair distraction for the day. She wanted gloomy and dark. Something that matched her mood and gave her an excuse to feel sad.
“Are you ready?” Lorelei asked as Nina pulled her shirt down to cover the microphone clipped to her bra.
Nina shook her head. “Is anyone ever ready for something like this?”
Lorelei pressed her lips into a sad smile. “I don’t think so. But we’re going to be watching every second and we will make sure you’re safe.”
Nina looked into the eyes of the agent. “Do you really mean that?”
Lorelei didn’t hesitate to meet Nina’s gaze. “Yes. I know what that woman, and her employees, are capable of. I know hurtfirst and ignore the questions later is their MO. And I know they won’t hesitate to kill you, no matter what the consequences are.”
“How are you going to prevent that?”
“You’re not going in there alone. We worked with the owner and have agents posing as employees. We have cameras and security you’ve never heard of and we will know exactly what we’re dealing with before they walk in the door.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means we will know if Gwendolyn and her people are carrying guns or knives or any other weapons. We will know how close someone needs to get to you to hurt you. And we will make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Nina exhaled slowly, trying to trust the agent she wasn’t sure she trusted.
“I know you don’t know me. I know trusting a stranger isn’t easy. I wish we’d had time to get to know each other, but every single person involved in this operation is doing it to stop her. If I could be there without causing suspicion, I would be.”
