An amused sound floated over my head.
“We could have a good life here,” I said, looking up. “Don’t you think?”
His eyes searched mine as he nodded. “I’ll make it happen.”
“Wewill,” I said. Then, “But I think I’ll stay at the Neon Reef with Ghost. I don’t think I’m ready for all ofthat.”
The muscles in his jaw jumped, and he let out a deep breath but then nodded. “You’ll listen to everything Ghost says. Take every precaution and stay away from the windows and doors.”
I nodded.
“You won’t take a step out of that place until I come back.”
I nodded again.
“I’ll be an hour. Or less.”
I laid my palm against his cheek. “I can survive an hour without you, Kieran. I’ve managed my whole life.”
“That was before you were the target of the mob.”
“I got away from them twice, thank you very much.” Three times if you counted just now, but Kieran would probably take the credit for saving me, so I’d just let him have that.
Although, I couldn’t help but wonder. “Why didn’t the cops help us back there? I mean, the impound lot is like police property, isn’t it? They didn’t even come outside when we were getting shot at.”
Kieran’s face pinched. “The mob owns at least half the force. No one—not even the police—would willingly step into their business. Unless they had a death wish. Which is exactly why I’m putting an end to this. Today,” he vowed.
“But what if it doesn’t work?” I worried, letting him see the doubt in my eyes. “What if they… keep coming?”
“I’ll kill them,” he said, matter-of-fact. “All of them.”
The glittering determination shining in his eyes was not only proof that he could do it but that he absolutelywould.
CHAPTER
THIRTY
Kieran
You might be a hitman, but you are so much more than death, Kieran Vaughn.
Was I? I honestly wasn’t sure. I could concede that, since meeting Hazard, life was no longer only about death. Maybe it didn’t need to be.
Death is certainty in a life of the uncertain. Perhaps that’s why, when others cling to life, I prefer to cling to death.
I might have lived that day when others in my unit died, but I did not survive unscathed. The hope once filling me was torn from my soul, leaving behind bitter insecurity that scarred over with anger.
If hope ceases to exist in the face of uncertainty, the inevitability of death becomes a comfort.
There was a new certainty in my life. A boy with messy hair, two-toned eyes, and a capacity to love even the likes of me. He made me want. He made me love. He made me realize… Maybe the ultimate revenge for what was done to me and my unit wasn’t being consumed by death. Maybe it was to be consumed by life.
For me, Haz was the very definition of life, and how easy it was to be consumed by him.
I wouldn’t give him up. Instead of death, I was going to cling to life. To him.
Doing so meant getting comfortable with uncertainty. I could do it for Hazard. I could also remove as much uncertainty as possible. For example, those who wanted to take him away from me.
So even though I found myself clinging to life, I would impart death to keep it.
