I lift each one of her arms up and assist her into Dex’s jacket, happy for the difference in their sizes. I’m sure she’s grateful to be drowning in the fabric. The act of dressing her helps aid in erasing the awful memory of seeing her naked and vulnerable in Luciano’s arms as he had the gun pointed at her head. That image will no doubt haunt me for the rest of my life. She came so close to dying and the thought of that hits me harder in the chest than his bullet.
“It’s over,” I say as I refocus my attention on Vincent. I’m going to take great pride in disposing of his body. Hopefully we wiped out his entire bloodline tonight.
Not wanting us to sit on the cold and dusty hardwood floor any longer, I move to stand. Grimacing and groaning as I do, I’m relieved that though still feeling weak, all my limbs are intact and moving.
“I’m sorry,” she says as she helps me stand. “I shouldn’t have reached out and tried to knock the gun out of his hands. I acted impulsively and he shot you and—”
“You did everything right,” I interrupt as I straighten my spine and pull her into my arms. Kissing the top of her head, I add, “My goal all along was to get him to shoot me instead of you. I had the vest, remember? You remained cool and collected and provided just enough distraction for Dex to see his opening and act. Your bravery is why we’re both alive right now. So don’t you ever apologize. We were banking on you helping us help you.”
She pulls away from the embrace. “The minute he fired the gun, I thought I’d die right alongside you.” Her voice breaks. “I couldn’t imagine you not in my life. I couldn’t imagine what that day would look like.”
Her words both warm me and turn me cold. Our business arrangement in The Whitney had put her in danger. Me being near her puts her in danger, but my brain doesn’t want to deal with that reality. Not yet.
Dex pops his head back inside the room. “We need to get out of here before the authorities come. We paid them off enough to stall, but they’re going to have to respond to all the gunfire calls soon enough.” He pauses and scans my body as well as Rowans. “You both good?”
“We’re fine,” I answer as I guide Rowan to join Dex. “What about the bodies and wiping the evidence?” I ask, disappointed that if we leave, I won’t get to clean up this mess. But at the same time, I don’t want to leave Rowan in order to do it.
“Taken care of. You deserve the day off,” Dex says with a wink.
I give a small nod agreeing. I do deserve a break. I want nothing more than to whisk Rowan off to some exotic island where it is just her and me with no interruptions, no crime, no lingering danger, no messes to clean up. Nothing but the two of us. The fantasy of us drinking Mai Tais on the beach is far-fetched, but still a pleasant thought.
Still holding Rowan close to my body, I wonder how I’ll ever be able to let her go. But that’s exactly what I’m going to have to do eventually. She herself asked the question if it was all over.
And it is.
Which also means there will be no reason for me to be around her, protecting her. There will be no reason for her not to resume life as normal, and her normal does not include me.
“Can we go back to The Whitney?” she asks.
“Yes,” I say, “though we’ll still need a little bit of time to make sure all the loose ends are cleaned up. Your room is still not ready—”
“Can I stay with you?”
I wouldn’t have it any other way—for tonight. “Of course.”
But then what? What happens when the dust settles? She can’t live in my small hotel room for long. She can’t… she can’t be with me. The truth hits me as hard as the bullet. This job is just about finished. I’d been a fool at the cabin, allowing myself to think this could be something more than it is. The job is about to be cleaned so I can move on to something else to fix. Her job and life is waiting for her. She’s come out of the flames and will soon be able to put this entire ordeal behind her.
It’s over. Truly over.
“I’ve never wanted a shower more than I do now,” she announces, breaking me from my gut-punching images of the end of Z and Rowan.
I tilt my head to kiss the top of her head as I push away all the negative thoughts rocking my mind, heart, and goddamn soul. For now, I need to focus on Rowan. Regardless of how strong she’s trying to be, I can still see the signs of abuse on her face. I know that this nightmare isn’t just going to vanish because Luciano is dead. Rowan will have an internal battle to fight to ever feel truly safe again.