Page 106 of The True Garza

“How was your week?” he asks me. “Your team detailed Saskia Day and her family this week, right?”

We did. Detailing celebrities was new and exciting for me in the beginning. Now I groan when we’re assigned superstars. Not my favorite. But Red Cage isn’t for the poor or even the middle class. Just the rich, wealthy, and famous.

“It was all right,” I answer. “Nothing to write home about.”

He chuckles. “Look at you. All jaded with celebrity detailing already.”

“It’s those damn paparazzi. They’re relentless. No boundaries. I don’t know how celebrities live like that.”

“It’s what they signed up for.” He looks over at me. “And you, too, when you asked for this job. If you’re tired of it, put in a request for a transfer to the PI division.”

“I’m not complaining. Just answering your question.”

“I missed you.”

The abrupt non sequitur catches me off-guard. He’s never used words likethatwith me before. It feels… weird. “We hooked up Tuesday night.”

“And now it’s Friday. What’s your point?”

“I didn’t take you as the type to ‘miss’ women, when you have so many at your disposal.”

“You’re not ‘women,’ London.” He makes a sound of frustration. “How many times do I need to tell you that?”

If I ask,What am I, then? He’ll answer with,Mine. So I don’t bother. As much as we both know that’s true, I prefer to live in denial.

“Why are we in the air, True?”

Several long seconds tick by, before he answers, “’Cause up here, you can’t run from me.”

Annnnd my heart is in overdrive now.

The last four times we hooked up, I’d attempted to talk to him about ending things, only to get derailed by his tongue plunging into my mouth and his hands on my body. Has he known all this time? And if that’s the case, why would he block me from doing so by distracting me with sex and saying weird things like he “missed” me?He said Ishould tell him whenever I’m ready to end things. So why the hell isn’t he letting me?

Let’s test this… “So, about what I wanted to talk to y—”

“Not yet,” he cuts me off. “Just… not yet.”

“True, you said—”

“Can you just enjoy the ride and the view with me, London? Please?”

Well, there’s my answer. And it’s a problem.

For now, I decide to give him what he asks. To enjoy the ride and the view. He’s already heard the words that haven’t been said, so might as well. It’s our last night together.

And it’s only then, after I’ve decidedly climbed out of my mind of rambling thoughts to focus on thenow, that I recognize the beauty of this moment. To be alone in the night sky with the only man I truly want but can’t own. His easy confidence with handling the aircraft. The way my life is completely in his hands, yet I have not an ounce of fear.

The view outside is breathtaking.

But the view inside, across from me, is fucking divine.

And it’s in this moment, when there are no distractions, when my guard is down, when all the voices in my head have quieted, that the truth pushes forth and shines bright like the North Star….

I love him.

I love True Garza, andthat’sthe real reason I’m running. While I’m still whole and intact. Because if I continue with him, I’ll be ruined. Fucking shredded.

I have to stop.