I swallow hard. “Banks…”
“That’s what the blueprints are for. My crew and I have been planning a job—a job that goes down tomorrow.”
His words hit me like individual bullets, each one sending a hot pain into me that radiates out until my whole body is shaking.
Chris…is a bank robber.
The man I gave my virginity to, the man who held me so sweetly and called me his, the man who sat me down and described our perfect life together…
Is a bank robber.
I should get up now and walk out. Maybe even call the cops on him. That’s what I should do.
But I can’t. Something keeps me in my place.
“For how long?” I ask.
“Eleven years.”
My stomach drops. An entire career based on taking what isn’t his. “You’ve never been caught?”
“No. I’m careful.”
“Have you…hurt anyone?”
He pauses. It feels like an eternity. “Not anyone who didn’t have it coming. Like those men at the pier.”
I close my eyes, feeling the anger within—burning, rising. But beneath that, there’s something worse.
Fear.
Not fear of Chris. I’ve never been afraid of him, and even now, despite everything he’s told me, I’m still not. No, I’m afraidforhim. For what might happen if he walks into that bank tomorrow.
“You lied to me…” My voice starts to crack. “I gave myself to you, Chris. I told my best friend you were a good man. I believed everything you said about the house, our life together. And the whole time, you were just lying to me!”
“No!” His voice is rough, strained, like he wants to shout but is holding back. “Yes, I lied about what I do, but when I told you how I feel about you—when I told you about the life I want with you—I wasnotlying.”
I shake my head. “How can I believe that?”
“I’m telling you now, Avery. The truth. Right now.” He takes a step closer. “I could have taken that bag and disappeared without you ever knowing, but I didn’t. I’m still here, telling you that I want you with me.”
He’s close enough to touch me. There’s a strained look on his face like nothing I’ve ever seen on him. The control, the discipline. It’s slipping.
I see desperation, emotion. And it’s raw.
He’s terrified of losing me.
Somehow, I manage to stand. My legs wobble, but I brace myself and stare at him. “This job is tomorrow?”
He nods. “Yes.”
“And that phone call you took yesterday? That was one of your guys? Part of your crew?”
“Yes. He got himself busted and brought the heat down on all of us. Since then, I’ve been trying to find a way out.”
“A way…out?”I ask. “You mean, not robbing the bank? Going away with me like you described?”
“That’s right.”
