“I want normal. I want to go on actual dates with you. I want to meet your friends and have you meet Lila properly. I want to figure out what we are without danger and adrenaline coloring everything.”
“I want that too.” Carson’s hand moved to her hair, stroking gently. “I want to take you to dinner at the good Italian place downtown. I want to bring you to the station and show you off to everyone who said I’d never settle down. I want to wake up next to you without worrying someone’s trying to kill you.”
“That sounds perfect.”
“And after that...” He hesitated. “After that, I want to see where this goes. See if you can stand living with someone who works crazy hours and is terrible at emotional conversations.”
Nora propped herself up on her elbow. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”
“Eventually. When you’re ready. When we’re ready.” He brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I know it’s fast. I know we’re supposed to take things slow. But I can’t imagine my life without you in it, Nora. Can’t imagine coming home to anempty apartment after a long shift. Can’t imagine not having you to talk to, to hold, to love.”
“I want that too.” She kissed him softly. “All of it. The messy parts and the scary parts and the beautiful parts.”
They kissed again, deeper this time, and Carson felt some of the fear ease. She was here. She was his. And he was going to do everything in his power to keep her safe.
Not by pushing her away.
But by trusting her. Trusting them.
***
Morning came with a phone call that made Carson’s blood run cold.
He answered on the second ring. “Black.”
“We found Eugene’s hideout,” Finn said without preamble. “Abandoned warehouse on the east side. But, Carson...you need to see this.”
“I’m on my way.”
He ended the call and looked at Nora, who’d woken when his phone rang. “They found where Eugene’s been hiding. I need to go check it out.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“Nora—”
“Don’t.” She sat up. “Don’t tell me I have to stay here where it’s safe. If this is about me, I deserve to see it. I deserve to be part of this.”
Carson wanted to argue. Wanted to lock her in this safe house where nothing could hurt her.
But he’d promised to trust her. To stop shutting her out.
“Okay,” he said. “But you stay in the car until I clear the scene. And if I tell you to leave, you leave. No arguments.”
“Deal.”
They drove to the warehouse with two patrol cars following. The building was exactly what Carson expected—rundown, graffitied, surrounded by chain-link fence.
Finn met them at the entrance, his expression grim.
“Show me,” Carson said.
They entered the warehouse, and Carson immediately understood Finn’s reaction.
The walls were covered with photographs. Hundreds of them. All of Nora.
Nora at work. Nora at the grocery store. Nora at the coffee shop with Lila. Nora walking down the street. Nora through her apartment window.
Years’ worth of surveillance. Obsession.
