"No. I couldn't." She turns back to me, and I see the vulnerability in her expression, the raw honesty that she's not trying to hide. "I couldn't leave you, Rafe. I thought about what would happenif I ran. I know how bad it would get for you." I sense that she's not finished speaking, but she doesn’t continue, so I prompt her.
"But that's not why you stayed."
"No," she admits quietly. "It's not. I stayed because I love you and because I didn't want to see you destroyed for something you didn't choose. You were seventeen when you took over your father's position. You didn't have a choice. You did what you had to do to survive. And now you're trapped in this life the same way I'm trapped here. Except you've been trapped for decades."
Riley says those words like they're so easy for her to articulate but they're true. And to me they're not something that's easy for me to accept. But knowing that she sees me makes me feel less defensive as she points it out.
"I won't leave this life," I say, and I need her to understand that. "Even if I could, I won't. This is who I am now. It's what I've built. And I'm not going to walk away from it."
"I know."
"Do you? Because it might take you a while to realize what that means. What staying with me means…"
She reaches up and cups my face, and her thumb brushes across my cheekbone. "I know what it means. I'm not naive, Rafe. I know you're not gonna suddenly become a law-abiding citizen."
I stare at her, searching her face for any sign of doubt or any hint that she's saying what she thinks I want to hear. But all I see in her eyes is confidence in me.
I pull her closer, wrapping my arms around her, and she presses her face against my chest. We lie there in silence for a long moment, and I let myself feel comforted by what she just said.She loves me and she's choosing to stay. And for the first time in weeks, I feel like maybe this isn't going to end with me losing her. But I can't ignore the situation we're still in. Her work might be finished but the threat isn't over.
"You're still a risk," I say. "Sal made that clear yesterday. If you don't prove you can be trusted, he'll want you gone."
She pulls back to look at me. "And if I do prove it?"
"Then he'll consider bringing you in. Making you part of the family."
"As what? Your girlfriend who happens to know how to hack databases?" Riley chuckles, but I'm dead serious when I respond.
"As our new banker."
Her eyes widen slightly like she hadn't considered that. The role Marco held, the one that kept the organization running smoothly for years, is vacant, and Riley's already proven she can do the work better than he ever did.
"You want me to take Lombardi's place," she says slowly, as if chewing on the thought carefully. I know what she's thinking and she wouldn’t be wrong to be fearful. Lombardi was killed for what he knew. Enemies are always looking for a place to strike, but I wasn't with Marco like I'm with Riley. I won’t let anyone come within a mile of her.
"I want you to have a reason to stay. Sal won't eliminate someone who's vital to the operation. And you're vital, Riley. You've done more in a month than Marco did in years."
"If that's what it takes to stay with you, then okay. I'll be your banker." I can hear the reluctance in her voice, and I won't ever make her do anything she doesn't want to do at all.
"It's just an option," I say, but she shakes her head firmly.
"I'll do it," she repeats, and I believe her.
Relief floods through me, and I pull her in for a kiss. So much has been riding on her work for so long, it feels strange knowing it's done. But stranger still knowing she's not leaving, and I don't have to wrap up any loose ends.
"I want you to see your family," I say. "For your sister's wedding. I'll make it happen."
Her breath catches. "How?"
"I don't know yet, but I'll figure it out. I promised you I'd find a way, and I will."
"The FBI thinks I've been kidnapped. My family thinks I'm dead or being held somewhere against my will. If I just show up at the wedding, they'll have questions I can't answer."
"Then we'll come up with a story. Something that explains where you've been without exposing me or the organization. We'll make it believable."
"And what about you?" she asks. "Are you just going to drop me off at the church and disappear?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I'm not going home alone, Rafe. If you want me, you have to accept my family too. You have to be willing to meet them, to be part of my life in a way that isn't just keeping me locked in a safehouse."
