Page 75 of Forgotten Vows

Her entire body goes stiff, and she pulls back. "What? When… when are you doing this?"

"I'm leaving in a few hours. Around eleven."

Her eyes go wide, shocked and a little hurt. "That soon?"

"The longer we wait, the more time Gio has to plan something else." I cup her face in my hands, tilting her head up so she has to look at me. "I'm going to end this, Adriana."

"And what if you don't come back?" Her voice is small, tears welling in her eyes. "What if something goes wrong?"

"Nothing's going to go wrong."

"You can't promise that." She pulls away from me, wrapping her arms around herself. "You're walking into a trap, Lachlan. You know that's what this is. Gio wants you to come after him."

"He doesn't expect me to come to New York. I'm going to take my core guys with me, Adri. I'll leave the rest of security here to watch you and Matteo. Everything will be fine. And when I come back, we'll have a fresh start."

Her throat moves as she swallows, her eyes glittering in the dim light. "Why are you doing this, Lachlan? Why would you risk?—"

"Because I don't have a choice." I move toward her, but she backs away, shaking her head. "Adriana?—"

"There's always a choice." Her voice is rising now, edged with panic. "We could run. We could take Matteo and disappear. Go somewhere Gio can't find us."

"He'll always find us. You know that."

"Then we keep running. We run until he gives up, until he forgets about us, until?—"

"He's never going to give up." I close the distance between us,gripping her shoulders. "He's never going to forget. And I'm not spending the rest of my life looking over my shoulder, waiting for him to catch up to us."

"So you'd rather die?"

"I'd rather end this. I'd rather kill him and be done with it. So we can have a life. So we can be free."

"Free?" She laughs brokenly. "You think killing him is going to make us free? You think that's going to erase everything that's happened?"

"No. But it's a start."

She stares at me for a long moment, and I can see the fear and the hope and the desperate, aching need to believe that this can work. That we can survive this. "I can't lose you again," she whispers. "I can't, Lachlan. I barely survived it the first time."

"You're not going to lose me." I pull her close, and this time she doesn't resist. "I'm coming back to you. I promise."

"You can't promise that."

"I can. And I am." I tilt her chin up, forcing her to meet my eyes. "I didn't survive ten years in this world just to die now. Not when I finally have you back. Not when we finally have a chance."

She's trembling in my arms, and I can feel her tears soaking into my shirt. "I'm so scared."

"I know." I press a kiss to her forehead, her temple, the corner of her mouth. "I know. But I need you to trust me. One more time, okay?"

She doesn't answer. Instead, she kisses me, hard and desperate, her hands fisting in my shirt. I kiss her back, pouring everything I feel into it. I pick her up, carrying her to the bed, and I lay her back gently on the sheets.

She's still wearing my shirt, and I take my time unbuttoning it, revealing her body inch by inch.

"Remember the garden?" I ask, my voice rough as I trail my fingers down her stomach. "That night at your birthday party? The good part, before it all went bad."

"Of course I remember." Her voice is breathless, her eyes darkwith desire. "I think about it all the time, even though it hurts. It was so good… before…"

"I was so fucking nervous." I lean down, pressing a kiss to her collarbone. "I thought you were going to change your mind. Thought you were going to realize you were too good for me."

"I never thought that." She threads her fingers through my hair, pulling me closer. "I thought you were everything."