I 'm frozen in the back of my ride, eyes glued to my phone, hand stuffed into my small black backpack. I can't stop fingering the cold, deadly metal tucked inside .

This gun holds twelve chances to kill him. I'm treating every bullet like one chance with two possibilities: walk away, or else leave this world just like mom did .

I should be scared. Hell, I almost want to be, because maybe then this will all seem real .

But I've been numb ever since I left the chowder place. Ice runs through my veins, so frigid it's strangely comforting. I take deep, slow breaths, focusing my one-track mind on what needs to happen .

There's another voicemail on my phone during the drive in. Cade .

My finger swipes over the delete button, but God, I can't do it. The tears will be too much if I don't let myself hear his voice one more time .

I press play, holding it to my ear. “Skittle, come home. Wherever the hell you are, call me. Let's fix this. Keep you safe. Forget the fighting, the secrets, whatever went down between us. I love you, Skye, and I mean forever .”

It's the last word that gets me. The bitter lump in my throat is a rock, and its edges are sharp .

I don't deserve his love, I've treated him like shit, and he's offering me heaven .

Forever. An eternity so deep and distant it cuts into my eyes when the tears come .

No, it hurts. I finally hit the delete button and sigh, stuffing my phone back into my bag .

It can't come out again .

If I even so much as see his name, or hear another word, there will be second guessing. And of all the things that could be fatal tonight, doubt is the worst .

The Uber driver drops me off across Bremerton after a short ride. I don't even thank him on my way out, pushing the door shut behind me, ready to walk the last few paces to the rundown warehouse .

There's no rewinding this. No re-do and no escape. It's on .

If I ever walk out of here again, I'll have a man's blood on my hands .

Assuming this goes according to plan, of course .

My greatest worry is Harry not showing at all, and what I'll do if he doesn't. There are no guarantees .

He could have lied to me, decided to send Adele or his numerous pack of goons, leaving me in a pinch I have no plan for. I don't have five million dollars tucked into my bag .

I'm hoping his overbearing ego, his desire to grind my heart to dust one more time, will be enough to bring his demon face to me one more time. But the time for hopes and fantasies is over .

As soon as I see the chasm in the rusty, chain link fence and the two black sedans parked near the rear, I know what's waiting. I'm three paces onto the property before a car pulls up, the window comes down, and one of the three grim faced men inside says two damning words. “Get in .”

I listen. The man in the back slides across his seat, making space .

It's a thirty second drive across the old complex. The only surprise is that we're not going to the warehouse, but rather, the small beat up office across the broken pavement. Probably an old manager's office from the time when the docks were still working .

The car parks and the men exit. They wait for me. When I stand, they're on every side, leading me in through the back door. There's a dim lamp, a scratched up table, and on the other side of the room, Satan incarnate .

Harry sits in front of three more goons wearing a faded black jacket. Same mackerel eyes and pitchfork shaped beard I remember .

“Been forever, screamer. I'd say it's nice to see you again, but we both know it's fuckin' not. Have a seat.” He kicks under the table, sending the chair flying out next to me. “Let's get this over with. Show me the fucking money .”

Straight for the throat. I tell myself I'm not rattled .

As much as he should, this asshole doesn't scare me tonight .

He just makes me nauseous. How could we share the same blood, the same grey eyes, and be so different ?

There's a black bag in front of him .

No, make that two big black bags, one bloated with what I'm guessing are the artifacts. The other is much lighter, waiting for the money I'm supposed to hand over .

“Well? What's the goddamn holdup?” His eyes never leave mine as he pulls a cigarette from his breast pocket, giving it a light. He takes a long drag and laughs as the smoke falls out of his mouth. “Still the same bashful, slow cunt of a niece, I see. Nothing like my brother. Makes me wonder who really knocked your bitch ma up sometimes .”

“Give me a second. I'll find it.” I hope these are the only words I have to say before I blow a hole through his brain .

“No. On the table now,” the big man behind my uncle growls. “Sammy, Soft Lips, do the count. Make sure every damn dollar she promised is there .”

