“Youneed to think about this. Seriously think. You haven’t had time to process all of this?—”
She closes the distance fast, pulls herself against me. Kisses me until I feel drunk. I forget what we were just talking about and cling to her. She leans back in my arms. “Don’t do that. You’re not Mr. Mature and I’m not some idiot kid. I’ve lived, Rhett. I’ve… I’ve hurt for this. I can do this. I don’t need time to think.”
“Take the night anyway,” I grunt, forcing myself to step back.
She huffs. “Fine. Whatever… go on, say it. I’m acting just like the idiot kid I just said I wasn’t.”
I smirk and can’t help it. “My lips are sealed.”
A small smile touches her lips. “This is so messed up. All this stuff between us. And now… this. I want it, Rhett.”
I take her hands gently. “For me, Sunshine. You need to think about this.”
“What would the next step be?” she said. “If we… used me as bait.”
Just hearing her say it makes my heart race. “We’d have to find somewhere Mira could stay while we lured him out. I trust my friend Marshall with my life, and she’d be safe at his place. Anyway, I wouldn’t let him follow. He’s gotten the jump on us twice, and that’s two times too many. After that, we’d arrange a date, something obvious, then drive out from here…”
I shake my head. “But we’re not talking about this.”
“It sounds like we’re talking about it,” she says with a grin.
I sigh and close my eyes.
“He deserves it,” she says. “He’s worse than a lowlife, Rhett. He kills innocents, women, kids…” My heart shatters as she steps forward, brushes her hands over my face. I open my eyes and look down at her as she says my own words back to me. “You are fucking vengeance.”
I clear my throat. “I’ve… thought that exact thing before.”
“Because it’s true.”
“Tell me in the morning.” I force myself to step away. “I’m going to check the perimeter.”
I turn and walk from the room, but already thinking about the plan, the date. It could be an excuse to do something extravagant for her. She deserves the princess treatment. Hell, the queen treatment would fit her nicely too.
But as bait? For that sick fuck?
Still, as I walk around my property, checking the vegetables, gun at my hip, I’ve got a smile on my face. I thought she was going to hate me, but I was wrong.
By the time I get back to the house, an hour has passed. Elle is sitting on the couch, looking at the TV, which is playing a news show. The news anchor is talking about Lucian Conti being on the loose in a casual tone, mentioning that authorities think he’s fled the country.
I snort. “Or they’re just saying that.”
Elle glances at me. “Really? It’s that bad.”
“It depends,” I say. “But it can be.”
“Rhett—”
“Yes,” I cut in.
She leaps to her feet. “Yes?”
I nod, God help me. This might be the worst thing I’ve ever done. But it’s a thousand times sweeter than lying to my Sunshine. “Yes, Elle. If you want to do this, then I’ll make sure it’s done right.”
She rushes to me and throws herself into my arms, as if I’ve just given her a gift instead of dragging her into hell with me.
“I’ll need to meet Marshall,” she says. “Was he on my case? There were so many… and at the trial, I just did what I had to do, then got out of there. I’ll need to make sure Mira is going to be okay.”
“We’ll drive down tomorrow,” I tell her. “We’ll lose Lucian’s tail if he puts one on us. We’ll force him to wait for us here. Then we’ll do what needs to be done.”
