Page 112 of You Owe Me

The beeping speeds up slightly. Not dangerous, but noticeable.

“So you went to Jin,” I continue, keeping my voice level. “Had him dig up dirt on Carter instead of coming to me.”

“Because you would have done something stupid!” The words explode out of her. “You would have confronted him directly, made threats, escalated everything until it spiraled completely out of control. And your heart—” Her voice breaks.“Your heart has been getting worse for weeks. I could see it, the way you’d clutch your chest when you thought I wasn’t looking, the way your watch kept buzzing. I was terrified that the stress would trigger something serious.”

She was right. About all of it. If she’d told me about Carter’s threats, I would have handled it the way I handle everything—with calculated violence and absolute control. I would have made him disappear from our lives permanently, consequences be damned.

And it might have killed me.

“What did Jin find?”

“Everything.” Ainsley wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. “Academic fraud, cheating rings, Daddy covering up his failures for three years. Plus, the digital trail of his IRS complaints—all submitted from his personal laptop on university Wi-Fi. He’s not as smart as he thinks he is.”

Despite everything—the surgery, the lies, the mess we’ve both made—I feel a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. “You destroyed him.”

“I tried to. I went to his apartment today with evidence, told him to call off the IRS investigation or face academic fraud charges.” She meets my eyes, and there’s something fierce there beneath the exhaustion. “I was handling it, Maverick. I was protecting you the same way you’re always protecting everyone else.”

“And then the hospital called.”

“And then the hospital called, and I found out you’d been lying to me about major heart surgery while I was playing spy games with your enemy.” Fresh tears spill over. “You could have died, and I would have spent the rest of my life knowing I wasn’t there because you decided I couldn’t handle the truth.”

The pain in her voice cuts deeper than any surgical incision. Because she’s right—I made that choice for her. Decided she wastoo fragile, too prone to worry, too likely to make my situation worse with her concern.

I decided she couldn’t handle loving me through something difficult.

“Come here,” I say quietly.

She shakes her head. “You’re supposed to rest?—”

“Ainsley. Come here.”

This time, there’s enough command in my voice that she obeys, standing up and moving to the side of the bed. I shift over carefully, making room, then pat the mattress beside me.

“I can’t. The nurses said?—”

“I don’t care what the nurses said.” I meet her eyes and let her see the truth there. “I almost died today without telling you I love you. I’m not spending another minute farther away from you than necessary.”

She hesitates for another second, then kicks off her shoes and climbs onto the narrow hospital bed. She’s careful not to jostle any of the wires or tubes, settling against my side with her head on my shoulder and her hand flat against my chest, right over the new tattoo.

Right over my heart, which is finally beating the way it should.

“This is why I didn’t tell you,” I say into her hair. “Because I knew you’d try to carry it for me. The way you carried Carter’s threats instead of letting me handle them.”

“I was scared,” she whispers against my neck. “Not just of the surgery, but of what would happen after. If something went wrong, if you didn’t wake up, if I lost you because I wasn’t strong enough to be what you needed.”

“You are what I need.” I tighten my arm around her, careful of the IV line. “Not some perfect version of yourself that doesn’t worry or cry or make mistakes. You. Exactly as you are.”

“Even when I hack into university systems using your name?”

“Especially then.” I press a kiss to the top of her head. “Though we’re going to have a conversation about operational security later. Jin’s skills are impressive, but he’s sloppy about covering his tracks.”

She lifts her head to look at me. “You’re not mad?”

“I’m impressed. Terrified of how reckless you were, but impressed.” I brush a tear from her cheek with my thumb. “You went after Carter Mills with nothing but intelligence and determination. You built a case that could destroy his academic career and neutralize his threats. You did all of that to protect me.”

“But the IRS investigation?—”

“Is manageable.” I cut her off gently. “Federal audits are thorough, but they’re also predictable. And I’ve been preparing for this possibility since I started running Pops’s company.”

---