Never Gonna Happen - Cynthia Eden Page 0,65
at her. “Yell at me when I’m an asshole.”
“Okay.”
“Tell me to screw off when I’m a dick.”
“Will do.” Soft. Almost tender.
“But, just don’t leave me, okay? Because when you walked away in that hospital, it felt like you’d ripped out my heart.”
He heard her swiftly indrawn breath. “Some people would say that Sebastian Ridgeway doesn’t have a heart.”
“But we both know those people are wrong.” You have my heart. You have held it for years.
“Yes.” Even softer. “They’re wrong.”
His heart drummed so fast. “So you’ll stay? Because I need to make sure you’re safe.” It was so much more than that. If she would stay with him, after this shit was over, then maybe he could convince her to give him a real chance. He could show her that he had good points. He could wine her, dine her, and basically give her everything her heart desired.
“I’ll stay.”
Relief surged through him.
“Now go have your talk with Dex. And try not to pull a knife on him this time, okay?” She shut the bathroom door.
He stared at the closed door a moment. “No promises on that one.” Sebastian turned on his heel and stalked out of the bedroom.
Dex was waiting for him. Lounging near the wall. He wiggled his brows at Sebastian. “Took long enough. I was starting to think you’d joined her in the shower.”
Like that shit wasn’t tempting.
“Did you forget your shirt?” Dex asked politely.
Sebastian crossed his arms over his chest.
“Is that a no? You were going for a deliberate fashion choice? Okay. Whatever.”
“Get to the point, Dex.”
“Right.” He cleared his throat. “You’re thinking of bailing.”
Sebastian stiffened. “The hell I am. I am not going anywhere until we catch the bastard who is after Alyssa.”
“Of course. Let me rephrase.” A nod. “After we catch the bastard, you think you are going to quit the spy biz.”
Yes, that was the plan.
“You think you’re going to get your fantasy girl, that you’ll turn your back on all the danger, and ride off into the sunset together.”
How was that bad? Sounded like an ideal situation to him.
“No? Yes? Any answer at all?” Dex pushed.
“You seemed to have all the answers. Didn’t realize my response was required.” Sebastian stayed close to the bedroom door. Not that he didn’t trust all of Dex’s security measures—oh, wait, he didn’t.
Dex strode closer to him. “It doesn’t work that way.”
“Then enlighten me about how things do work.”
“You don’t just walk away from the agency.”
“I think I do.” He considered the matter. “In fact, I’m certain that I do. I started working for your bosses when I was barely legal. I did all the work required of me, took more risks than I can count, but I was never in this for the long haul. Your agency isn’t my future.”
“Because she is?”
He shrugged. “Don’t really see where you need to know about that.”
“Once you’re in, it’s for life. You don’t walk away from this kind of job.”
Was that a threat? It had better not be. “Watch me,” Sebastian dared.
“Do you think she’d ever be safe with you?”
What was that supposed to mean?
“I get it. Trust me, I do. I see the others out there. Living their nine-to-five lives. Having families. Birthday parties. Singing their carols at Christmas even when they can’t keep pitch for shit.”
Sebastian lifted his brows.
“I hate to tell you, but you won’t ever have that. Because you will always be looking over your shoulder. Always wondering if someone found out what you did in the past. There is a reason that most of the men and women in our line of work don’t put down roots. We stay loners because when you connect with others, you put them in jeopardy.” A sad shake of his head. “The exact way that Alyssa is in danger now. If she stays close to you—if you do some dumb shit like move in with her or marry her—what message would that send to your enemies?”
“If we stop this bastard, no one else has to know about my past.”
“Oh, is that what you think?” Dex laughed. The sound held no humor. “There will be other threats. There always are. You’ll look over your shoulder for the rest of your life, and because of that, so will she. Is that really what you want for her?”
What he wanted was for her to be safe and happy. “Antony is involved in this, too. Because of him, because of her tie to him, doesn’t that already put a target on her?”
“It does. You