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His jaw was clenched, and when I brushed my lips against his, his expression softened, but there was concern in his eyes.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” I said. “I’ve done this plenty of times before. My men know what to do. They’ll protect me.”

“What about the mole? You need someone you can trust with you.” His eyes pleaded with mine.

“And I’ll have them. Rafael will make sure of it. We have a small group of people we trust with our lives. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“How can you be so sure?”

I couldn’t, but it was what I had to believe.

Going on a mission and thinking I might not come back was not something I wanted to contemplate.

I kissed Luca again, savoring every little sensation, no matter how tiny.

“I’ll be fine,” I whispered. “You’ll see.”

Maybe with time he’d get used to it.

And maybe I’d get used to the fact that there was someone waiting for me at home.

Chapter 24

“WHAT IF HE SENDS ANOTHERgroup of mercenaries?” I asked as Rafael and I waited for Santino’s men to show up.

“Doesn’t matter. We’ll kill them. But I don’t think he could’ve found someone on such short notice, especially out of our area.”

“Did you find out if he knows about Jessica?”

“I spoke with the guy who’s keeping an eye on her. It looks like Santino knows nothing, or he simply doesn’t care where she is as long as she’s not his problem.”

“Right.” I sighed. “I hate waiting. What if Santino doesn’t send anyone? The message you let slip might have seemed too suspicious to him to be true.”

“I guess all we can do is wait and see.” His lips turned up.

More waiting.