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But when he put Vincente Lopez in jail—or in the ground—what then?
Would she still want him?
Or remember he’d been willing to use her as bait?
The thought gutted him.
Somewhere along the way, his feelings had moved from attraction and the impulse to protect, to something deeper that burrowed its way into every cell in his body.
Not simply need or lust. It was more.
It was respect.
Admiration.
Despite everything she’d lived through, Gia led with her heart.
Caleb braced his forearms on his knees. The weapons on the table—that’s what he knew.
How to fight and how to protect. How to be a good teammate.
And yet, his whole damn life he’d been the kid peering in from the outside, watching people form connections he never let himself truly be a part of, always the outsider.
He told himself it was safer that way.
But Gia? Gia belonged wherever she went—because she made the people around her feel seen, understood, valued. She built communities. She didn’t hold herself apart, afraid to care too much.
For just a moment, he let himself imagine what it would be like to be part of this community.
His grandfather was right. There were things he didn’t know. Didn’t understand about what went down between his mom and her family. He wasn’t sure he could ever let go of the feeling they’d abandoned her. That they could have done more.
But maybe they could come to some sort of understanding.
Gia wasn’t the only one who needed roots, even if he’d spent his life pretending otherwise.
“Caleb.” His name. Soft and hesitant.
He raised his head. Gia stood at the bedroom door, empty-handed, her teeth worrying her lush bottom lip. She still wore her jeans andpurple sweater, but she was barefoot, her toenails painted a dusky pink that matched the lip color she favored.
“I don’t want you to sleep on the couch.” She swallowed, gripping the doorframe as if steadying herself.
Her voice wavered, then steadied.“I want you to make love to me.”
Chapter Nineteen
Gia’skneeswerequakingin anticipation, and she’d had to swallow twice to moisten her throat enough to get out the words that both scared her and made her feel more alive than she’d been in years.
Maybe her entire life.
Caleb sat on the couch, hands on knees, head bowed. But when she’d spoken, he'd lifted his head.
The hunger on his face, the flare of desire in his eyes…
Everything else in the room dropped away until there was only him.
“Are you sure?” The hungry rasp in Caleb’s voice glided down her arms in a shiver
He was giving her an out.