Page 97 of Broken Mercy
“I plan on doing much more than kiss you once we’re behind closed doors.”
“Promise?”
“I really love you, Tallie, and I look forward to defiling you for a very, very long time.”
“What a flirt.”
We walk together through the gates of the Sarkissian mansion and if I’m grinning it’s because I have a home to go back to and a husband there to fill the space and to warm my bed and to make me want to dig down deep to see what’s hidden in there and to bring it all out into the light.
CHAPTER 28
BRENDEN
Ilock the apartment door with a click and toss the key to Riley. “And now that’s done.”
She studies her palm for a moment before slipping it into her pocket. “You sure about this?”
“Easiest decision of my life. Thanks for the help though.”
“No problem. Always happy to help my brother move.” She grins but her smile quickly disappears. “Don’t ask me to do that again though. Hire movers next time.”
I drape my arm over her shoulders and shake her roughly. “And risk them finding my secrets?!”
“You mean your old dirty socks and stash of money? Wow, big if true.”
We walk away from my old apartment together. I feel lighter than I have in a while even though I’m happily tired. A truck’s waiting out front packed with what’s left of my old furniture. “Can’t wait to get rid of all this stuff,” I admit once we’re lingering on the front stoop.
“You don’t want any of it?”
“Tallie’s got the house exactly the way she wants it.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Riley’s eyebrows raise high. “Never thought I’d see the day. You’ve always been an independent control freak.”
“We all have to make compromises for the people we love.”
“God, I know that better than anyone.” She laughs and stretches her back. “You really mean it though, don’t you?”
“I’m sticking around.”
“I wish you had told me. All that stuff with the ledgers. God, Brenden, you almost got yourself killed.”
“Maybe, but the risk was worth it in my mind. I wanted to disappear and what better way than to do something insane? I was going to fade into the sunset or I was going to go down in a storm of gunfire.”
“There are always other options, you know.”
“Not to me, at least not when I started this, but you’re right. I met Tallie and now…”
“You want to stay.”
“Stupid, right?”
“Not even a little. I’m still kind of mad you didn’t say anything from the start.”
“You would’ve tried to talk me out of it, right?”
Her jaw ticks. “I mean—“ But she sighs. “Yeah, I would have.”
“And now you know why I didn’t.”
