Page 163 of Mission Shift

He turned and pulled out his phone as he walked toward the curb.

I stared after them, curiosity itching at my spine. Whatever this was, it had Braxton wound up tight.

The dog let out a long sigh and flopped onto the sidewalk, devouring the steak. He looked smug, like he’d just won the battle and had earned his reward.

“At least he won’t be hungry for a human arm on the flight home,” Braxton muttered, coming to stand beside me. We watched the dog gnaw with single-minded purpose.

I smirked. “Let’s hope he doesn’t have a taste for seat cushion.”

A moment later, a sleek black limo pulled up to the curb. The driver stepped out and opened the rear door. Braxton gestured for me to get in first. I slid in, the leather cool against my legs, and the dog followed, as if he’d been trained to ride in style his whole life.

Nikolai shouted to Braxton, “I’ll be in touch!”

Braxton gave him a thumbs up and climbed in. The driver shut the door, and the city noise was muted. A minute later, we were moving.

We didn’t speak at first, just breathed.

Then Braxton turned to me. “So…are we okay?”

I studied him for a moment. “That depends.”

“On what?”

“Is there anything else you haven’t told me?” I raised a brow. “Any other secrets you plan to spring on me after emotionally wrecking me in front of a Manhattan crime boss?”

He held up his hands. “Nothing I can think of…unless you count the time I saw Samantha and Bethany driving through town in the Firebird and didn’t tell Atticus. Damn, what a sight that was… Sam’s red hair blowing in the wind, the top down, the radio blasting. Those two can get into so much trouble. And if you need to know one thing about Atticus, it’s that he never lets anyone touch the Bird.”

I rolled my eyes at his cute little story.

Braxton chuckled and reached for me, slipping his hand behind my neck and pulling me closer until our foreheads touched.

“I love you,” he said, soft and certain.

I narrowed my eyes, my lips twitching. “Yeah. I know.”

“Oh, youknow?”

“It’s the only reason you’re still standing.”

I nipped at his bottom lip just enough to make him suck in a breath.

Then I cupped his face between my hands, met his eyes, and let the truth out.

“I love you, Braxton Wyatt Thorin. With all my heart.”

He didn’t speak—just kissed me as the world blurred by outside the windows.

From the floorboard, the dog groaned.

We pulled apart and looked down.

He rolled onto his side with a grunt as if he couldn’t take one more second of our dramatic human nonsense.

I grinned and rubbed his flank. “You’d better get used to it, big guy.”

Braxton leaned in and kissed the top of my head. “Yeah,” he murmured. “We’re a package deal now.”

Chapter forty-four

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