“Hey.” I go over to him.
“Hey.” He gets out of the car and hands me a bouquet of flowers. “These are for you.”
I take them. “Thanks. But you shouldn’t be giving me anything. I’m the one who should be giving you something. You saved me again.”
I give him a quick hug.
“Thank you.”
He pats my back. “No problem.”
I step back. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. I need to talk to Cain.”
I run to my car.
“Allie!” Taylor calls after me.
“What?” I ask as I open the door to my car.
“Do you love him?” Taylor asks me. “Do you love Cain?”
The question takes me by surprise. Still, the answer comes easily.
“I do. And I plan on telling him.”
For a moment, Taylor falls silent. Then his lips curve into a sad smile. “Then go. What are you waiting for?”
~
After almost two hours of hiking, I find the cabin where Cain lives, just as Andrea said I would. I find him standing outside it, too, beside a pile of chopped wood, waiting for me. He must have heard me coming.
He must not have known it was me coming, though, because when he sees me, his eyes grow wide.
“Allie?”
I smile and start running towards him. He meets me and I crash into his arms.
Not too long ago, he didn’t seem to care about me. I didn’t seem to have any effect on him at all. Yet now he’s thrilled to see me. He’s holding me like he never wants to let me go.
I don’t want him to let me go, but I have to pull away because there are things I want to tell him.
“Cain…”
“How did you find me?” he asks me after letting me go.
“I went to see my father,” I tell him.
“Orso?”
“And I asked Andrea where I could find you and he told me.”
Cain grins.
I narrow my eyes at him. “You know, you really should get a phone.”
“Maybe I will,” he says. “Now that there’s someone I want to stay connected to.”
His words take my breath away. I nearly forget what I’m going to say. When I remember, I clear my throat.
“I have a few questions,” I tell him.
Cain nods. “Okay.”
“First, what were you really doing at my house when we first met?” I ask him. “Did my father send you?”
“Yes. He sent me to kill you, actually, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to because I don’t kill women.”
My eyes grow wide.
“And I couldn’t. At first, it was only because you were a woman, but then it was because of who you were. I ended up only wanting to protect you, which was what Orso intended all along.”
“He sent you to kill me so that you would protect me?” I ask.
Cain nods.
“Okay.” Weird, but moving on… “Next question. You said you used to be a professional killer. Does that mean you’re retired?”
“Yes.”
“So you promise not to kill anyone anymore?”
“Well, I would love to kill Sergio Bianchi because of what he put you through, but if you don’t want me to, I won’t.”
And I believe him.
“Last question.” I look into his eyes. “Do you love me?”
Cain’s smile lights up his face.
“I’ve come to realize that I do.”
At his answer, my heart leaps. I throw myself into his arms once more.
“I love you, too,” I confess against his chest.
Cain pulls away so that our eyes can meet before his lips descend on mine. As we kiss, whatever doubts I had about being with Cain vanish. All my other worries evaporate as well.
I know Sergio Bianchi is still out there. I know there are still unanswered questions, loose ends. I know that Cain and I have a lot to overcome. Even so, I’m not afraid. I know that there will be plenty of good surprises to come, too.
After all, we’ve barely just begun.
~The End~