Page 122 of Watch Me Burn
Chapter thirty-one
Damien
Icatch sight of Cade as he leans against my office doorframe, arms crossed. I heard the helicopter land in the clearing behind the house a few minutes ago. I’ve been trying to concentrate on the reports in front of me for hours, but my attempt is futile because all I can think about is Luna’s visit earlier.
It killed me to let her go after that kiss. I was this close to bending her over my desk and reminding her who we are together. But her words gutted me when she said she might never be able to give me her trust again. I refuse to accept that. I refuse to accept anything other than her having the grace to forgive me.
She wants space, but I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stay away. The last three days without her have been the longest and most torturous of my life.
“I thought you only needed thirty minutes. It’s been two hours.”
Pushing off the doorframe, Cade walks to the sofa and sits down. “Yeah, well, the county law enforcement databases are surprisingly difficult to hack. When I have some time, I’m going to get back in there and dig around their firewalls to see what they’re doing differently. Might be something we can reverse engineer into our systems.”
“Cade, I don’t give a shit about the county’s firewalls or the tire tracks. Tell me what you found out about that DNA.”
He slides into business mode. “It isn’t yours. I ran it against your profile to be sure. But whoever it is isn’t in any public governmental database in the United States. I have the system running against foreign databases now, but that will take six to twelve hours to get back.”
Relief floods through me, followed by frustration. “Then who the fuck—”
“Could be anyone.” He shrugs, anticipating my question. “Random person who touched something at the scene after the fact. Contamination during processing. Hell, it could be the tech who collected it. But they would be in the system. Point is, Mills doesn’t have shit. Just coincidences and suspicions.”
My mind races through possibilities as I lean back in my chair. “What else does she have?”
“Nothing concrete. She’s fishing, hoping you’ll make a mistake.” Cade pauses. “Speaking of mistakes, I wish you’d told me Luna was in the room earlier. I really put my foot in it, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you fucking did. That’s your one free pass, Cade. She’ll be my wife one day. You better fucking respect her as such.”
The words leave my mouth before I’ve consciously thought them through, and the weight of them slams into my chest and steals my breath. But underneath the shock, certainty settles into my bones. The truth of it resonates through every cell in my body. I’m going to marry her.
Fuck!
I never thought I’d have a wife. I never wanted one. But I fucking want her more than the air I breathe.
Cade arches a skeptical brow, though somehow he is not surprised by my words. “Does she know this?”
“Not yet. But she will.”
“You never learn, Damien.”
“Actually, I have.” I let out a long breath. “She’s considering giving me another chance. Thinking about it, at least. And I’m doing what she asked. Giving her the space she asked for. It’s fucking killing me.”
“That’s good news on both fronts, though, right? Her considering and you actually respecting her boundaries for once. That’s a big step for you. Don’t fuck it up.”
“You’re an asshole, you know that?”
He shrugs, his mouth twitching into that ghost of a smirk he rarely lets out.
“I might've destroyed everything. But I'm not giving up. I'll do whatever it takes.”
“She came to warn you about the sheriff. That’s not the action of someone who wants you gone.”
“No.” I allow myself a thread of hope. “It’s not.”
“Look, I know I’ve been reluctant about your relationship. I’ve made that clear. But she’s good for you, Damien. She keeps you grounded. You need that.”
That’s his way of saying I need someone to keep me from going completely off the rails. No one has ever been able to do that. But if anyone can, it’s Luna.
“We’ll see.”
