We traveled in relative silence for thirty minutes or so. Emily had yet to rise from her ducked position, and I might have been amused if she weren’t staring so incredulously at me.

Determined to keep my cool, I refused to meet her gaze. As far as I was concerned, I had made my point well enough by refusing to hand her over. Granted, there hadn’t been an explicit refusal, but it was very well implied. I certainly didn’t want to spell things out for her. It was embarrassing enough to be gripped so fully by my feelings; I didn’t want to give voice to them.

I couldn’t quite believe it, but I actually wanted things to work with Emily. What I felt for her was unlike anything I’d ever felt before, like stepping out into the sunshine after being locked away for years. It was the most intense feeling I’d ever felt, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. As much as I’d wanted to be close to someone, now that she had been dropped in my lap, I wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

Emily was more wonderful than I could have ever imagined her. In the short time we’d been together, I’d been happier than I’d ever thought possible. I felt complete. Admittedly, there had been a few missteps, but…I knew what I felt. I also knew that it wasn’t a feeling I could simply smother and hope that it faded.

“What are we doing, Owen?” she asked carefully, finally taking the initiative to scoot up in her seat.

The drop-off point was miles behind us, and I didn’t quite know where I was driving. All I knew what that I needed distance from the place where I had nearly given up the woman I loved.

She would forgive me; I knew. She was far too enamored with me for her own good, and more than I deserved. I decided that, for the foreseeable future, I would make sure she knew how much she meant to me.

“I’m not willing to lose you,” I said after moment, and she looked at me as if I’d grown a second head.

Admittedly, with how cold I had been acting, it must have seemed strange for me to have such a sudden change of heart.

“The mission, though…” she sputtered, reaching out to grasp my hand.

I settled our joined hands in their familiar place on the center console, giving hers a reassuring squeeze.

“You mean more to me than any mission. I just—” I paused, fidgeting in an uncharacteristic show of nervousness. “I just hope we can avoid their radar. I’m sure that I’ll be considered a criminal for taking off with the woman I’ve been ordered to hand over to law enforcement, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

Her expression was one of obvious concern, and I was almost sure she’d think I was an idiot.

“Do…do you really mean that? I can’t just let you throw your life away for me! It’s not fair; I don’t expect you to feel the same way as I do. I never wanted you to put your own wellbeing at stake for me,” she insisted.

I found myself grinning a bit, stroking my thumb along the back of her hand. She seemed comforted by the simple action, though she was clearly wracked with nerves all the same.

“It’s one of those things, Emily. You didn’t ask for me to do this. I took the initiative. I can’t deny how I feel for you anymore. I’m tired of pretending to be something I’m not. I’m sick of hurting you,” I said gruffly.

Tears brimmed in her eyes, and I tried to keep my expression positive in spite of the horrible turn things could take. I’m sure my captive was well aware of them. No, not my captive. I would set her free if she no longer wanted me. I wanted her to be with me because it seemed to be what she wanted. If she wanted her freedom, alone, I would let her have it, for the sake of her happiness.

“I love you, Owen, and I can’t stand the thought of something happening to you because you let your feelings get in the way of your job. I’m not worth throwing your life away,” she sniffled, rubbing her eyes with her free hand.

I chuckled a bit, not taking my eyes off the road as I lifted our joined hands and drew them close to kiss the back of her knuckles. She shivered involuntarily, and I liked being the one with the power to make her react in that way.

“What’s done is done, Emily. I would be throwing my life away if I gave you over to the feds. I would be betraying my heart, and that’s not something I want to do anymore. It’s probably selfish of me to assume you even want to be with me after all I’ve done, but—” I began to ramble, cut off by her melodic laughter. It was music to my ears, an utter joy to hear.

“I can’t just turn off my feelings. I’ve completely fallen in love with you, and there’s really nothing you could to change that,” she told me, smiling.

My heart fluttered in my chest, and my confidence wavered for the shortest of moments. How could this beautiful woman love me after all I’d done to her? I didn’t deserve her kindness.

“You’re overthinking it. If this is what you want to do, for once just go with the flow,” she said comfortingly.

Her confession of love—deep, true love—didn’t strike me until a few moments later.

Emily was patiently waiting for my response, and I could see the faintest glimmer of hope in her eyes. There was no doubt in my heart regarding how I felt about her, and things may have been moving fast, but it didn’t change how desperately I loved her.

“I love—”

I paused in the midst of my confession, feeling my phone vibrating in my pocket.

A sense of dread washed over me, and I pulled out my phone to see who was calling. My worst fears were confirmed when the name ‘Gomez’ flashed on the screen.

I pressed a finger to my lips to signal her to remain silent. I was certain we’d been found out, but I could still entertain the hope that we might put some distance between ourselves and the FBI. Swiping my phone to answer, I managed to keep my voice steady.

“Commander. To what do I owe the pleasure?” I said calmly.

For her part, Emily’s eyes looked as if they would pop out of her head, looking more like a deer in headlights than ever before. She bit her knuckle to keep quiet, her breath shuddering. I smiled gently at her, trying to appear reassuring, though I certainly didn’t feel the most confident.

“Caldwell. I’ve got some bad news, and I called you as soon as I could. Intel shows that Emily Madden has gone missing, so the mission has been put on an indefinite hold. It’s a disappointing turn of events, but we’ve decided to take another direction in catching her father,” Gomez explained, sounding somewhat preoccupied.

My heart leapt into my chest, and I was struck by the thought that there was no way I could be so fortunate. Crossed wires where intel went missing was something that almost never happened. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat, keeping my voice casual.

“That explains why I couldn’t find her. Hell, I thought I’d ended up in the wrong place or something,” I joked, all too aware of Emily’s eyes drinking me in with desperation.

Gomez laughed, sounding altogether nonplussed by the turn of events.

“Well, as you can probably guess, you’re free to come back to the base as soon as possible. It might be a bit slow here, but maybe you’ve had your fill of excitement for a while,” Gomez chuckled.

I thought quickly before responding.

“Actually, since I’m due some time off, I was wondering if I could take a couple of weeks off. Guam is really nice, and I’d like the chance to see the place without searching for some runaway kid,” I said smoothly, and Gomez hesitated for a moment.

My breath caught in my throat, and I wondered if I had pushed too far. However, Gomez simply chuckled, and I could hear him shuffling some files around.

“I can understand that. Yeah, you have two weeks’ leave that you’re free to take, so I’ll go ahead and mark you down. Have a good time, Caldwell, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” he said, the smile obvious in his voice.

I smiled, swiping my phone to hang up and breathe a sigh of relief. Emily was looking imploringly at me, but I had a decision to make. If I kept my job, it would only be a matter of time before they caught on to the fact that I’d helped Emily escape. I had two weeks to make a decision, but truth be told, the decision was already made.

Certain that I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with the woman in the passenger seat of my car, I decided that that after my two weeks of paid vacation were up, I would begin the resignation process. It was something of a heavy decision, especially considering all that the men at the base had done for me. Though he was my superior, Commander Gomez had always felt more like a friend. As much as it killed me to throw away the life I had forged up until that moment, I was determined to do right by Emily.

Glancing at her, I placed my hand on top of her smaller and delicate one. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth, the anxiety of the entire situation still seeming to send jolts of nervousness through her. As I felt her racing pulse, I realized I had some explaining to do.

And, as we drove out into the Californian desert, I knew it was the first step in the rest of our lives.