"Absolutely not. I was where I wanted to be—with you."
"You should have left. You are too brave and too protective for your own good." She paused, gazing into his eyes. "Thank you."
He squeezed her hand. "I didn't want to live without you."
"Not even to hunt down Qadir if he got away?"
"I wasn't thinking about him. But I'm very glad he's dead, and that the Azrani brothers are also deceased. Qadir's organization will splinter now. They'll be far less lethal."
"But more will come in his place."
"Let's not think about that now." He paused. "Do you want to call your mom or your brother? I couldn't help noticing your phone has been lighting up all day."
"Whenever my family hears bad news in the city, they text me. I told them I was fine. I didn't tell them what happened. They don't need to know. But they still keep texting."
"I don't blame them. They love you. And they should, because you are an incredible woman."
She felt touched and flattered by the admiration and respect in his gaze. "I just survived. You and Tyler and Jason did the hard work."
"Are you kidding? None of us were trapped in a suicide vest. I can't imagine how that felt."
"You don't want to imagine it, and I don't want to think about it anymore. I'm actually feeling hungry."
"Room service," he said with a smile. "I say we order everything on the menu."
"Including dessert. And then I want to try out that Jacuzzi tub. I'm hoping you'll join me."
"Well, considering I can't seem to let go of your hand, I'd say that's going to happen," he said dryly.
"It's funny. I didn't think you would be a hand-holder."
"I never have been."
"I haven't either. But this feels right." She licked her lips. "We said a lot of things to each other in the heat of the moment, Max. It's going to be okay if you want to back off on any of them."
"Do you want to back off?" he challenged.
"No, but I'm pragmatic enough to know that people say things when they're scared, and then when they're not?—"
"I didn't say anything that wasn't true or that I didn't mean," he said with certainty in his voice. "But we can go as fast or as slow as you want. I just want to be with you, figure things out together."
"I like the sound of that. And there will be things to figure out for you, like whether you ever work for Dominic again. I wonder what's going to happen to him."
"Probably not much," he said. "I doubt there's any evidence linking him to some deal with Qadir that involved me. And bribes in that part of the world are so common, it would be stranger if Dominic hadn't paid people for protection. But we'll see what happens. I'd like to make sure that every part of his organization is investigated."
She laughed at his wicked smile. "Put him through hell."
"It's only right, don't you think?"
"I absolutely do think it's right."
"Even if you don't believe in revenge?" he challenged.
"I don't believe in revenge that includes killing people. Making their life miserable…I'm okay with that."
"We'll see how it plays out. Revenge is no longer a priority for me. I don't want to wake up every day filled with anger."
"How do you want to wake up?"
