Page 59 of Yankee in the Wind

Smith held his breath.

“Don’t disappoint me again. Or I’ll have to replace you.”

There was a click in the line signaling that Jones had hung up. Smith wiped the sweat from his brow. He poured himself another glass of whiskey. Next time he’d have to do his dirty work himself. No more contract killers. They’d been naught for three. And he couldn’t afford another mistake, because Jones’s threat to replace him wasn’t an idle one, and it didn’t mean he’d have to find a new job.

It meant a bullet in the head. That’s how Jones dealt with people who became a liability.

29

Jack entered the guest room that would be his and Lilly’s home for the foreseeable future and closed the door behind him. He kicked his boots off, pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it on the nearby chair. He sat down on the bed and pulled his socks off, then continued with his khakis. He noticed the bruises on his body, but they would heal quickly. What would take a little longer was the emotional toll the events at the warehouse had taken. Seeing Lilly in Smith’s clutches had been more than he could handle.

Lilly appeared in the door to the bathroom, wearing only a bathrobe. When she met his gaze, a sheepish expression spread on her face.

“Hey,” she said, her voice a mere whisper.

Jack stood up and walked to her, now wearing only his boxer briefs. “You and I have something to discuss.”

He noticed her swallow hard.

“I know.”

She lifted her hands to put them on his naked chest, but as much as he wanted to feel her touch, they had to have this conversation now. He snatched her wrists and held them captive.

“Do you have any idea what you did tonight?”

Lilly had the good sense to look ashamed. “I’m sorry, but if I hadn’t come in when I did, Tiger might not have made it.”

“Smith could have killed you.”

“I’m still alive,” she murmured.

“You’re lucky to be alive,” he corrected her. He inhaled a shaky breath at the recollection of the danger she’d been in. “I don’t wanna go through this again. Next time, you listen—”

“Jack, please don’t be mad.”

He glared at her. “I almost lost you! Don’t you understand? I could have lost you before I ever had the chance to tell you what you mean to me. I—”

“What I mean to you?”

His heart thundered in his ears. “Lilly, damn it, I love you.”

For a moment she was silent. “Oh.” Lilly’s face froze.

He immediately regretted having confessed his love to her. He hadn’t planned this. Hadn’t wanted to burden her with this knowledge, or pressure her to reciprocate when she didn’t feel the same.

“Forget it,” he said quickly and released her wrists.

He turned away, but she gripped his forearm and jerked him back.

“Oh, no, Jack Porter, you don’t get to retract what you just said.” She shook her head. “Not a chance. You don’t get to walk away and break my heart a second time. You don’t get to tell me you love me, and then disappear from my life! Do you really think I would still be here with you if I didn’t feel the same? If I didn’t love you too? Jack, you’re such an idiot. I think I’m gonna have to teach you how relationships work since clearly, you’ve never had one.”

Jack gaped at her, his heart beating excitedly. “Are you saying—”

“—that you’re a piece of work? Yes.”

“Not that part,” he said, smirking now. “The part about you loving me.”

She smiled at him. “Oh, that part? Yes.” She sighed softly. “Jack, I got to know you through all the stories Thomas told me about you, about the time you were deployed together. When I finally met you at that BBQ, I was already in love with you. That feeling never changed, even though I was so angry that you left, so disappointed that you didn’t feel the same. No matter how hard I tried to forget you, I couldn’t. I still love you, and with every day I love you more. You’re a good man, Jack, honorable, loyal, and brave. And I don’t care that we have to live in hiding, because wherever you are will be my home. You, Jack, are my home.”