"I can, and I will." I see the frantic jump of her pulse, the way her body responds even when she's trying to fight it. "Every last one of them. I'll start with the five pieces of shit in that dining room. And I'll finish with your husband's skull mounted somewhere I can admire daily."
"He's not my husband."
There it is.
That buried defiance. The part of her that used to crave the darkness. The part that knows exactly what we're capable of together.
"Good." My voice drops. "Because you don't belong to him. Never did. I don't give a fuck what papers he forged or what lies he told. You'remine."
The fire drains from her eyes as quickly as it appeared.
"Okay, Heathcliff. You're going to get yourself killed. But first he'll kill me and Hale and make you watch."
"I'd like to see him fucking try." I reach for her face, thumb tracing the tear track still drying on her cheek. "You two are the reason I'm breathing. I'm not leaving without both of you. That's not negotiable."
"Ewan will never let him go."
"He's not going to have a choice."
She searches my face. Looking for the lie. The angle. The hidden motive.
There isn't one.
"How are you going to get us out?"
"Leave that to me."
"I want to know."
"You've been through enough tonight." I brush a strand of hairfrom her face. "You don't need the weight of logistics on top of everything else."
"I'm not fragile."
"I know you're not. But you're exhausted. You just had a panic attack on a bathroom floor because that piece of shit threatened to take our son." My thumb traces her bottom lip. "So forgive me if I want to give you one night where you don't have to carry anything else."
Her jaw sets. "That's not your call."
"Tonight it is."
She bites her lip, that stubborn tell I remember from years ago. The one that meant she was about to argue just for the pleasure of watching me get worked up.
"You're infuriating," she mutters.
"Missed you too, Red."
The small smile evaporates, and she just studies me, as if a million thoughts are racing through her mind at once.
"You should hate me."
I've thought the same thing. Many times.
"For what?"
"For what I did." She won't meet my eyes. "For keeping Hale from you. For letting you think I chose this. You should want nothing to do with me."
"Is that what you want? For me to hate you?"
"It would make more sense."
