Page 185 of Forbidden Fate

Their name means something here.

Money. Power. Guns. Lawyers. Security. Loyalty.

The only reason we got Robin the first time is because she wasn’t here. She followed a lead into a house Vega controlled. She stepped outside the protection of this family, and we used that.

I used that.

The thought makes me sick to my stomach.

Robin is safer here than she ever would have been with me.

So why am I here?

The truth rises before I can stop it.

The real one.

Because I couldn’t stay away.

Because I sat on that plane and told myself this was about warning her, protecting her, standing between her and Vega.

But that’s not true.

I came because I love her.

The realization doesn’t strike like lightning.

It’s simply there, as if it’s been true since the moment I took her.

Robin crosses her arms. “Cruz.”

I draw in a breath. “I came because I love you.”

Robin goes completely still.

The words sit between us.

No taking them back.

No reshaping them into something safer.

Her face changes in a way I can’t quite read. Shock. Pain. Anger. Something softer that vanishes before I can be sure it was there.

She doesn’t say it back.

“I know I have no right to say that,” I continue. “I know what I did. To you. To your brother. I know I can’t undo any of it.”

Her throat moves.

“But you can trust me.”

She swallows. “Can I?”

“Yes.”

She frowns. “Because you say so?”

“Because it’s the truth.”