I start a long slow breath. So quiet they can't hear it, filling my lungs a little at a time, timing the mechanical movement I've made myself practice a hundred times over the last few days .

Fingers tight .

Trigger ready .

Clear shot .

Then hell itself opens. My phone is ringing. The dull electric default ringtone echoes through the room, louder than if I'd pulled the trigger .

Men move like a whirlwind, ripping me up by one arm. I shove the gun aside with my other hand, and pluck the phone out, trembling at the elbow .

Harry looks my way, narrowing his eyes. “Soft Lips, answer that shit. This better not be some surveillance shit .”

The goon rips my phone away. The room is dead silent and I fall back in my seat, hand snaking for the gun. I'm expecting the apocalypse – Cade's voice .

But that would make far too much sense .

It's a woman. She speaks hurriedly in a thick accent and barely makes any sense. “Skye, Skye? Listen...Jonas crazy. Hot. Mad! I try to get through you forever. He is not right. Husband...my husband is asking for help punish you...all for his fucking castle. He paid my brother. He's working...he hit you in Reykjavik. You spill. He put it in your bag before leave. You never see. Listen, do not say anything with your purse! Do not –“

A man's voice interrupts with explosive, nasally rage. “Giselle? Qu'est-ce que tu fais ?!”

The call goes dead. Harry and his goons stare, not knowing what to make of it .

Soft Lips drops my phone on the table and gives his boss a look. “Want us to do a strip search? Check her for wires ?”

Several men shift anxiously, eyeballing me up and down, a hot flicker already in their eyes. I think my heart re-starts several times. There isn't even time to think about what Giselle said. Our last day in Iceland was a million years ago, another disaster completely hidden until now .

“Hold it, idiots. That's my niece you're talking about. How about a little goddamn respect? Bitch or not, you won't see her naked that easy.” Harry raises his arms, blocking his men, an uneven smile creeping across his lips. He stares through my soul. “Look, clearly something stinks. Can't say I like the sound of that goofy ass call one bit. But it wasn't the police. Some bullshit about a castle? Fuck, that's stupid, and it's none of our business! I don't care if you don't, screamer .”

Thank God. I'm silent, teeth digging into my bottom lip. Don't give him anything .

If only that ever shut him up .

Harry steps closer, his smile wilting. “Gotta say, I really don't like how you're looking at me right now, Skye. This the thanks I get? Excuse me, princess, I could've made a mountain out of this shit and I let it go like a sterling goddamn angel. You're welcome! If you can't cough up some respect, how 'bout some fuckin' fear ?”

I swallow hard, quietly cursing myself for stalling. If it wasn't for that stupid interruption ...

This demon shouldn't get another chance to speak. I press my fingers tighter to the gun, deep inside my bag where it's out of their view, but I hesitate. Again .

“You've got some stones, you know. Coming out here all alone with so much money your driver could probably smell it seeping through your little books.” Harry pauses, far from finished, nodding at my backpack. “Funny how you up and decide to pay without so much as a fight. I mean, shit, how did Mr. Moneybags take doling out millions in cold hard cash? He just gave it to you? Holy shit, girl. Your pussy's either made of gold, or he's so fucking rich I should've asked for double the invoice .”

I don't say a word. I just stare, trying not to let his disgusting dig at Cade wreck my calm .

There's no time, no room for error, and definitely no second chances if I screw this up .

Mistake number one: too slow .

I feel a pressure on my neck a second later. It's one of the goon's hands. His grimy fingers tighten on my skin, making it very clear it wouldn't take much effort to snap my spine .

“Answer your uncle,” the man snarls. As if this stranger is supposed to give me the respect I've never had .

I can't even fake it. I just look at Harry, venom pulsing through my teeth, oh-so-ready to end him if I can just find my cool again without these ridiculous distractions .

