The Promise of Surrender by Liliana Hart Read Free Book Online

stood. “You gave me an ultimatum. And when I didn’t cave like a whipped puppy you walked away like a spoiled brat.”
    “The only thing I ever asked of you was for you to love me enough. To put us first before the job for once. It was about priorities. You think I wanted to see you executed like I saw The Vaqueros do to Rachel?”
    The Vaqueros were an outlaw motorcycle gang that spread from Montana and North Dakota up into parts of Canada. They ran drugs and guns and they were very good at what they did. They were one of the most violent gangs in the country.
    “To stare into your eyes and see the knowledge that you were going to die just before they pulled the trigger?” she yelled. “You know as well as I do that if we hadn’t busted them and caught the dirty cop giving away our identities and locations that you would be dead. Because they already had you in their sights.”
    “But we did catch them and we did bring them down. At least that cell. And you gave away your own identity by taking a bullet for me. Which still pisses me off.”
    “Because I blew my cover or because I loved you enough to try and protect you?”
    “Because you almost fucking died, Mia.”
    “Everything that happened in that warehouse that day was a sign telling us it was time to get out. Your cover was blown, my cover was blown, and we lost three good cops. But what the hell do you do?” She was yelling and she didn’t care. “You made sure yours was the first face I saw when I woke up. I was finally able to fight my way through the pain meds, and it felt like cinder blocks were sitting on top of my chest. Every breath felt like knives were stabbing me.
    “And the first thing out of your mouth is that you’ve created a new identity and regrouped the task force to go after another Vaquero cell in a different territory. You were pissed you were going to have to lay low for a while and reestablish a new cover.
    “Not once did you ever mention our relationship or that you loved me or even the fact that you were glad I was alive. All you could talk about was getting back to the job. And all I wanted was to get as far away from undercover work as I could.”
    She held the beer bottle to her cheek. The cool glass felt good against her heated skin. “Rachel was dead, and I felt like I should’ve been. Do you know how much therapy and how many years of nightmares I went through before I stopped seeing her die in my head? I needed out. That was the last straw. I couldn’t function and I couldn’t be a good cop. What I needed was you.”
    “Six weeks, Mia. Six weeks was how long it took for you to open your eyes and look at me. I was there every goddamned day and night with you. I lived and breathed you. For six weeks I’d had time to process and reassess and make decisions. I’d already said the things you wanted to hear. I begged and pleaded with you to wake up. Said prayers I hadn’t remembered I’d known that you’d survive. I told you every chance I got that I loved you. But you didn’t hear because your stubborn ass jumped in front of a bullet.”
    “And I would do it again. That bullet would’ve killed you. I needed you,” she said again.
    “And I needed to get back out there and wreak vengeance on the ones we didn’t get for putting you in that hospital bed. What I needed was for you to understand.”
    She sighed, defeated. “There’s no point in this, Zeke. The past is the past, and maybe we were just never meant to be. It was incredible while it lasted. But you and I both know cops don’t make good life partners.”
    Mia tossed her beer bottle in the trash and moved to clear the dishes.
    “I think that’s bullshit. We know plenty of cops that have been able to make it work. But maybe we were both too selfish to realize what we had and how hard we had to fight for it. Maybe you’re standing there now, scared to death, because you realize you didn’t move on like you wanted to. Because you still love