Page 73 of No Lies No Promises

As if ending a ride on the carnival’s Tilt-A-Whirl or the Scrambler, the spinning world slows to a stop.

Table. Monitor. Safehouse. Sean. Nightmare. Shadows of gore, impossible to shut down.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Not really.” Hands shaking, I stumble to the sink where I splash water on my face. As I tear off a paper towel, his wary eyes follow me.

My feet shuffle toward him, hoping he’ll close the distance. “I love you.”

It’s more of a question.

“I love you too.” Arms at his side, he stares at the coffee machine, not me.

What’s wrong? Why don’t his arms surround me?

With his gaze focused far away, his voice lowers to an almost inaudible whisper. “If not for me, you wouldn’t be working for Dante. You almost died. Grams and Becks were in a sniper’s sights. I’m toxic. Being close to me is a death sentence. Loving you isn’t enough. I need to know I can keep you safe. Right now, I can’t.”

No way. My voice cracks. “Are… are you breaking up with me?”

A teardrop slips from the corner of his eye. “Jeff was wrong. I’m not my father. I can’t stand by while you get hurt.”

Chapter 38

Sean

I’m a Marine, for fuck’s sake. Marines don’t cry. And yet, here I am.

Her tortured sobs rip away my sanity. Unable to resist, I pull her into my arms for the last time. As she crumples against me, her face burrows into my chest, tears soaking my shirt.

“Shh.” I stroke her hair, holding her tighter than I should. “We’ll figure this out.”

What’s one more white lie compared to the many?

Before I can let go, Dante pounds on the door. “It’s me. We need to talk. You guys decent?”

Depends. If by decent, you mean us bawling our eyes out over a relationship headed for the shitter? Absolutely.

“Give us a second.” A small shove sends Lillian toward the bathroom.

As she closes the door behind her, I wash my face, scrubbing away emotion.

One deep breath later, I open the door, faking a grin. “Hey, boss.”

Dante steps inside. Expression grim, his gaze sweeps over me and the two open laptops before settling on his other employee, who waves as she approaches.

“Didn’t expect you so early.” Nose red, eyelids puffy, she manages a tight smile. It doesn’t fool anyone, including our boss.

Eyes back on me, Dante’s neck muscles pulse. “If you want help taking down her father, I need you focused. Not…” He gestures between us. “Whatever the hell this is.”

For thirty agonizing seconds, he says nothing, watching us squirm.

Apparently satisfied, he finally exhales. “I’ll give you an hour. Afterward, I want an update.”

Once the door clicks shut behind him, Lillian’s lower lip trembles. “Can we do this? Work together? If not, I can quit.”

“No.” My voice catches.

“I’ll go back to L.A. I’ve got friends I can…” The lump in my throat makes it hard to swallow. “But I’m not leaving until Liam’s out of the picture.”