He runs from the restaurant as sirens fill the air.
The second he’s gone, Elle sinks against her chair, drawing in ragged breaths. I quickly hurry around the table and kneel beside her, taking her hands.
“You did good,” I tell her. “You knocked that out of the park, Elle. You should be proud.”
She looks at me, her breathing slowing. “He hurt those men s-so casually,” she stutters. “Like it wasn’t even a big deal.”
“That’s who he is. That’swhathe is. He can’t even help it. I’m proud of you, Elle. That must’ve been the hardest thing you’ve ever done.”
She nods. “It was.”
“What did he whisper to you?”
“He wants me to meet him at my cabin,” she says. “Tomorrow evening. He said I should bring a bag and come alone. He thinks we’re going to run away together.”
I consider this. “Do you believe him?”
She nods. “You heard him. You saw. He’s broken, Rhett. He doesn’t know right from wrong. He doesn’t live in the real world. I think he honestly believes that I would be with him, even after everything.” She shudders. “How can he believe that?How?”
“My job isn’t to get in his head,” I growl. “My job is to put him in the ground and keep you safe.”
“I’mputting him in the ground, remember,” she says. I must make a face because she tilts her head at me. “What?”
“When he attacked those men?—”
“Just because I find it difficult to watch such disgusting violence, Rhett, doesn’t mean I’m some small, fragile little thing. When the time comes, I’ll be ready.”
I hope I will be too.
“What now?” she asks. “Should we get out of here before the cops arrive? People saw him at our table.”
“No,” I tell her. “We give a statement, say he must’ve followed us here, explain what happened. But we lie about what he said. We say he was vague and possessive… and make it seem like it was a coincidence, him being here. If the cops think he followed us or targeted us, they might want our help.”
Which means Lucian will return to prison for a few more years or break out again before he gets a second chance to tear her life apart.
“Okay.” She sniffles, nodding, wiping her face. “We can do this. Together.”
I scan the room, making sure no one’s watching, then lean in and kiss her on the cheek. She wraps her arms around me and pulls me down, hugging me close, breathing in deeply like my scent is somehow bolstering her.
“Together,” she repeats.
CHAPTER 26
LUCIAN
Hiding in a trash can isn’t something a prince should have to do. But this is how love gets a man. This is what dedication, perseverance, and affection look like. Hiding in a trash can out of duty, out of a dogged and admirable need to be there for my woman. My sweetheart.
When I hear the car pull away, I climb out, glancing at the mouth of the alleyway. That was close. It turns out the cop car pulled up to grab something from a nearby diner, but I didn’t know that.
It could’ve been the end of everything.
I walk down the street, cross over, and grab my backpack from another alleyway. Quickly pulling on the wig, the hat, and the glasses, I change my jacket and make my way across the city.
I always knew there was a chance for me and my sweetheart.
Maybe she finally realized that all my games, the following and the surprises, and everything else, arepartof my love for her. Maybe she’s finally seeing sense.
In my second car, my cellphone rings. It’s Henrietta, the woman I had sitting at the restaurant bar, feeding me details about the date.
