“These days I work as translator, babysitter, drill sergeant…” Jade counted on her fingers.“Plus, emotional crutch for both Spade and you.”
“Sounds almost resentful.”
“No.”Jade shook her head emphatically.“The responsibility overwhelms me sometimes.Three months ago, I struggled to pay rent.”
I reached for her hand.“The woman who worried about electric bills doesn’t exist anymore.”
“Sometimes I miss her,” she admitted.“She worried about stupid shit.Electric bills.Grocery lists.Whether my neighbor would steal my laundry out of the dryer.”
I caught her hand and laced our fingers together.“I can’t give you back your old life,” I said.“I wouldn’t want to anyway.You’ve grown stronger.You walk around pissed off and see the world clearly now.And you belong with me.None of these qualities work well with pretending Diaz doesn’t exist.”
She squeezed my fingers.“Possessive much?”
My thumb traced circles on her wrist.“Damn right.When I say you’re mine, I mean something completely different.”
She squeezed my hand.“I know,” she said.
Spade stood, stretching.“I’m going to go spoon my laptop and talk sweet nothings to my code,” he said.“You kids behave.”
“Atilla?”General asked.
“Get some sleep,” he said.“Both of you.When Diaz screams, we’ll hear it.No use staying up to stare at the walls until then.”
They left us alone.
Jade shifted so she could tuck herself against my side, her head on my shoulder, her hand resting over my heart.
“You good?”I asked.
“For now,” she said.
I rested my cheek against her hair.“You ever think we’d end up here?”I asked.“You in our clubhouse, me smelling like river and asphalt, both of us making war plans between library dates?”
Jade laughed.“A year ago?I would’ve asked what someone slipped in your drink.”
“And now?”My thumb traced her wrist.
She leaned closer, her breath warm against my neck.“The roads led here.Jason chose his path.You chose yours.I made my decisions.Every wrong turn, every right one -- they all converged on this exact spot.”
“Sounds like fate.”I shifted to face her.
Jade shook her head, eyes meeting mine.“Pure chaos.We carved something meaningful from the wreckage.”
She tilted her head up.
I kissed her.Slow at first.Then deeper.
Her fingers slid up into my hair, tugging.My hand settled on her hip, anchoring her closer.Her breath hitched.
The war sat outside.Diaz.Victor.Men in black SUVs.
Inside, for a moment, I had this.
We broke apart eventually because lungs demanded oxygen.
She rested her forehead against mine.“You still planning to ask the thing?”she asked, voice soft.
“What thing?”I asked.
