“All the windows are blacked out and bulletproof. Besides, the whole point of me being here is so that Declancansee me.”
“I’m hoping he’ll be too distracted by my devastating good looks to remember why he’s really here.”
I narrow my eyes. “Someone thinks very highly of themselves…”
Ronan winks, but I can see the underlying tension in the set of his jaw.
His eyes go a bit colder. “I’m not planning on him getting close enough to even look at you.”
“So possessive…” I tease in hopes of easing the pained expression on his face, but it only seems to make it worse.
“I’m not taking any chances, Ciara. I can’t.” He offers me his hand.
Knowing if the situation was reversed, I’d do the same thing, I take it and let him help me out of the car.
I hate that the fear clawing at my insides makes me take comfort in how firm his grip is.
When we reach the back passenger door, he opens it for me without a word.
I slide into the seat and shiver at the feeling of the cold leather.
Ronan crouches beside me, resting one arm on the open-door frame. His face is just inches from mine, and I can see in the shadows beneath his eyes how exhausted he is.
Fresh tears sting my eyes, but I blink them away. “I want you to know that I would burn the world for you too, Ronan.”
“I know,” he murmurs. “You didn’t have to prove it by flipping a car, though.”
I let out a shaky laugh. “Did it look cool at least?”
Ronan exhales sharply through his nose as he cups my chin. “It was many things, Ciara, but cool wasn’t one of them. Terrifying, soul-shattering, life-ending. Not cool.”
“Thank you for coming to rescue me.”
“You don’t need to thank me,Tine Bheag. I will always rescue you, even if you don’t want me to.”
“I always want you to. My life is meaningless without you.”
“Good, because I don’t plan on going anywhere.” He leans in to kiss me softly.
I shudder as his tongue brushes against my lower lip.
“I love you,” Ronan murmurs against my mouth as he brushes his thumbs over my cheeks, wiping away my tears.
“I love you too.”
He straightens. “Stay here. I mean it.”
I want to sink my fingers into his shirt and pull him closer. I want to beg him to get behind the wheel and speed off into the night. But I also know that we can’t move forward with our lives until Declan Walsh is taken care of. So, I let him go, even if it kills me to do so.
My heart starts hammering in my chest. “Be careful.”
“I’ll be more than careful. I’ll beruthless.”
Just as he stands and starts to close the door, headlights cut through the darkness, and Ronan stiffens, his hand flying to the gun at his side as a car stops and two men climb out.
It seems Declan’s here, and he’s not alone.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
