“Yes, I blew up my house.”
“Why?” I asked, completely floored.
“Because for me to really live, Vincent St. James had to die.”
I shook my head, not understanding, but he kissed me to silence my next question. “If Vincent St. James no longer exists, there’s no reason to hunt him…there’s no revenge to be had. They called meThe Ghostfor a reason, Nate. It was because I was good at not being seen. The men I worked with years ago haven’t seen me since then. They know where I live because I never tried to hide that, but that’s it. No friends meant no links to the outside world. No lovers meant no one else they could target.”
“But Everett,” I said.
“Everett is going to mourn the loss of his friend. He’ll likely be the only one who will attend my funeral. He’ll handle my estate.He’ll make sure to spread the word that Vincent is gone…died tragically when a natural gas leak caused his house to explode.”
“You can’t do that to him, Vincent…”
“He’s in on it, baby. He knows all about it.” He ran his fingers down my cheek. My bruises had mostly healed, but he seemed to linger on the spots they’d once been. “My enemies won’t have any way of tracking me because I won’t be me anymore. Turns out Ronan and Dom have some skills even I don’t possess.”
“Like what?”
“Like finding a body at a morgue in Chattanooga that fit my general description. Like giving me a whole new identity. Social security, employment history, the works.”
It was almost too much to believe. “Why?” I asked.
“You know why,” he whispered, just before he kissed me.
“For me?” I asked. “You did this to be with me?”
“I thought I’d have to wait until you finished your first term in the Senate to beg you to make some changes for me.” He shook his head. “But when I saw the press conference…it was like my second chance and third chance all wrapped up into one.” His eyes held mine. “Nate, it wouldn’t be safe for me to be in the public eye in any kind of way, but if you decide to run for office at some point, we can make it work.”
“You mean like what Everett and Pierce had? Sneaking around? Hiding?”
“I know it’s not ideal, but I would do anything for you…but standing by your side in front of news cameras…it would just be too dangerous.”
“No,” I said with a shake of my head.
Vincent froze and then he was lifting off me. I grabbed his arm because I knew exactly what he was thinking.
“I mean no to the hiding and sneaking around, Vincent.” He stopped his upward motion and sat back down on the bed next to me.
“If we do this, we’re all in. Both of us.” I leaned in to kiss him. “Don’t you know, Vincent?”
His eyes met mine as I pulled back just a little. “You’re it for me. I don’t need anything else.”
His arm snaked around my waist and then he was pulling me flush with his chest. “Just us,” he murmured.
“Just us.”
“Sounds perfect, Nate.”
I let my hands stroke over his face, hardly able to believe he was really here and that he was mine.
“That’s because it is.” I put my arms around him and held on, certain I’d never be able to let him go again. “It really is.”
Epilogue
Vincent
One monthlater
“Three,”I said impatiently.
