Page 82 of Code Name: Grit

She set them on the nightstand. “Your choice. But they’re here if you need them.”

I reached for her hand, drawing her closer until she stood between my knees. “Thank you,” I said, looking up at her. “For staying with me at the hospital.”

Her hand brushed my cheek. “I couldn’t have gone anywhere even if I wanted to.”

“And did you? Want to?”

She shook her head, the hint of a smile touching her lips. “No. Not for a second.”

I leaned forward, resting my head against her stomach. Her fingers threaded through my hair, the gentle touch more healing than any medication.

“You should lie down,” she murmured after a moment. “Doctor’s orders.”

I let her help me stretch out on the bed and position pillows to support my injured shoulder. She kicked off her shoes and climbed up beside me, careful not to jostle the mattress.

“I keep thinking about Cassio,” she said a few minutes later, her head resting on my good shoulder. “All these years, I believed we should fear him in the same way we did everyone else connected to organized crime.”

“And now?”

“Now, I don’t know what to think.” Her voice wavered slightly. “When Giovanni said I was his daughter, he didn’tconfirm it, but he didn’t expose me either. He protected me at that moment. That doesn’t fit with what I learned growing up.”

I stroked her hair, wishing I had answers for her. “Maybe your mother thought she was protecting you. Maybe she truly believed he would harm you if he found out.”

“Or maybe she was wrong about him,” Lumi whispered. “Maybe everything I thought I knew about my father was based on fear rather than truth. On the other hand, maybe she was protecting him as much as us.”

“There’s one way to find out.”

She nodded and tightened her arm around my waist. “I just want to be with you for now.”

“Just for now?” I teased.

“As long as you’ll have me.”

“It’s up to you. I’m yours from this day on,” I promised. “However you want me.”

The kiss she pressed to my lips was gentle but held a promise of more. When she pulled back, her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

“I almost lost you,” she said, her voice breaking. “I can’t go through that again.”

“You won’t have to,” I assured her, knowing it was a promise I might not be able to keep but needing to make it anyway.

“You can’t know that.”

“No,” I admitted. “But I can promise to fight like hell to come back to you. Every time.”

The warmth of her next to me eased the aches radiating through my body. For the first time in longer than I could remember, peace settled over me.

We lay together as the light shifted and faded, not speaking much, drifting in and out of sleep, simply existing in the quiet aftermath of everything that had happened. The revelation about Cassio’s and Rafael’s collaboration with Kellerhad upended our understanding of the mission, but it had also eliminated the immediate threat.

“I should get you something to eat,” she said eventually, making no move to leave my side.

“Not hungry,” I murmured, my pain having subsided to a dull, manageable throb.

“You need to keep up your strength.”

“I need you more.” I hadn’t planned to say it, but now that I had, I realized how true it was.

She pushed herself up on one elbow, studying my face with an intensity that made my breath catch. “Drake Harrison,” she said softly, using my given name. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”