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Neil nodded.
Tears sprang unbidden to my eyes. Neil was right all along. There was a good reason for everything. Sure, it wasn’t a perfect scenario, but it was one I could live with. I could forgive him. I could be with him after all.
Neil pulled me close, letting me cry into his shirt. “Veronica and Natasha will parent Ben, not me. That was part of the deal. But I still want to have a relationship with him to some extent. I know it’s not fair on you. You never signed up for this. I should have told you the full truth from the start.”
I shook my head against his shirt, sobbing.
“Shhh.” He ran his hand up and down my back. “You’re trembling.”
“I’m just… I’m so glad. When I thought you were with her and having a baby together… I was so scared of losing you.”
Neil pulled back to cradle my face between his palms, brushing away the tears trailing down my cheeks with his thumbs. “You could never lose me.”
I hiccupped another sob. Neil wrapped me in his arms again, stroking his hand through my hair. “If I could go back, I never would have attempted to take down Daniel. None of it has been worth putting you in danger.”
Sniffling, I shook my head in fervent denial. “Don’t say that. What you’re doing, taking a stand, striving to make a difference—it matters. I knew getting involved with you came with risks, I knew who you were up against, and I made my choice. I have no regrets.”
“You deserve better than being caught in the crossfire, Melia. A life of peace and safety, not one spent constantly looking over your shoulder.”
“Could you live in peace without fighting for what you believe in?”
Neil’s throat worked, his eyes boring into mine. “No.”
“Well, neither can I. You don’t have to fight this fight alone anymore. I’m with you.”
Something inside Neil seemed to shatter in that moment, like a dam bursting after years of relentless pressure. I felt the rigidity leave his body, the last of his defensive walls crumbling away. He sought my lips. I opened to him without hesitation. His kiss was deep, tender, and passionate. I matched it with everything I had.
When we finally surfaced, I was tingling down to my toes. Neil rested his forehead against mine and traced the curve of my kiss-swollen lips with his thumb. “I love you,” he rasped. “God help me, I love you so bloody much.”
The sheer conviction in those words made my heart feel like it might burst. “I love you too.”
Chapter Sixty-Five
Fragments of memories haunted me—rough plastic biting into my wrists, the dank mustiness of the warehouse choking my lungs, the void-like darkness of a gun barrel. I jolted awake with a strangled gasp, heart thundering.
Where am I?
As my eyes adjusted to the shadowy room, I registered Neil’s form curled around me, his arm draped over my waist.
Neil is here. I’m okay.
The tension seeped from my muscles as his deep, even breaths and the steady rise and fall of his chest lulled me back into a sense of security.
The single bed was cramped, too small for the both of us, but I didn’t care. After everything, having him near was the greatest comfort I could ask for. I shifted, nestling deeper under the covers. Neil reflexively tightened his embrace with a soft murmur, and I allowed my eyelids to drift shut.
The next time I woke up, Neil was gone.
Before I had time to panic, the hinges of the door creaked. Neil slipped back inside, a fond smile gracing his lips as our eyes met. He crossed to the bedside table and set down a tray laden with a full English breakfast—sausages, eggs, beans, toast, the whole shebang—along with a mug steaming with the promise of a decent cuppa. “Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” he crooned. “I was starting to think you might hibernate right through until next Christmas.”
My stomach rumbled with blatant, traitorous need. Just how late had I slept in?
Neil dragged the desk chair over to the bedside with a screech and sat, watching me expectantly.
“What time is it?” I asked, yawning.
“Just after eleven.”
I rubbed grit from my eyes. “Wow. I slept in.”
