Frozen and eyes wide open. Not the look he was hoping for. Nicola didn’t move. She might not have been breathing.

“Sorry to lay it out there like this. But there it is. Deal with it. Ignore it—”

Nicola lunged into his arms, smashing her palms on either side of his cheeks. “I’ve loved you every day. Since as far back as I can remember, Cash, I’ve loved you.”

Tears glistened in her eyes. The tough operative from a moment ago transformed into the woman he daydreamed about. His forehead, his cheek, hell, his soul, touched hers. Her silent tear tickled his skin. “I wasn’t trying to make you sad.”

“God, Cash. Sad isn’t what I am.” Her lips brushed his bottom one as she sighed into a kiss.

Soft and supple. Her mouth was designed for him. He knew it to the bottom of his soul. The caress of her tongue brought him far away from the operation. The faint smell of lavender and flowers whisked over his senses, reminding him of every kiss they’d ever shared.

His fingers tunneled through her silky hair as he consumed her kiss. The need to breathe was secondary. The reasons he had to live and fight and survive realigned themselves. It had hit him fast and furious with such conspicuous accuracy that her exclamation of love was deafening. Life changing.

Drawing back from her, Cash memorized her beautiful chocolate brown eyes and upturned lips. Some days, moments, would be remembered for the rest of his days. This was one of them.

He laced his fingers with hers, still pressed on his face. “Let’s call for a cleanup team and go home.”

She signed and leaned into him, allowing him to easily envelop her in his arms. “I’d like to see my parents. I…” He waited to see what else she had to say. “Will you go with me?”

He’d been to Janet and Rick’s place a thousand times, from when he and Roman raced bikes in the driveway to Sunday night pot roasts while Nic was gone. Her parents might’ve well been his to a certain extent. Why her hesitation?

Remembering her anxiety and guilt at the gun range, he said, “Of course I will. It’ll be fine. I promise.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Nicola’s small hometown remained untouched, and passing the high school, memories flooded her from every direction.

The house she’d grown up in hadn’t changed either. Stone fenced. Two-level Colonial. White clapboard. Black shutters. Red door. Why she’d thought it would look different was beyond her. She could’ve driven through this neighborhood a thousand times over the last ten years. But she hadn’t. And that had nothing to do with the life-altering agreements she’d made with the CIA and witness protection that allowed her to live and work so close to where she had family and contacts.

No, her avoidance had everything to do with the nauseous feeling that was making her dizzy in the driveway. She hadn’t set foot outside the car, so this wasn’t going well.