“Yes, you did. You meant it in the moment. Because you’re terrified.”
“I am terrified.”
“So am I. But dying isn’t the answer.”
“Then what is?”
“Ending this. Before they get close enough to hurt anyone.”
“How?”
I hesitate. I don’t want to tell her about tomorrow’s meeting, don’t want to give her another reason to be scared. But she deserves the truth.
“They called me tonight. Want to meet tomorrow.”
Her breath catches. “And you’re going?”
“Yes.”
“That’s insane.”
“It’s necessary.”
“You’ll be walking into a trap.”
“I’ll be ending a threat to our family.”
“Or you’ll be getting yourself killed and making me raise those boys alone again!”
“I’m not going alone. Declan’s setting up support. Snipers, surveillance, backup within range. If anything goes wrong, I’ll have people ready to move.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“It’s what we have.”
She’s quiet for a long time. Then: “Promise me you’ll come back.”
“Aurelia—”
“Promise me. The boys just got their father. They can’t lose you now.”
“I promise I’ll do everything possible to come back to them.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“It’s the truth.”
More silence. Then she says quietly, “I need you. They need you. Please don’t do anything stupid.”
“I won’t.”
But we both know I’m lying. The meeting tomorrow is stupid. Reckless. Exactly the type of move that gets people killed. But it’s also the only way to draw the Petrovs out. To force them into the open where I can end this before they hurt my family.
“Get some sleep,” I tell her. “I’ll call you tomorrow after it’s done.”
“Cassian—”
“I love you.”
