Leda came over to my side and gripped my arm, keeping me grounded.
“He says he needs to see you,” Ruhua said. “And he won’t let us go until he does!”
Suddenly, her voice disappeared.
Fuck. It was my worst fear. I’d hoped that I had kept them from being found out.
“When?” I barked out.
“Tomorrow,” Adrian replied. “I will text you the address first thing in the morning. Don’t worry. I’m taking very good care of them. But my hospitality won’t last forever. Especially if you don’t show.”
The line went dead, and I fought the urge to throw it. “What is it?” Leda asked anxiously.
“Adrian has the Wongs,” I bit out, tucking my cell back into my pocket. “He wants to meet tomorrow.”
“I thought they would be safe,” she murmured. “I thought we had left them in time.”
Yeah I had, too, but in the end no one was safe. I could hide my entire fucking life from Adrian, and he would find a way to find those that I cared about.
Leda wrapped an arm around my waist, and I leaned into her, feeling like my life was falling apart bit by bit. Now I knew how she felt with her brother. Now I could understand that she was willing to do whatever it took to free him.
I was willing to do the same for my surrogate family. “I didn’t understand,” I told her. “But I do now.”
She shuddered against me. “I don’t hold it against you. I would be the same way if the tables were turned.”
I reached under her chin and tipped her gaze to mine. “I’m fucking sorry about last night,” I told her, not caring that it made me seem like less of the bad guy in this. “You are the best fucking thing that has ever happened to me.”
Her eyes watered, but I wasn’t done. “I don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow, but I know you have to do your thing, and I have to do mine.” I had to go save the Wongs, and as much as I hated it, she had to go to her father in order to save her brother.
I was torn, but the Wongs had sacrificed a hell of a lot for me in years past, and I couldn’t abandon them now.
“Of course you have to go after them,” she stated as if she could see the conflict raging inside me. “Just like I have to go after Nico.”
Swallowing, I pushed away the urge to tell her no. “I fucking hate it, separating us like this.” I was worried, scared shitless that this might be the last day that I saw her. I could save the Wongs, but by the time I made my way to Leda, it could be too late.
Leda laid a hand on my chest. “I know.”
No, she didn’t know. “I love you,” I forced out, pressing my forehead against hers. “As much as this is fucked up between us, it’s the only thing that has truly mattered to me and I don’t want to lose it. I don’t want to live without you.” That was real fear.
Leda wound her arms around my neck. “Let’s forget for a while about everything and everyone except us. Make love to me.”
We shouldn’t. We should be planning our assault tomorrow, but my entire being just wanted to hold her, to show her how much she meant to me.
We had tonight, if nothing else.
“All right,” I told her, pulling back to take her hand. “Come.”
She didn’t hesitate to take my hand, and I led her to the bathroom, knowing she could feel my hand trembling in hers.
This was about us.