“What's to tell? Really? Let me just give you the money and –“

“Shut up.” Harry stares down his cigarette at me, taking another vicious drag, his eyes narrowed behind the glowing tip. “Tell you what, I don't need to hear your shit. Maybe I'm more interested in telling you a little story before you drop the money, we shake hands, and go our separate ways. This time for good...or until I'm a little short again .”

He grins, revealing several gold teeth. I don't know whether I should pretend I'm outraged, or just try to get through whatever sick game he's playing so I get another opening to do what I came here for .

Just a few seconds of silence, please. That's all I ask .

If I'm not listening to his wretched voice, I'll find my focus, and then he'll never bother me again. Nothing ever will .

“Just tell me,” I say, an exaggerated sigh falling out .

He takes his sweet time, stubbing out his half-burned cigarette, before he stands. Harry paces the table, a slow moving shark closing in, his men clearing a space around him. Great. I never practiced on a moving target .

“Funny thing, really. I've been thinking a lot about the past on my way out here, screamer. Can't get over how much you're like her. How both you and the dead bitch my dickless brother shacked up with cost me big.” He stops. My grip on the magnum tightens. At least he's close. “I put your ma to work for me before she decided to take a nice nasty dip in the ocean. Had her muling up till the day she died, you know ?”

It's not a question I can ignore. Harry slams his hand on the table, his eyes searching mine, forcing me to sputter an answer. “No. I had no clue ...”

“Yeah. She must have really fuckin' loved you, Skye. Had her doing double shift outside that shitty job she worked, and I was paying her far better, too. Then she wanted out. I got pissed. Told her I'd pull you out of school and put you in the family smuggling trade if she was so damn set on stupid. She talked real sweet on the phone the last time to me. Almost like my promises got through her pretty head. I thought we were cool. Fuck, I even upped her little kickback, promised her a cool thousand more for every wad of my shit she drove up from Portland .”

I can't help closing my eyes. I remember those weird trips the last few years she was alive. They'd been getting more frequent. She always left with little explanation, telling me to watch Vinnie, which I grumbled over. I thought she had a boyfriend and just didn't want to tell us .

“How'd she repay me? How? ” It's more sour the second time Harry repeats it. “I'll tell you, screamer: she fucking drowned herself and took over a pound of good coke in the goddamn fucking drink !”

His hand slaps the table again. It's the first time he really rattles me tonight. I can't control my jump reflex .

I want to shoot him. But I'm shaking when he pulls away. So is he. For a second, he looks pathetic, almost human .

Then the dark-eyed monster returns. “I offered her the world once upon a time, you know. If your ma had just shut up and married me like I asked, none of this would've happened. Christ, I would've taken you and Vinnie under my wing. Just like my own. Bitch left me sick after her suicide. That's why I went so easy on you, screamer. I thought I'd do right to win back the karma I fucked up pushing her too hard .”

I can't look at him anymore. Every evil word drives a little deeper in my heart. I never wanted this bastardized confession, this certainty my uncle is not only evil, but so screwed up he thinks wrong is right .

He was dangerous before. I came here to kill him, to protect Cade and Vinnie, but now I have a new reason: shame .

Mom's suicide wasn't a selfish escape. I believed it, no thanks to this asshole, and I was wrong .

Atrociously wrong .

“What's the matter, screamer? Truth is the ultimate bitch, ain't she?” He digs in his pocket for another cigarette. I take a deep breath, brushing the trigger with my finger, getting ready. He looks up, new anger in his eyes. “Hey, fuck you, too. I get maybe the cat's got your tongue after I dropped this much shit in your lap, but that look you're giving me again? Don't make me wipe it off your face, little girl. You're too damn much like her for your own good .”

I don't say anything. The glint in his pupils brightens fury red. I start counting with his footsteps, waiting for the precise second he's in my face .

One .

Two .

Now !

My gun is out and pointed at him. The next split second happens in slow motion. The entire world goes silent. I'm temporarily deaf before everything explodes in a stunning crash .

Except, it's not a bullet barking from my gun .

It's someone banging at the door. Then I'm surrounded by his goons, their guns shoved in my face, just as they start yelling .

