She sighed heavily. “You’re coming back, right?”
I chuckled as I slid my shirt over my head. “I always come back.”
“I’m being serious.”
My gaze found hers once more. “So am I.”
The worry was prevalent on her face, but there was something else. Not quite fear, and nowhere near regret. It almost looked like…
Unease.
“Hey, it’s okay,” I said as I walked over to her.
I sat beside her on the edge of the bed and wrapped my arm around her shoulders.
“I promise you, I’m coming back. Okay?”
She nodded softly. “Okay.”
I kissed the top of her head. “We’re going to take this meeting, we’re going to be quick about it, and when I come back, we are going to be free to live however we want to.”
“And how is it that you want to live?”
She looked up at me, her eyes pleading with me. They begged me to say the words we both knew were rushing around in my head. But, I didn’t want to do that to her. I didn’t want to say those three little words that would change everything, and then end up getting shot in the fucking head like an asshole.
So, I bit them back and saved them for a more appropriate time. “I’m coming back, Chloe.”
She swallowed hard. “Okay.”
I stood to my feet. “Try to keep yourself distracted, and we’ll be home before you know it.”
And as she mindlessly nodded her head, I almost regretted having to leave her.
But the guys and I had a war to win.
“Let’s go,” I said the second I closed the bedroom door behind me.
Stone nodded. “You think she’s gonna stay put this time?”
I shot him a look. “You leave that to me, like I leave Hayley to you.”
His eyebrows rose a bit. “Interesting comparison, seeing as how the relationships are a bit different.”
I rolled my eyes. “Come on, you pain in the ass.”
He barked with laughter, but it was business the second we got outside. We piled our asses into the van and headed straight for our destination, which was yet another abandoned warehouse.
“What happened to the good ol’ days when people met up in restaurants so the shootouts didn’t happen?” Texas asked.
Frost chuckled. “The bad guys started not caring, so we had to care for them.”
“Here fucking here,” Stone whispered.
The ride flew by and before I could even wrap my head around what the hell was about to happen, the van came to a stop. The van doors opened at Texas’ command, and I watched as a crowd of cartel motherfuckers gathered behind him. We all clamored out into the setting sun, touching down on the broken concrete of the parking lot of said abandoned warehouse.
And that suited asshole parted the crowd like he was god damn Moses.
“Well, well, well,” he said as he slid his hands into his suit pockets, “nice to see you all. West, good to see you again.”
