Page 164 of Captivated

Jesus.

“You look sad,” he heard her whisper.

Joe glanced up, and found pretty hazel eyes watching him, although still a little sleepy. “Hey, Tesoro.”

Liliana managed a smile for him. “Hey.”

“I’m not sad, Liliana.”

“No?”

“No,” he promised, “not now.”

“Why the frown, then?”

Joe laughed. “Don’t I always frown?”

“Not like that.”

Yeah, well …

“Sorry I couldn’t come in today,” he said, reaching up to cup her cheek in his palm. “Too much going on, and I have to lie low for a while.”

Her smile faltered. “What does that mean?”

Now or never.

“Until all of this blows over with the media and cops, I have to go away. Back to Chicago, and make sure I’m seen, and whatever else.”

“You’re … not staying?” she asked.

So faint.

It killed him.

“I’m sorry,” was all he could say.

No excuse would be good enough.

Nothing was going to make it better.

“I’m sorry, Liliana. This was how it was supposed to go before you and me … yeah,” he said lamely. “And everything else made it worse. None of that matters, though, because you’re good and you’re here. Right?”

“Matters to me, Joe.”

Yeah, he bet.

It mattered to him, too.

“What if I give you a promise,” he offered.

Liliana sniffled. “What kind of promise?”

“That I’ll be back. And we can start this all over again, if you want. We can do this different the next time—do it better, if you want. We can be Joe and Liliana without business, and everything else. Because I will be back as soon as I can. If you want me to, I’ll call, and we’ll figure shit out that way, too.”

She was quiet for a long time.

He didn’t say a word, either.