Erasing Faith(101)

Now, in the center of the inky tendrils spanning his upper back, an elaborate Chinese symbol was etched into his skin. The desire to trace my fingers across its lines was strong, but I knew doing so would wake him. Instead, I brought my face as close to it as possible, as though I might somehow discern the emblem’s meaning through proximity alone.

“Faith.” His deep voice startled me away from the tattoo. I pulled back and settled in next to him again, my arm brushing his.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” I whispered, staring into his half-lidded eyes.

“You didn’t.” He reached out, wrapped an arm around my back, and hauled me against his side so we were pressed flush together. My arms twined around his back as I huddled into his warmth and exhaled deeply. My fingertips blindly traced the markings on his back.

“The new tattoo.” His hold tightened on me. “I got it the day I left Budapest.”

“Oh.” I waited, knowing he had more to say.

“Yeah.” I felt his throat contract as he swallowed. “It means faith.”

Tears sprang to my eyes and I buried my head in the crook of his neck to stem their flow. I didn’t say anything — I just tightened my embrace until he knew, without words, that I was never letting him go. Not ever.





Chapter Fifty-Six: WESTON


NOT AGAIN



I stepped outside and popped the SIM-card back into my phone. A text message from Benson came up on the screen almost immediately.

FOUND BORDAS. CALL IN.

I sighed and dialed, listening to it ring for several long seconds before he finally answered.

“Benson.”

“It’s Abbott,” I grumbled. “You got him?”

There was a weighty silence over the line. “We tracked him to a small town a couple hours from Bakersfield. We think he’s heading for—”

“Faith’s family,” I finished, my mind beginning to race. “Fuck.”

“Best guess is, he’s desperate and needs some leverage to draw her back home.” Benson sighed. “We’re sending a team to watch the house. When he gets there, we’ll take him out.”

“You got her family out already, right?”

Silence.

My jaw clenched. “Benson. Don’t f*cking tell me you’re doing what I think you’re doing.”

He didn’t answer.

“Because if you’re thinking of using Faith’s family as live bait to trap Bordas…” I took a deep breath and when I spoke again, I knew my voice had surpassed threatening and gone straight to ominous. “You will answer to me.”

“I don’t answer to you,” Benson snapped. “And we aren’t evacuating the family. If Bordas senses a trap, he’ll bolt. He’s one of Szekely’s top men. We can’t afford to lose him, and we might not have another opportunity like this for years, if ever.”

“Benson—”

“If you’re worried about the family, you can join the op to make sure they’re adequately protected. That’s my only offer.”

I began to grind my teeth. There were no good options, here.

If I left to guard her family, Faith would be unprotected. If I stayed and her parents were injured or killed, she’d never forgive me. I couldn’t take her with me — putting her in Bordas’ path would be playing right into his hands, if the mission went wrong.

Fuck.

“Decide fast, Abbott. The clock is ticking. By our estimates, Bordas will be at the house in about three hours. It’ll take you almost that long to get here.”

My eyes pressed closed.

“I’ll let you know within the hour.”

***

“You have to go.”

Faith was eerily calm. I’d expected hysterics, screams, even some threats, but she was utterly composed when I told her about Bordas. Her eyes bored into mine and she laced our fingers together, the physical contact underscoring her intent words.

My jaw clenched. “I don’t want to leave you unprotected. Even if it’s only for a few hours.”

“I’m not unprotected — I have my gun. Plus, no one even knows how to find this cabin. I’ll be fine without you.” Her eyes were liquid saucers, pleading and persuasive. “My family needs you, Wes.”

“What if you need me?”

She leaned in and brushed her lips against mine. “I’ll always need you in my life. But I can survive alone for eight hours. I promise.”

“I don’t like this.”

She tucked her face into the hollow of my throat, so my chin rested on the crown of her head. “I know you don’t. But I need you to do it anyway. If they were ever hurt because of me…” He voice cracked a little. “Please, Wes.”

I sighed. I was powerless to say no to her. “Okay,” I agreed reluctantly.

“Thank you,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to my neck. “I’ll spend a boring few hours playing cards, cleaning the cabin, and missing you, and then you’ll come back to me. Nothing is going to happen.”

I pressed my eyes closed and forced myself to focus on the steady sound of her breathing, rather than how irrationally afraid I was to leave her alone. She’d be fine. I was worried for no reason.