Page 106 of Final Exit

Say you love me. Tell me you want to be with me. Say it, Bailey.

She shrugged. “Vacation, I suppose. I need some time to decompress after all of this. You?”

He stared at her a long moment, then turned back to the baluster. “Now there’s a question.” He watched the slow-blinking light of a plane flying in the distance. “Going back to the bureau doesn’t seem possible. How would I explain everything that happened? For all I know, the net Faegan wrapped around me is still there, ready to pin everything on me if I go back. No, I suppose the safest thing to do is move on. Maybe I’ll go on vacation, too, before making any big decisions.” He looked at her. “We could vacationtogether, if you want to.”

He was an idiot. He didn’t want a vacation with her. He wanted forever. Where the hell had that question even come from?

“You’re... not going to be an FBI agent anymore?”

He grew still, watching the shadows flicker in her gorgeous green eyes—the doubts, the worry. Was that it? Was it that simple? Could his beautiful, smart, confident Bailey be thinking she couldn’t fit into his life and that’s why she’d been so afraid of him proposing?

He slowly shook his head. “I don’t see the point. I don’t think that men like me, after the things I’ve done, should be the ones upholding the law. It’s time to move on, let someone else take a turn.”

She swallowed, cleared her throat. “Then... you’ll do... what? Have you thought about how you’re going to spend the rest of your life? I mean, I thought being a special agent was all you ever wanted. Do you think you could be happy if you aren’t in the bureau anymore?”

Unable to resist the urge to touch her for even one more second, he gently stroked his thumb across her jaw. He loved the way she shivered every time he touched her.

“Do you think you could be happy hanging out with a washed-up, former FBI agent?”

Her smile could have powered all the lights of Boulder, and then some. “As it turns out, I’m looking for a new career, too. Maybe we can both retrain together.” She smoothed her hand up the front of his shirt. “I’ve no doubt that I can figure out something appropriate to your... skills.”

He cocked his head, his heart feeling lighter than it had in days. “Are you flirting with me, Bailey Stark?”

“If you have to ask, I’m losing my touch.”

He grinned.

“Ask me about that vacation thing again,” she said.

“Would you like to go somewhere on vacation with me? Preferably somewhere hot, where you feel inclined to shed as much clothing as possible.”

She laughed, and the sound had his soul wanting to shout for joy. Maybe there was hope for them after all.

She took his hands in hers and kissed his knuckles. “I’d love to go away with you, Kade. I’ve got a bikini I’ve been wanting to try out.”

He was pretty sure he just swallowed his tongue.

She clasped her hands around the back of his neck. “I also have this little leather skirt, and a leather top with a zipper I sometimes need help with.”

He swallowed. Hard. “I’m good with zippers.”

Her gaze fell to his mouth. “Yes. You most definitely are.”

He smiled and glanced down the balcony at Mason, then just inside at Jace, and the others. And then, as often happened these days, his thoughts drifted back to everything they’d all been through. And he wondered.

“Something’s bothering you, isn’t it?”

He blew out a long, slow breath. “Yeah. I guess it is.”

She took a sip of her beer and waited.

“It’s Faegan,” he finally said.

She ran her hand up and down his arm as if to comfort him. “Are you having regrets?”

“No.” His tone was sharp. He grimaced and lowered his voice. “That was the easiest decision I’ve ever made in my life. You’re safe. That’s what matters. It’s just...” He shook his head. “I know he was in on everything, and he sure acted like it was all his idea toward the end when cornered. But I just can’t picture him being the ultimate mastermind of all of this.”

“Because he didn’t seem smart enough?”