it would ruin his day again. This moment he’d worked toward for several years would be tarnished by a threat he couldn’t control, just like his arrival in Spain had been tarnished by worry over Jada.
Jada put her arms around me. “They did it.”
I nodded.
“I’m really glad they’re getting the attention. They’ve earned it.” Even though I knew she was happy for them, her voice was despondent. “I’m going up to pack.”
I turned off the television and followed her into her room.
I took her phone from her hand and set it outside the door before returning and stopping her hands as she tried to put the few items she’d unpacked back into her luggage.
“Don’t go back,” I said quietly.
“I have to,” she said.
“No, you really don’t.”
“Yes, I really do,” she said with force.
“Jada…you won’t be safe,” I said as fear for her flew through me.
“So, what do you propose I do instead? Let them blow up the lab? The longer I’m here, the longer you and everyone else is at risk. No. This is my fault. I provoked the beast when I should have just let it slide. I was drunk and stupid, and this is the consequence.” Her tone was twisted with resignation and self-recrimination.
“Nolan said they’re working on it. Dawson will be here soon. We’ll figure it out together.”
“Nolan is right. We’re so close to ending this. I’m not going to be the one who causes the entire thing to fail. I want it to be over. I want to deal with the repercussions and put it behind me,” she insisted.
“Then don’t go until tomorrow. They gave you until then, and I can go with you. Your father and Ken’Ichi wouldn’t try anything with me there, right?”
Her hands were trembling. “Honestly, Baioretto, I don’t even know. I’d rather you weren’t there at all. Dawson will feel the same way. I think you shouldn’t even come to the party.”
Hurt coursed through me even though I knew she was saying it because she wanted to keep me safe. I wanted to be there for both of them.
“Please stay until the morning,” I begged, hoping that once Dawson got here, he’d be able to talk her out of it.
She stared at me for a long moment before agreeing with a small nod.
The buzzer rang downstairs, and I gave her one last look before heading down.
There were two men there with large suitcases. “Our friend Nolan recommended the place to us. We’re hoping you have room.”
Relief hit me. They were going to take out the bomb. “Of course, come this way,” I said and showed them up to the suite Nolan was in.
Two hours later, I’d sent Saul and Tami away, cleaned the guest suites, and returned to the kitchen to watch as one of the FBI agents went into the garage. It was a risk. If the Kyōdaina was watching the place closely from any location along the street, they might notice the man going in, even if he wasn’t wearing a bomb squad suit.
The three men in the kitchen had intercepted the wireless camera feed and looped an empty image just like in the movies. I felt like it was all slightly unreal. I still wasn’t certain I wasn’t going to wake up and find myself getting ready for Dad’s funeral.
When the man emerged barely a minute later, everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. As he was making his way back, Dawson’s Aston Martin pulled into the driveway. Dawson got out of the car and met the man in the backyard. They talked briefly before finishing their way into the house.
As soon as Dawson was in the room, the trembling in my body became multi-faceted. Fear and desire all wrapped together. His eyes found mine the instant he walked in. He didn’t stop until he had his arms around me, squeezing me to his chest as if I’d already been injured.
“Thank God you’re all safe,” he breathed into my hair. My arms wrapped around him, and I hugged him back.
“Congratulations, Dawson,” I said, and my voice cracked.
He’d just loosened his hold slightly when Jada joined us, hugging us both. “I knew you’d win,” she said.
Dawson laughed softly. “It’s pretty incredible.”
Jada and I stepped away from him as the other men in the room packed their equipment into briefcases.
“Nolan.” Dawson shook the man’s hand. “Thanks for sticking around.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Malone wants me here until we close the deal.”
I thought Dawson might protest, but then he looked at