“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Hate to break it to ya, Menace, but if you can’t have a coffee while on the go, you’re still a prisoner to your guts. But it’s fine, we can invest in an orange jumpsuit. Ladies’ size, fucking tiny?”I tease. “I can rip a hole in the ass, make a little flap, you know, for those emergency moments, and then you’ll be free to have a coffee anytime of the day.”
“Wow,” she says, beaming up at me with a big, fake grin. “And to think this is the kind of genius I’ve been missing out on all these years. It’s a miracle I’ve even survived to tell the tale.”
“Don’t you forget it, babe.” I grin right back. “Oh shit. That’s kinda your personality now, isn’t it?”
She sucks in a loud gasp, nailing me in the ribs again. “Low blow, Stone Blackthorne. Low blow,” she says, just as her eyes sparkle—the only warning that I should brace for whatever’s about to come out of her mouth. “Though, if you weren’t quite so forgettable, maybe I wouldn’t have forgotten you in the first place.”
My jaw drops. “Well shit, Menace. Don’t hold back.”
Aria laughs. “You may be able to physically beat me in every facet of our insane lives right now, but hear me and hear me good, Stone Blackthorne. You will never outwit me. It’s not possible. You can certainly try with your little lactose intolerance jokes, but I’m a stone-cold killer when it comes to a verbal smackdown. You’ll never win.”
“Noted,” I grin, knowing she’s right. This woman has always had a way with words, and no brain injury and memory loss is ever going to take that away from her. “Would you like a trophy? Maybe something with an inscription?”
“Absolutely,” she says, stepping out of my arms and moving toward the window, glancing out at the passing cars the same way I’ve been doing for the past three days. “I expect you’ll get right on that.”
“Of course. It’s not as though we have any other pressing matters that need to be dealt with. Tell me, when I place the inscription order, should I book it under your name or mine?”
“Yours, obviously. And don’t forget to leave a contact address, you know, just in case.”
I roll my eyes and watch her as she gazes out the window, but when she falls silent, I sense a shift in her. I give her a moment, waiting to see if she’ll tell me whatever’s on her mind, but when the silence grows heavier, I step in behind her, my hands falling to her waist. “What is it, Menace?”
She lets out a soft breath before turning in my arms, her gaze sweeping up my torso before letting that green stare collide with mine. “Things are starting to change,” she tells me, her voice a breathy whisper. “And I don’t mean our situation with the cops. I mean between you and me.”
I nod, knowing what she means. These past few days have been different. It’s not just an intense sexual attraction that has me incapable of keeping my hands off her. It’s becoming more than that.
I’ve always loved her, and as we got older, I knew we’d end up heading down this track together. But after those seven years of despising her, I thought all the love I had for her dried up. There was nothing there but pure betrayal, and the hurt I felt from that far outweighed anything else. But now that hurt is gone, and all that’s left is a fierce grief for the time I missed.
“I don’t want to leave you,” she tells me, her hand shifting to my chest. “I know I tried to run at first, and I told you that the moment I got my chance, I would go straight back to the life I’d worked so hard to build. But I don’t want that. Not anymore. I can’t fathom the idea of having to leave you, and I’m terrified of the day the feds eventually catch up to us. I don’t want to lose you, Stone. I’m not ready for this to end.”
“Nothing’s ending,” I tell her, pulling her against my chest. “I have seven years to make up for, and I’m not about to lose them because some asshole cop wants to be a hero. They won’t get me, Aria. My place is right here with you.”
“You can’t promise me that,” she murmurs, a heaviness in her eyes. “You can’t guarantee that won’t happen.”
“I know,” I murmur, holding her against my chest, because honestly, I’m fucking terrified, and she’s right. I can’t promise her that I’ll never get caught. Look at the situation we’re in right now. The city is surrounded, and we’re trapped like caged animals, but what kind of life is this? She deserves better than hiding out in shitty warehouses and going hungry. “You shouldn’t want this life with me. I’m never going to let you go, Aria. I’m too fucking selfish for that, but if you were smart, you’d run like hell.”
“No, I—”
“I can’t give you a grand life, Menace. With me, we’re always going to be watching our backs. We’ll never be able to settle in one spot. Constantly moving and keeping a low profile while trying to earn a bit of cash just to survive. That’s no life.”
Aria pulls back and looks up at me again, her brows furrowed. “Are you trying to convince me to run?”
I shake my head. “Maybe. I don’t know,” I admit. “I don’t think I have it in me to watch you run. Like I said, I’m a selfish motherfucker, and I’ll keep you right here by my side until the world physically pulls us apart. But you need to know what we’re up against, what life is going to look like for us on the run.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she tells me, her eyes searching mine. “Stone, I . . .”
She lets her words fall away, and as nervousness flashes in that green stare, I take her chin, refusing to let her go. “What is it, Menace?”
“I think I’m falling in love with you.”
I nod, holding her stare. “I know. You’ve been falling in love with me since you were fourteen and realized I was always going to be the one who showed up for you. It’s always been me andyou, Menace. There was never any other way this was going to turn out, but it’s nice to know that you’re catching on now.”
She smiles wide, her cheeks flushing the most beautiful shade of red as she pushes against my chest, silently demanding that I put her down. “You weren’t worried that I’d never catch on and figure it out? That those feelings had disappeared when my memories did?”
I shake my head. “No. It was only a matter of time, and the second you started getting flashbacks, I knew that would follow. Besides, whether you got your memories back or not, you would have fallen for me anyway. It’s in your DNA. It’s just a part of who you are.”
“You love me too,” she says, almost like an accusation, and I nod, not even bothering to hide it. She can see it in my eyes every time she looks at me. “Was it always like that? Have you always loved me . . . like this?”
