Page 264 of Caterina

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I hate that I gave her that image.

I hate that she has to carry it along with everything else.

Time to replace it with a better one.

“I came back,” I say.

Her eyes lift to mine. “Barely.”

“But I came back.”

“Yes.” She swallows. “You did.”

I reach into my jacket and pull out the folded piece of paper.

My pulse stays steady, which surprises me.

I have been shot, stabbed, blown off my feet, dropped into hostile territory, and stared down men who wanted to see if I would blink first and would kill me if I did.

But, of all of those things, the thought of this has been making me more nervous than any of the other things.

But now that it’s here, I’m not.

Not at all.

I pull the paper free and hold it out to her.

She looks at it, then at me. “What is this?”

“Read it.”

Suspicion enters her eyes. “Adrian.”

“Cat.”

She takes the paper from me slowly.

Her fingers unfold it.

I watch her face as she reads.

Confusion first.

Then stillness.

Then hurt.

It hits me harder than I expected, even though I knew it was coming.

Her eyes move back to the top of the page, as if rereading the words will make them change.

Official resignation as her personal protection detail. Effective immediately.

Her lips part.

Then she looks up at me.

“What the hell is this?”

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