Page 22 of The Hitman's Forbidden Obsession

My heart clenches. “Angel, please, open the door. We need to talk.”

The knob clicks, and then the door creaks open. She’s standing there with red-rimmed eyes and blotchy cheeks. Her shoulders are trembling like she’s barely holding herself together.

And fuck, it feels like something inside me breaks clean in two. I caused that. Caused the pain and fear that’s written all over her face. I vowed to protect her, and it’s clear I’ve done a shitty job.

I step inside slowly and close the door behind me. Then I drop to my knees, willing to do whatever it takes to make her believe how sorry I am for everything I’ve done.

I look up at her, my voice raw. “I know what you heard. I know what it sounded like. But I swear to you, Avery, I was never going to hurt you.”

She says nothing. Just watches me. Silent. Cautious. Fragile.

“I agreed to the job before I ever saw your face,” I continue, words tumbling out now, like the idea of keeping anything from her ever again is the most abhorrent thing in the world. “But the second I saw your photo, I knew I could never go through with it. I couldn’t lay a finger on you. All I wanted to do was keep you safe. Protect you from Victoria. And punish her for even thinking about hurting you.”

Still, Avery doesn’t speak. She won’t even look at me.

Finally, I hear that sweet voice I love, so soft and unsure it shreds me a little more.

“Even if you’re not going to hurt me... you still kill people for a living, Dante. You’re not the man I thought you were.”

I close my eyes. Now that cut deep, but I don’t blame her. I’m the one who screwed up. But even now I can’t bring myself to regret being a hitman, because if that part of my life had never happened, I might never have met her. My beautiful angel.

“You’re right,” I say, my voice broken. “I was a killer. I’ve done things that are unforgivable.”

I look up again, holding her gaze.

“But you… you changed everything, Avery. You made me want more than the life I had. You made me want to be someone better. Someone worthy of you.”

I shift slightly, still kneeling. My voice softens, nearly cracks.

“I swear to you, I’m done. No more jobs. No more killing. That part of my life is over. I don’t want blood on my hands anymore. I just want you.”

I paint the dream like it’s already real, because in my mind, it is.

“I want a wedding. I want to wake up next to you every morning in a home we built together. I want little feet running through the hallway, a backyard full of laughter. I want to spendevery day loving you, taking care of you, giving you every damn thing you ever wanted.”

A silence stretches between us, thick and uncertain, before she finally finds her voice again.

“You promise there won’t be any more killing?” she asks. Small. Hopeful. Scared.

I don’t hesitate. “I promise. On everything. On my life, Avery. I swear it.”

She starts pacing the room, still trembling, like she’s walking through the wreckage of a storm. Then she turns back to me.

“And… everything you felt for me?” Her voice catches. “It was real? It wasn’t just some game you were playing to try and get close to me? So you could hurt me?”

That one fucking destroys me.

I shake my head fiercely. “No. God, no. Avery, you’re the only thing in my life that’s ever felt real. There was no game. No con. No pretending.”

I take a deep breath, ready to lay my heart bare. “I’m in love with you. And I will spend every day of my life proving it. Giving you the world. Protecting you. Worshipping you. Loving you. Until there’s nothing left of me.”

She stands frozen for a moment. Then, slowly, she steps forward, her eyes never leaving mine.

She lowers herself down until we’re face-to-face again, both on our knees.

“Kiss me,” she whispers. “I don’t want to think about this anymore. I just want to feel your love. Make me believe in it again.”

I don’t hesitate.

---