Nomar stops, takes my face in his hands and holds me so I cannot look away. “No, sweetheart. I haven’t been with anyone in more than five years. Ford put the condoms in the bag because he figured it out before I did.”
“What?” I hold my breath, unsure if I can dare hope he feels the same way I do.
“There isn’t anyone else for me, Lisette. I can’t give you forever. My darkness would consume you. But I can give you my heart, and I don’t ever want it back.”
* * *
Nomar
I told her. In my own way. She’s it for me. I’m in love with her, and though I don’t expect her to love me back—or even want me if she ever finds out what I’ve done—we have this time together. Today. Tonight. Part of tomorrow.
Once Mateen is back, Griff can take over the day-to-day surveillance. I’ll stick around for a while. Maybe even date her. Pretend to be a normal guy. One whose sins don’t eat away at him every minute of every day.
Even now, in the middle of a flower shop, surrounded by so much beauty, I can feel them. Crawling up my throat. Choking me. I’ve spilled enough blood to drown a hundred times over, and nothing will ever wipe my ledger clean.
We fill cart after cart with arrangements from massive, walk-in coolers, the large order destined for some big convention happening tomorrow.
The bell over the door rings. I shove one of the vases back into the cooler. My hand finds the butt of the Beretta under my jacket. Lisette sidesteps me, her fingers squeezing my bicep.
“Nomar, this is Fleur. She owns this shop.”
A petite woman with white hair leans heavily on a cane with a walking boot on her right foot. She looks from Lisette to me.
“Nomar?Est-ce la vérité?”
She knows who I am? Lisette…talked about me? I shouldn’t be surprised. Not with everything she’s shared with me. But I am.
“Oui. You should sit. The three of us should…talk.” Lisette switches to English as she moves to Fleur’s side and takes her arm. “Come. I will make you a cup of coffee.”
Fleur gives the carts a passing glance as she limps slowly through the shop. “Beautiful work, honey. I knew you could do it. The drivers will be here to pick these up in half an hour.”
Thirty minutes? Plenty of time for me to do a perimeter check. I wait for the older woman to sink into a chair in the back room, then clear my throat. “Lisette? Can I talk to you?”
Sliding my arm around her waist when we’re out of Fleur’s line of sight, I inhale her scent. It’s body lotion, I found out this morning. Something French. Sweet and soft and very muchher.
“Fleur will want to know why you are here,” she says. “Why you think it is acceptable to sit in the shop all day while I work. We should tell her. She…already knows about me.”
“Theofficialstory?” I helped Ford craft it. It’s more or less the truth, minus the part where Faruk was a powerful trafficker of guns, drugs, and people.
“Yes. I can tell her about the dating app, and she will understand that you are here to protect me.”
I don’t like anyone knowing who I am. But Lisette’s right. There’s no way in hell I’m leaving her alone until she gets off work.
“Okay. Tell her. I should go for a walk. Make sure no one’s watching the shop. But I need you to lock the door and stay inside until I get back.”
“We opened an hour ago,” she says with a frown. “What if someone needs flowers?”
“They can wait. I won’t be long. If I go now, I won’t have to leave you again today. Please, Lisette. I didn’t see anyone following us this morning, but whenever I’m with you, I’m…distracted.”
“So it ismyfault you cannot do your job? And now you will make it so I cannot do mine?” She huffs, wriggles out of my grasp, and crosses her arms over her chest. “Flowers may seem unimportant to you, Nomar, but they are not to me.”
“That’s not… Fuck. None of this is your fault.Ishould have been more careful this morning. And your workisimportant. I’m not asking you to give it up. Just take a break for a few minutes. Can you at least lock the door behind me? Keep the open sign on. If anyone comes by, let them in. But text me first and I’ll head straight back.”
She holds my gaze for several seconds before her frustration fades. “All right. You have twenty minutes. I will not make the hotel staff knock. This is the biggest order Fleur has ever sold. If they are happy with her—my—work, she will be able to hire more people. Take vacations. Enjoy herself.”
The way she talks about this woman, they share a bond. Friendship. Respect. “You care for her.”
Lisette nods. “I met her a few weeks after we moved here. It was Mateen’s first day of school and I was crying on the street outside the shop. She brought me in, made me a cup of coffee, and by the time I left two hours later, she had offered me a job. I had no resume, no experience, no references. Fleur took a chance on me. She is…like…my godmother.”
