“For forty-eight hours.”
Daniel’s grip tightened around the gun.
“You thought Ryan would kill you when he learned you targeted me.”
Ryan spoke calmly.
“I considered it.”
I glanced at him.
“Not helping.”
“Sorry.”
Even Chloe almost smiled.
Daniel screamed, “Shut up!”
There.
Control was slipping.
I took another step.
“You made one mistake.”
“What?”
“You thought betrayal would permanently separate us.”
I looked at Ryan.
“It might still.”
His face tightened, but he understood.
Our marriage was not magically repaired because we had a common enemy.
That truth made what came next stronger.
“But whether Ryan and I stay married has nothing to do with you.”
Daniel stared.
“You don’t get to decide what his betrayal means to me.”
Another step.
“You don’t get to use Chloe’s feelings.”
Another.
“You don’t get to use my father’s past.”
Another.
“And you don’t get to decide which woman Ryan Moretti saves.”
Daniel lifted the gun toward me.
Ryan moved.
“Don’t!”
The gunshot exploded.
I dropped.
For one horrible second, I thought I had been hit.
Then Daniel screamed.
Chloe had kicked the back of his knee.
The shot went wide.
Ryan crossed the distance.
He struck Daniel once.
The gun fell.
Ryan hit him again.
Daniel collapsed.
Ryan stood over him.
Every dark story I had ever heard about my husband seemed to gather inside that moment.
Daniel smiled through blood.
“Do it.”
Ryan’s fist tightened.
“Ryan.”
He looked at me.
“Don’t.”
“He tried to kill you.”
“I know.”
“He killed people.”
“I know.”
“He deserves—”
“Maybe.”
I approached.
“But if you kill him now,
you give him exactly what he wants.”
Ryan breathed hard.
Daniel laughed.
“You’re weak.”
Ryan looked down at him.
Then something changed.
He stepped away.
“No.”
His voice was calm.
“I finally have something worth being better for.”
Federal agents entered seconds later.
Daniel Cross was arrested.
Alive.
And that mattered.
Because alive, he could testify.
Alive, his financial network could be dismantled.
Alive, he could not become a martyr in the mythology he had built around himself.
The investigation lasted months.
Northstar Global Transport collapsed under federal seizure orders.
Daniel was indicted on kidnapping, attempted murder, racketeering, conspiracy, financial crimes, and charges connected to several older deaths.
Marco Vescari testified.
So did Chloe.
My father cooperated fully.
Ryan provided corporate records through attorneys.
For the first time in years,
two families that had survived by hiding secrets discovered that truth was considerably less expensive.
But Ryan and I remained separated.
That surprised everyone.
Especially Ryan.
Three months after Daniel’s arrest, he came to my apartment.
Not with flowers.
Not with jewelry.
Not with security.
He carried a cardboard box.
“What’s that?”
“Documents.”
“That’s romantic.”
“I’m trying something new.”
I let him inside.
He placed the box on my table.
Inside were company agreements.
Property records.
Trust documents.
“What is this?”
“Everything you should have had access to years ago.”
“I already know about Moretti Logistics.”
“Not everything.”
I looked at him.
“Ryan.”
“No secrets.”
He sat across from me.
“If you decide to divorce me, your lawyers get copies.”
I stared.
“If you stay, you get copies.”
“Why?”
“Because I spent seven years calling you my partner while deciding which parts of my life you were allowed to see.”
His voice softened.
“That isn’t partnership.”
I closed the box.
“Therapy.”
Ryan blinked.
“What?”
“If there is any chance for us, therapy.”
He looked as though I had asked him to perform surgery on himself.
“Marriage therapy?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve been shot twice.”
“Congratulations.”
“I think I’d rather do that again.”
“Then we’re getting divorced.”
“I’ll make the appointment.”
I laughed before I could stop myself.
Ryan smiled.
It was the first easy moment we had shared in months.
Then I became serious.
“Chloe.”
His smile disappeared.
“She resigned.”
“I know.”
“She’s moving to Boston.”
“I know that too.”
“I haven’t seen her alone since Denver.”
“This isn’t about policing you.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
He thought.
“Yes.”
I leaned back.
“If we stay married, I refuse to become a woman who checks your phone every night.”
“I don’t want that either.”
“If you make me feel crazy for asking a reasonable question again, I’m gone.”
“You should be.”
“If you lie to protect me—”
“I tell you the truth and we decide together what protection looks like.”
I studied him.
He had been listening.
“And if another beautiful blonde secretary kisses you?”
“I run.”
I laughed.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
He leaned forward.
“Claire, I cannot undo the kiss.”
“No.”
“I cannot undo the lies.”
“No.”
“I cannot undo what happened on that plane.”
“No.”
His eyes met mine.
“But I can spend whatever time you give me becoming a man who never makes you question your place beside me again.”
My eyes burned.
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