Peter rolled over to grab his phone off the night table before its buzzing could wake John. It was still another week before Lake was scheduled to meet Viper at the harbor, and all was squared away on the dealer’s end. Peter had no intention of going any deeper into business with the guy than that, and he credited his ability to stay out of trouble with his refusal to get involved with the drug scene, but for the moment, they shared a cause and that was enough.

He didn’t recognize the number, but that didn’t mean anything. He instructed all of his clients to contact him through burners anyway. “Hey,” he said, rubbing his eyes.

“Peter, it’s Viper,” the man said in his signature deep, rasping voice. The first time Peter had talked to him, he’d been sure it was a joke. “There’s been a change of plans.”

Peter sat up and pulled on his boxers, since he and John had fallen asleep right after an X-rated romp down memory lane. He left the room and closed the door softly behind him. “What do you mean a change of plans?”

Those were not the kinds of words he liked to hear in his line of work. They never meant anything good.

“Lake just called me. He wants to push the transfer up. I think he’s spooked.”

“Shit,” Peter muttered. “Do you think one of your guys tipped him off?”

“Not possible. I only told my brother. He’s gonna be watching us from a bird’s eye view and he’s not a snitch.”

Peter wasn’t sure about that, but he knew better than to question a guy’s family. That was one of the few rules you didn’t bend in his profession. Especially not when the guy was going to have a rifle on him soon. “When’s the new date?”

“Tomorrow night.”

“Fuck! Can’t you just tell him the shipment won’t be in by then?”

“Tried that. He says he doesn’t care, he’ll take what we’ve got now and have his boys pick up the rest.”

Now Peter knew Viper was right. Lake was on edge. At the very least, he suspected something. “Alright,” he said. “Tomorrow it is. Same plan.”

“I’ll be ready,” the other man promised.

So would Peter.

When he turned around, John was standing in the door watching him with that solemn look he’d worn the night he’d found Peter in the hotel with his client. Peter hated that look. He’d do whatever it took to wipe it off his mate’s face, but he told himself it would be the last time he ever made John worry like this. The last time he ever made John pay the price for the live he lived.

“This is it,” John murmured listlessly. “It’s really happening.”

Peter walked over to pull the beta into his arms, holding tight. “It’s gonna be over after this,” he promised, stroking John’s back. “We’re gonna start a new life, you and me. I’ll go straight, I promise, and you’re never gonna have to wonder where I am again.”

“Don’t,” John said through gritted teeth, pushing him away. “Don’t make promises you’re not going to keep.”

Peter took his face in his hands, forcing John to look up at him. “I mean it,” he said forcefully. “I’m done with this life. I’ve got enough money tucked away we can start over anywhere in the world. Hell, I’ll buy a fuckin’ suit and sell insurance if I have to. We’ll buy a cute little house somewhere and get you another cat and join one of those HOAs where the nosy bitches in sweater sets always complain about how you trim your hedges.”

John’s mouth quivered and for a moment, Peter couldn’t tell if he was about to cry or trying not to laugh. It was rare, but God only knew he’d put his mate through enough to reduce him to tears. “Hedges, huh? I’m not sure I’ll trust you around the gardening tools.”

“Hey, I just promised I’d stop killing for cash, I never said anything about the neighbors who piss me off.”

John laughed, and the sound filled Peter’s heart to the brim with relief. There was a time when he worried he’d never hear that sound again. He kissed his mate possessively and tried to convince himself he wasn’t just imprinting John to his memory in case something went wrong on the mission. To remind himself that this was just the beginning of their lives together—the life they always should have had—rather than the end of something.

Yeah, the idea of giving up the only career he’d ever known scared the hell out of him, as did the prospect of becoming a nine-to-five suburbanite, but for John? It was nothing. The beta deserved so much more, so much better than him, but if he was willing to give Peter another chance, the least the Alpha could do was everything.