“Yeah,” she said with a dry, humorless laugh. “I get it. Really, I do. I just wish I could give them a life of not having to look over their shoulder constantly. One where they get a little more privacy than I had. A chance to grow up without worry or fear of the shadows that will surround them just because they were misfortunate enough to be born into such an ugly world.”
I crouched down in front of her. Taking her left hand, I lifted it to my lips, kissing the ring on her finger. “You’re only thinking of the darker side. We can give them more of the beauty than the ugly.”
“How?” she choked out. “No matter if they are Kennedy or O’Farrell or Donati, the world will always be watching, judging, making their lives miserable. There will always be some nutcase who either has a vendetta or wants to extort money or—”
I pressed my thumb to her lips to stop her flow of words. “I will protect them and you. I just need you to trust me. By this time next year, everything will be in place, and you won’t have to worry about their safety or their happiness.”
Her brows pulled together, but just as she started to speak, there was a hard tap on my office door. “Boss,” Brody called. “They’re about a mile out.”
“Oh God,” she whispered as tears filled her eyes. “I-I don’t know if I can do this.”
“You’re not leaving me!” I snapped, scared that I was about to lose her. “Remember what I said.”
Anger replaced her tears. “That wasn’t what I meant, asshole. But yeah, I remember exactly what you said. Don’t worry. I’ll make Ryan think you’re the love of my life.”
“I am the love of your life,” I told her as I straightened and then helped her to her feet. “You’re just too pissed at me right now to admit it.”
“Do you want to argue with me, or do you want to go out there and convince my cousin that we’re a blissfully happy couple?” she snipped. “I want to get this over with so I can go back to bed.”
I grasped her elbow as she started to turn away from me. “Are you sure we shouldn’t call Dr. Rose?”
“If I thought there was a reason to call her, I would say so.” She pulled away. “I’m fine. Now, do you mind? I don’t want your sniper getting trigger-happy.”
As she walked away, I wanted to tell her that I hadn’t done what I’d threatened. There would be no sniper trained on Ryan. I didn’t want her to hate me more than she already did. But my fear that she would actually decide to leave with Ryan if there was no threat to his life kept my mouth shut.