Page 69 of Under Fire

“And then? You deploy?” she asked, dumbfounded.

“Sure.”

“You realize it’s not just about the money. He’s that psycho-obsessive type. You leave, and I’ll be left here, dealing with him. Alone.”

“I’ll make sure you’re safe when I’m gone. You won’t have to worry about a thing.” He seemed as confident as hell.

But still… She cocked her head in confusion, his promise just not good enough for her. How could he even say that? He’d be a million miles away.

Pulling up contacts in her phone, she searched for a phone number. What she had to do. It had just become crystal clear.

“Call him,” Warren ordered. “End it.”

She hovered her finger over a contact, and she gazed back up at him.

“I’ll break it off with him if you stay with me,” she said.

“You want me to quit my job?”

“No, just stay back this one time. Stay with me,” she pleaded. “Just once.”

“I made a commitment. I can’t do that,” he said. “But what I can promise you is just as good. My friends will watch over you.”

“No. Warren, all I have isyou—someone menacing enough to scare this guy. He won’t stop. He won’t give up. I know what he’s like.” She exhaled, shaking her head.

He didn’t reply, just stared at her in response.

“It has to be you,” she said.

But he’d run out of responses. That was when she knew her options had run out. There was only one thing she could do to stay safe—find her own way.

“You’re right,” she said, bringing the phone to her ear as it started ringing. “There are people watching me, following me, threatening me, maybe even trying to kill me—”

“What are you—?” he started, a vein pulsing in his neck, but someone answered on the other side of the line, drawing Alisa’s attention back to her phone.

“Maria,” Alisa spoke into the phone, “any chance you could come get me?”

“I’m not letting you out of my sight.” Warren stepped forward in all his authority, commanding her. “Not a fucking chance.”

Alisa turned her nose up to him, holding her ground. “Then don’t deploy. Stay with me.”

“I don’t do ultimatums.”

The way his cold eyes narrowed on her told her what she needed to know. So, she had to protect herself. She had to leave Warren. Being with him was distracting and dangerous. She’d regroup and forge a new path—solutions-oriented.

“Yeah, I need to stay with you tonight,” Alisa replied to Maria on the phone.

Twisting the diamond ring on her finger, it was at that very moment that she knew beyond a doubt that Warren’s proposal had just been another fantasy playing out between them, as unreal as it was temporary. Their seven days had concluded—and he wasn’t going to give her any more.

She was on her own.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Alisa

After a long, fitful night, Alisa sat in front of Dr. Roske once again in her office—though the tone had shifted for the worse, if that were even possible. Dr. Roske flipped a pen in her hand, cautiously observing Alisa.

“You didn’t make it in yesterday,” the doctor said.

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