Page 119 of Discretion at Its Finest

Maybe that’s what had made it worse. The fact that when she did, when she finally broke down, shaking, loving me morefiercely than anything in her life, begging me to let her finally choose me just like I had blamed her for not doing years ago… I couldn’t.

I had to let her go.

Because loving me had consequences she couldn’t survive. Her choosing me meant losing everything. I was no longer the man she chose, nor was I the one she should’ve.

I was the man the world had to isolate until he was nothing but a distant memory. Leashed like a lion in a cage, but still commanding like the king of the jungle… and I would rather die on this leash than drag her into the cage with me.

Alexander spoke cautiously, noticing my silence. “You did the right thing, you know. Letting her stay in New York. It’s what she needed. What her children needed.”

I stared straight ahead, voice cold. “Even if it wasn’t… she’s not mine. Not anymore.”

I’d already buried the version of myself that cared about warmth or love or softness. That version believed I could still build a life with her because she was my everything. That man died the day she walked away years ago. He almost clawed his way to the surface again, almost found a way to come back to life… but I couldn’t let him… Because this… this was my life now… This was who I was.

Soon, flight attendants and staff were getting ready for take-off. The engines were seconds from full throttle when commotion brewed across the tarmac, shouting, urgency, movement that wasn’t expected getting closer.

Alexander’s head snapped up from the file.

“What the hell now?” I murmured, standing as a flight attendant rushed forward, gazing out of the window before looking back at me. “Sir, there’s some commotion at the bottom of the stairs—”

Alex was already at the window. His posture faltered in a way I had never seen. “…Reid.”

I reached him in two strides. “What?”

He swallowed hard. “It’s Genevieve.”

Everything inside me stilled. He moved out of my way as I glanced out the window. My heart practically stopped beating in my chest. I couldn’t process what I was seeing… because there she was.

Hair wind-tossed. Face blotched with tears. Breathing too fast. Talking—pleading—with two federal guards who were blocking her path, their hands up, their heads shaking, attempting to calm her.

How the hell did she get here?

“Open the door,” I said without question.

I could feel Alexander’s eyes on me as I watched the guards back her away as she pleaded even more.

The flight attendant froze, an audible gulp sounding from her. “S-sir, t-the protocol f-for—”

My eyes found hers. All restraint and reason void from my mind.“Open the fucking door.”

The lock disengaged with a heavy metallic click. The cabin pressure shifted as the jet door hissed open.

Cold air rushed in.

And in that split second, she broke away from the guards, darted through the space beneath their arms and stumbled into the cabin like the ground itself was giving out beneath her. I moved instantly, stopping in the middle of the cabin as she braced a hand on the doorframe, chest heaving.

She lifted her head, her eyes finding mine. I couldn’t move, let alone fucking breathe. She looked ruined… broken andrelieved.

And then she spoke. “Reid…”

My throat tightened as I kept my composure. “What are you doing here?”

Her shoulders trembled as she stepped inside fully, lip pulled between her teeth to stop herself from crying.

Her jacket slipped off one arm, hair sticking to her wet cheeks, eyes already begging without another word being said. “I—I’m sorry.” She swallowed hard. “I just… I had to see you.”

The guards tried to ascend the stairs, but my eyes shifted instantly, stopping them with a simple glance that could’ve leveled this fucking city before looking back to her.

“I should’ve chosen you. I should’ve never…” Her words fell on a sob. “I should have never let you go.” My heart swelled in my chest. “I thought I had everything. I thought I was happy. I wasn’t.” She shrugged, letting out a helpless sigh that held a hint of a broken smile. “I lefteverything. My home. My life. My children—” The confession seemed like it was ripping her apart, but she didn’t stop. “My world. I… I don’t know what happens now or what I’m supposed to do. I just knew I had to get to you before you left… before you disappeared for good.”