“If you want me to help bring down a terrorist network, I’m all in. I’ve never done any deals with Hassan, and I never will. I don’t condone what he does and how he makes his money. You don’t need to explain to me who he is and what he does. I know all about him. Just tell me what you need from me, and I’ll make it happen.”
I’m staringout the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking down at the city I love, when there’s a knock at the door. I ignore it. I’m not in the mood for company after all the shit that went down today.
“Nix,” Kennedy’s voice is barely a whisper through the door as she knocks again. “Open up.”
For a second, I think about leaving her out there, but the thought passes. We have things to discuss and shit to set straight.
When I pull open the door, she has her hands on either side of the frame, leaning forward as if listening for my footsteps. I don’t say anything, just open the door and walk away.
She follows behind, her heels clicking on the marble floor but not giving me the same goose pimples it used to. “Can we talk?” she says from behind me.
I press my hands to the glass and keep my back to her. “I think we’ve talked enough for one day.”
Four high-heel clicks later, her hand presses against my back. “I want to talk aboutus.”
I laugh bitterly and keep my eyes pinned on the Empire State Building. “There’s no moreus, Ken. We never really began.”
“We were real,” she whispers, her hand stroking my back through my dress shirt.
My gaze lands on her reflection in the glass. “Were we?”
She steps closer, pressing her chest to my back and searing me with her heat. “To me, we were. I thought everything would work out. You were too smart to leave anything out. I figured we would do this forever.”
I turn around and rest my hands on her hips, putting some space between us. “We were both fooling ourselves. What we had is over, though. I can’t go back.”
“But—”
“No, Kennedy. We’re done. Now we work together, and when my assignment is done, so are we.”
She slides her hand up my chest, resting it on my shoulder. “Nix, I don’t want to be done with you. I’m not ready to say good-bye.”
My fingers dig into her hip, and it takes all the willpower I have not to cave. “We can’t go back.” When she tries to kiss me, I move my mouth out of reach. “Not this time, sweetheart. Your pussy got me once, not going to happen again.”
Her eyes fill with tears, hanging there and waiting to fall as she backs away. “I won’t give up onus, Nix. We’re far from over.”
“Just go, Kennedy. I don’t want to see you tonight.”
“Fine,” she says and yanks at her shirt, straightening it and showing off her cleavage, but I resist the urge to glance down. “I’ll call when I have the details.”
“Not before,” I tell her, crossing my arms over my chest as she turns around and heads for the door, wiping her face with each step.
My heart is aching, ready to explode in my chest when the door closes behind her. I’ve never been in love with another person, not like I was with Kennedy. I fell fast and hard too. The moment I saw her, I knew she was nothing but trouble, but I couldn’t stop myself from going down that road.
I pull the bottle of Louis XIII off the shelf and pour myself a glass before settling into the leather chair in front of the window cityscape. I sip it slowly, savoring each taste like it may be my last. Having to rat out Hassan could not only put me in danger, but also Coco and Kennedy. We’re all in this now, and our lives are on the line.
Bringing down a terrorist network isn’t easy, even for an insider like myself, but I’ll do whatever it takes to keep those around me safe. I’ll give my own life if it means they’ll be okay. Soon, it will all be over. Coco will be free. Kennedy will have completed her mission. And I’ll be alone.
Just as it was always meant to be. Living a life like mine doesn’t leave room for love. Love is a weakness. Each person who steals a piece of a criminal’s heart is a tiny fracture in their armor that can cause it to shatter, cracking into a million pieces in an instant.
I thought Coco was my only weakness, but I was wrong. Kennedy is my new Kryptonite.
23
Kennedy
Handingsome cash to the cab driver, I slide out of his car and stare at the small, nondescript house with greenish siding in front of me. The porch light is on, but all the curtains are drawn and it doesn’t look like anyone’s inside.
Someone is, though. Someone I’m not looking forward to seeing. But then, I don’t really feel like seeing anyone. My fight with Nix earlier left me hollowed out inside. All my feelings bled out of me, and for what? For Nix to dismiss me after telling me he had been falling in love with me?
