Page 75 of Tango
“What are those, then?”
“We run. Call in the others. And go in tactically rather than stealthily. Besides, I’m the ghost, remember?” I add, hoping to bring the smile back to her face.
Instead, she turns to look back out the window. After undoing my lap belt, I walk across the aisle to sit in the seat next to her. Still, she doesn’t turn to face me.
“I’m worried that this is going to end with you dead.” It comes out almost a whisper, and that warmth that’s been blooming in my chest since the moment we met grows.
I’m falling in love with this woman. And she’s not wrong—we might not walk out of this one. Web Safe is not like the other criminals we’ve faced. They have a stellar reputation, and so far, we have no tangible proof that they’re doing anything against the law.
“Alice—”
“No. I’m serious, Tucker. Look at Logan and Ramiro. Both of them are dead. Web Safe is untouchable. They’ve managed to spin it to make me look so guilty that no one will bother to look closely at them.”
“All the more reason we do look closely.” I reach over and take her hands in mine. They’re smaller than my own and smooth, where mine are calloused from labor on the ranch. But even with all the differences, they still fit so perfectly together.
We fit perfectly together.
I withdraw my hands before I do something stupid and kiss her again.
“Dylan seems worried.”
“Dylan is always worried.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He pretty much lives his life planning for every worst-case scenario.”
“Isn’t that smart? Having a plan when things go bad?”
“Sure. But when that’s all you’re planning for, where’s the time to be happy? To seek joy? To live?”
“I never worried about the worst-case scenario before. I’d pretty much lived worst-case until I was thirteen,” she says. “And once I realized I’d found a home with the Sterlings, I chose to only see the good. It was a mindset change, but I find I’m regressing now because all I can think about is having to watch you die.” She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “My mind keeps replaying what happened with Ramiro, but instead of him”—she turns to me—“it’s you taking those bullets. You falling down. You bleeding out as I’m forced to watch.”
Emotion burns in my chest. Desire to ease all her pain, to promise her that I’m here now. I’m alive now. And I’ll do whatever I can to remain that way. Without giving it too much thought, I take her hand and press it to my chest, right above my heart.
“I can’t tell you how this is going to turn out. But I can promise you that I am not an easy man to put a bullet in.” I smile, hoping to ease some of her fear. “I’ve been in more combat zones than I can count, behind enemy lines with nothing more than a weapon and my faith, and I’ve walked away without ever taking a bullet.”
“You came out without a shirt on when I thought my computer was getting hacked. I saw your scars.”
“Knife wounds. Not bullet holes.”
“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“Sure. Doesn’t sound like they’re using knives. I may be a magnet for those, but bullets? Please. I’m not worried about those.” It’s all bravado at this point, but I’m fighting to keep her anxiety at bay. We have to go into this with clear heads. If we walk in afraid, we very well may make mistakes.
And mistakes do get you shot.
She relaxes slightly. “You’re so calm. I forget that you’ve done this before.”
“All you need to know is that I’m good at what I do. And if anything goes sideways, we’ll find a way to pivot, okay?”
“Okay.”
I lower her hand from my chest but keep it in mine. She turns her hand over and threads her fingers through mine as she shifts to look back out the window. My stomach flips, and my pulse increases.
“If you’re withholding happiness from yourself because of something you had no control over, you’re not helping anyone. You’re only punishing yourself.”
My father’s words replay in my mind, hitting me out of nowhere. Is that what I’m doing? Am I punishing myself because of what happened to Dylan? Because I wasn’t there during his darkest hour? Was my promise ever about Dylan? Or was it a way to ease my own guilt because I feel as though I let him down?
