I had no choice. I would rather die than let anything happen to the people I loved, so I would submit. They would do the same for me in a heartbeat. “I have a compromise…”
He chuckled, like the suggestion was ridiculous. “You don’t get to make compromises.”
“Look, I’ll give you what you want. I’ll cooperate fully. But there has to be a timetable on this.”
He narrowed his eyes at my suggestion.
“You get what you want, and I get what I want.”
It was the first time he didn’t have anything to say.
“I’ll be yours for…a month. But when that time is up, I get to walk away. I’m a good person who deserves to find happiness. My husband is out there somewhere, and we’re supposed to have a family together. I’m not giving up on that. Not ever. But I won’t risk my family either. You’re going to give that to me.”
“Why would I agree to that when I could have you forever?”
It was a long shot and a low blow, but I was out of ideas. I had to find a way out of this. Otherwise, I was dooming myself forever. “Because your mother would be ashamed of you.”
My words hit the mark, and his eyes narrowed, but not in anger. Like my shot struck the center of his heart, he staggered back slightly, wounded by the bullet that pierced his flesh. There were very few moments that made him seem human, and those moments usually happened when he spoke of his mother.
“One month.”
He slowly recovered from the blow. “Six.”
“Three.”
His eyes narrowed on my face, considering the offer I had put on the table. He was quiet for so long it seemed like he was going to reject it. But finally, he gave the answer I wanted to hear. “Three.”