“But I can’t leave you,” she whispers. “I love you, Elias. I don’t think I’ve ever loved anyone else.”
Ragged breaths rip from my lungs. My fingers tremble around my lighter, but I can’t move.
I’m afraid that if I blink, she’ll disappear.
“Please don’t come back if you’re going to walk away again,” I rasp, my voice thick.
She shakes her head, her face crumbling.
Then she hurls herself at me.
I catch her and hold her tight, drowning myself in her scent and warmth.
Slowly, I brush the hair from her face. “You came back for me.”
She nods, a tear-streaked smile breaking through. “Whatever it is—The Association, revenge—I’m staying. I’ll be here every step of the way. Because you’re my husband.”
Her words echo through me. They’re alive and magical. They’re light—chasing away every shadow.
“My wife,” I whisper. “I love you.”
Then I kiss her, even as the wind howls an ominous wail outside.
Chapter 46: THE BLITZ
His eyes never leavemine during the car ride.
“Stop it.” Warmth rushes to my face. I pick at the hem of the black dress I threw on.
“Never.” Elias peels off his gloves and tosses them onto the seat. He laces our fingers together, thumb grazing the simple diamond wedding band.
“What are you staring at?” I try to tug free, but he growls.
“Missing a rock. A big one.”
“I don’t need a fancy engagement ring. I’m already married to you.”
“But I do. In fact,” in one swift motion, he hoists me onto his lap, “I think you should wear rings on all your fingers. So the bastards know you’re taken.”
His words trigger a memory—the dossiers of the men I’d dated, the ones who vanished into the ether.
“You chased them away!”
“Who?” He shrugs nonchalantly, a smug smirk on his face.
“You bastard. I thought there was something wrong with me! It gave me a freakin’ complex.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re perfect.”
“I know that,” I shove him and he chuckles, his green eyes warm and vibrant, “but you made me doubt myself, and for that you have to suffer!”
I straddle his thighs and dive in, fingers going for the kill.
“Shit.” He laughs and squirms, full-body tremors racking his body. “This is your big revenge?”
I dig under his arms, and he lets out a very un-mobster-like squeak.
“Oh my God, the deadly dealer of secrets is ticklish!” I squeal. “You are so screwed.”
