"Yes, I'm moving, Sabine…"
"You want me to come with you?" When it finally starts to click, my trickle of tears becomes a torrent. I've never been so emotional in my entire life. It's like this entire situation broke me open and changed who I am at my core.
"Yes…"
"To Savannah?"
"I want a future with you." Jace takes the box from my hand and closes it, then pockets the key and takes both my hands in his. "All this time not knowing whether you were alive or dead made me realize that nothing matters if I don't have you in my life. And I'm out… I'm not going back to Barone. I want you with me, Sabine."
I can't stop sobbing. "He just let you go?" My hands are trembling from emotion now but the cold seems distant. Jace's smile warms me so I don't have to shiver anymore.
"He knows I'm more dangerous dead than alive." Jace squeezes my hands gently. "He's not going to bother us again, baby."
"What about your past?" The words come out hesitant. "The people you killed working for Barone. That doesn't just disappear because you walk away."
"No, it doesn't." His expression turns serious. "I'll carry that guilt for the rest of my life, and I may face legal consequences if evidence ever surfaces connecting me to specific crimes. But being an assassin is in my past now. I'm done taking orders and ending lives for money. What I want is a future, and I want it to include you."
I'm so full of love for this man that I can barely breathe. "I want that too. I want to move to Savannah with you and start over." I throw my arms around him and breathe him in, feeling him embrace me back.
Jace nods in understanding. "You'll need to testify against Bryan when the case goes to court."
"And I have to finish my last few months on active duty before my discharge becomes official." I gesture toward the naval station behind me. "They're sending me back to SOCOM without my clearance, but it'll still be three or four months before I'm free to leave."
"Then I'll wait. We have time now, Sabine. We don't have to rush into anything or make decisions under pressure. We can take our time and do this right." His lips press against mine, sealing those words like a promise.
The patience in his voice makes me fall in love with him all over again. "You really bought a house in Savannah? Without knowing if I would even want to move there with you?"
"I bought it because it's close to your family." He pulls me closer until there is no space between us. "And because I knew that if you survived this and we got our chance at a future together, you'd want to be near your mom. I want you to be happy, Sabine. That matters more to me than where we live or what we do. As long as we are together, the rest is just details."
I kiss him again because words are insufficient to express what his thoughtfulness means to me. He planned for a future with me even when the outcome was still up in the air and he didn't know if I'd end up in prison or at the business end of Bryan's gun.
"I love you and I can't wait to start a life with you in Savannah. After the trial and after I finish my service here, we're gonna have a great life, Jace."
"I believe it," he says. "Now get in my truck. I'm cold."
He opens the door that’s scratched all to hell from one too many a car chase, and I smile at how this truck was our home away from home for all that time. It's seen better days, just like Jace, but it's still got worth and value. And no matter what's in his past, all I see is his future with me. That's not something I ever want to change. I'm in love with him, and more than ever, I'm ready to put the past behind me and walk forward.
31
EPILOGUE
JACE
Istand at the kitchen island in our Savannah home, watching Sabine pull the last tray of cookies from the oven. The air smells like sugar and cinnamon, mixed with the pine from the Christmas tree in the living room. It's been one year since everything changed. The house is small, brick exterior with a wide porch, tucked on a quiet street near the river. We moved here six months ago, after the trials wrapped and the dust settled.
Sabine sets the tray down and wipes her hands on the apron I bought her as a joke last month—the one that saysKiss the Cookin red letters. She catches me looking and smiles, the kind that reaches her eyes now, not guarded like before. Her hair is longer, pulled back in a loose ponytail, and she's wearing one of my old concert sweatshirts over leggings. She looks relaxed. Happy. It's still hard to believe sometimes.
The doorbell rings. Sabine glances at the clock and nods toward the front. "That's Mom, right on time." Her smile is so beautiful, I have to tear myself away, but I head to the living room and open the door to find Mrs. Hart on the porch, arms loaded witha foil-covered dish and a bottle of wine. The evening air is cool enough for the lights strung along the railing to feel festive.
"Merry Christmas," she says, stepping inside and handing me the dish. "Brought sweet potato casserole. It's a family recipe."
"Smells amazing," I tell her, taking it to the kitchen. Sabine meets her with a hug that lasts longer than usual. They've been talking more since we moved here—weekly calls, sometimes daily now too, and I don't mind one bit. I love that what was broken in her past is healing now.
We settle at the dining table I set earlier—roast chicken, green beans, the cookies cooling on a rack, and mugs of cocoa Sabine made from scratch. Steam rises from them, topped with marshmallows.
Mrs. Hart takes a sip of cocoa and looks at Sabine. "I can't believe how much life has changed in one year, baby."
Sabine meets my eyes across the table. "I know. It still feels surreal sometimes."
