“Which is?”
“Sneak in and strangle the target in his sleep.”
Lachlan chuckled. “That sounds more like you.”
“He’s awful, Lachlan.”
“Hey.” Her shaking had gotten worse. Lach held her until it subsided.
“I want out. I do. But… I can’t leave yet,” she finally said.
He closed his eyes, fighting back his disappointment. “You don’t want to abandon her.”
“Exactly. And I have to take down this monster.” She wiggled until she could look into Lach’s eyes. “He’s evil. He’s pure darkness.”
“And you’ve always fought the dark.”
She sighed as she studied his face. “Only for a little while longer, Soup. Then it’s you and me. Finally.”
He brushed back a lock of her hair. She’d dyed it black and he missed the auburn. “You know I’ll wait for you. I’d wait forever for you.”
She kissed him. “One day, we’ll be free. It won’t be long. If all goes well with this assignment. So what are you going to do on your first day of retirement?” Gina asked him.
Lachlan grinned. “That’s easy. I’m gonna get a dog.”
Gina laughed. “Why am I not surprised?” She propped herself up. “Actually, the only thing that surprises me is that you don’t already have one.”
Lach shook his head. “Can’t have one now. I’m never home. What’s the point of having a dog if you're not the one caring for it all the time?”
“Makes sense.”
“You like dogs?”
She considered the question. “I’ve never had one. You know, kind of the same thing. We were always traveling, never sure where we’d go next. It would’ve been hard on a dog to have to go through quarantine and separation every time we moved.”
“Your mom didn’t want one, did she?”
Gina chuckled. “Yeah, that’s probably closer to the truth.”
“But what about you, Sunshine?” He ran a finger down the side of her face, raising delicious goose bumps. “How do you feel about having a dog?”
She kissed him. “I could see that.”
“What kind?”
She laughed again. “I don’t know.”
“Not a designer dog? Maybe some purse puppy?”
“Oh, right, as ifyou’dget a purse puppy.” She poked him. “No, just a good dog. Faithful. Smart. Protective. I’m thinking like a… a watchdog.” She shrugged. “Something that has your back.”
“That sounds like a good dog,” Lachlan said, running his fingers over her bare skin. “Good person, too.”
“I suppose.”
“You’d make a great dog mom.”
She rolled her eyes and grinned. “Donotcall me a dog mom.”
