Chapter Thirty-Five
Noah
The door slammed shut,and I knew the moment I turned the key and locked it, Sienna now hated me even more. It was her fire, her fight, her unwavering confidence that made me fall in love with her in the first place. And that’s why I knew this would be hard. I knew she would fight me—especially now that she couldn’t stand the sight of me.
God, it killed me. It fucking tore me apart to see the hurt in her eyes, knowing I was the cause of it. And her tears? Jesus, her fucking tears. Every single one that dripped down her cheeks squeezed the life out of me, and I had to get out of that room before her pain tore me in half.
I walked away from the door, the floor creaking under my feet. The large cabin space was cast in shadows coming through the high, arched windows as the sun began to set. This wasn’t just any old cabin with discolored and pockmarked wooden walls. It was a two-bedroom, one bathroom, luxury getaway home that rivaled all others.
The kitchen and living space were separated with a round oak table and four chairs. It smelled like pine and wood; most of the furniture was still covered with sheets protecting it from dust since no one had been here for a while.
This cabin was all about privacy, hidden in the middle of nothing but miles and miles of trees with a single narrow road leading to it; a road that could easily be missed. It was the perfect place to hide. No one would find us here. But just as a precaution, I had a few “friends” close by.
I glanced at the cabinet that stood in the corner, the dark oak hiding the weapons I had laid out perfectly, ready for me to grab it and kill any and every motherfucker who came close to this goddamn cabin.
After disturbing the neatly stacked logs and lighting the fireplace, I took a seat and tapped my finger on the table with a frustrating rhythm while I stared at the locked door. She was right there, so fucking close, yet she was a world away. It was far more difficult to witness than I anticipated, feeling her body shudder against mine as her tears wrecked her...because of me. Lucky for me, I had mastered guilt years ago. Having it eat away at your spine was something I had learned to live with. But it still fucking sucked—especially having her this close and knowing that I couldn’t have her even though my heart demanded with conviction that she. Was. Mine.
The wind started to sail through the trees, the cabin filling with the sound of dried leaves being swept from the land and bark scraping against the roof. But there was nothing but silence from behind that door where I had Sienna locked in. I had myself convinced she’d try to break the door down by now, but she was quiet. Too quiet. There was something different about her. I couldn’t place it. But something had changed since the last time I saw her. I just couldn’t figure it out.
I also knew I’d have to tell her everything. Soon. She deserved to know now that she was caught up in the middle of it all.
With a sigh, I got up, grabbed two beers from the fridge and knocked on the door like I wasn’t the one who had just locked it a few minutes ago. “Sienna?”
There was no reply.
I unlocked the door. “I’m coming in.” After pushing open the door, I remained still, frozen as I saw Sienna sitting against the wall, her legs pulled up and face buried against her knees. There was a sharp pang that forced pain between my ribs as I witnessed Sienna more vulnerable than I had ever seen. The scene in front of me rivaled the aftermath of Oakley’s psychotic breakdown that almost ruined her.
My footsteps barely made a sound as I stalked toward her. “Jesus, Sienna. I hate seeing you like this.”
I sat down in front of her, placing the beers on the floor and reaching out, gently easing her head up so she could look at me. Air got stuck in my throat when I saw the sorrow on her beautiful face.
“Please believe me when I say I never meant to hurt you. And I’ll hate myself forever for doing this to you.”
Lifting her head, she moved away from my touch without saying a word, yet her silence spoke volumes.
I inched back. “I want to tell you everything.”
Her gaze cut to mine, a subtle sign that she was willing to listen.
“But first,” I held out a beer, “you might need this.”
“No thanks,” she murmured, so I popped the beer open for myself, the foam crowning the bottle. I took a large swig, the bitter, malty taste exploding on my tongue and settling in my stomach as I swallowed.
I pulled up my knees and rested my arms on top without looking at her. “Remember I told you I was a marine?”
She nodded, her red curls falling down her shoulders.
“I was only a marine for a short time before I joined the FBI special ops.” I licked my lips. “I was a sniper for highly classified operations. The type, not even the media could catch a whiff of. It was the kind of ops where you got handed a file, executed the instructions, and walked away without asking any questions.”
Sienna settled back as she listened.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “My last mission was to take out one of the most notorious human traffickers who had his business cross American borders.” I swallowed hard, the memories cutting through my mind with sharp edges. “And I did my job. I took him out.”
“You mean you killed him?”
“Yeah.” I rubbed my palm down my cheek. Talking about the part of my past that now defined me had unease settle in my gut. “I killed Federico Esposito, the oldest son of the Esposito mob Boss, and rid the world of one less evil motherfucker. My job was done. File closed, and no questions asked. Only...it wasn’t over.”
I got up, unable to sit any longer. Talking about it had me feeling those emotions all over again. “The Esposito family came after us—or rather, the Boss’s other son, taking out members of our team one by one. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t stop them.”