Nobody does it louder than Harry. “Holy fuck, screamer! Holy Moses. Can't say I've seen a bigger pair on any man I've killed or hired than the set you've been hiding up those long legs, but damn. One chance to put the gun down, bitch, or my boys will break your arm. And will somebody get that goddamn door ?!”

I don't know what to do. He's behind them, and there's already a man's hand over my barrel. I could fire again anyway, try to empty every bullet hoping one will find its mark in Harry's sick brain .

Too bad the odds of that happening are nil. The nano second I shoot, I'll take two shots in the chest and another in the back, courtesy of the grim faced men behind me who are a thousand times better with their weapons than I'll ever be .

It's over .

The worst part is, I don't even have time to process how completely screwed I am. Not for another ten seconds, when I see the door open in my peripheral vision .

A ruthless smile pulls at my uncle's lips .

Cade. He gives me a fierce, but helpless look before the man with a gun to his back shoves him inside .

“Shit, Harry. What'd I miss? I go find you this sneaky little shit prowling around, and miss a good old standoff in here?” The goon looks around the room amused .

My uncle ignores him. I watch him step up to Cade while the men press him into a corner. A man pulls the magnum limply from my hand. My thudding heartbeat washes over my senses, turning everything blind and dumb and red .

“Nice of you to drop by, Mr. Moneybags. Good timing, seeing how your woman planned to paint the walls with my brain, fuckface,” Harry says. “Start talking. I'll give you ten seconds .”

I'm on the verge of blacking out. It's the look from the love of my life that keeps me awake .

Those blue eyes are twin storms. They're Cade to their core, the beautiful fool I was never supposed to see again, giving me a glance that's way too real .

“I've got your money,” Cade growls at my uncle, never taking his eyes off me. He lets go of the large bag in his hand. It hits the floor like a brick. “Payment for Skye and the artifacts. Debts in full. Take it, and let us go .”

“Sounds like a sweet deal,” Harry says. Not even close to the words I'm expecting. He smiles, steps closer to Cade, his head tilted like he's found something fascinating. “For you, I mean, Ebenezer Fuckwit. Soft Lips, take this crap and see what he's brought us.” Harry kicks the bag across the floor. “Should give us a nice idea how much more I need before I think twice about blowing out his maggot brains in front of my lovely niece .”

“No!” For the first time since being disarmed, I'm struggling. I can't fight instinct. “Leave him alone, Harry, you can't !”

“Can, and will. ” Harry turns, slowly pacing his way toward me. The goons have thrown me back in my seat, and this time, they don't take their hands off me .

Goddamn, do I hate how I missed my chance. “Harry, please, just listen to him. He's trying to make a deal. Let's forget this. I made a big mistake, and I'm sorry. I –“

“You, little missy, are so fucking done.” In one quick jerk, he pushes his dirty fingers through my hair and pulls. It hurts. “That's right. Shut the fuck up, and let me finish talking. You make another peep, he loses the tongue I'm sure you love to suck when you two love birds are all alone. And if you still don't listen, he loses something else .”

My eyes flick to Cade. My teeth sink into my own tongue so hard I taste blood .

It isn't fair. I have to listen to this psycho, which isn't easy when there's sorrow pouring out, every glance desperate to tell him how fucking sorry I am .

Cade doesn't move. Just stands there like a blond, blue eyed sentinel. A Viking captain prepared to drown with this ship, if there ever was one, and all because I'd been stupid enough to think I could go off and do this alone .

Cade, I'm sorry. So sorry. You don't even know .

The room is eerily silent for the next few minutes. There's a scuffling noise near the door, right before it swings open again, and I see another goon marching two more men inside. A big man with blue eyes and dark hair has a busted lip .

Cal. Spencer. I've never met them, but it has to be his friends .

No one else would share Cade's good looks or his crazy defiance. Not to mention the regal air around them that sticks, even when we're at hell's throat .

Jesus, where does it end? Without anyone getting killed ?

The three men don't make eye contact. Several thugs peel off Cade's side, walking their new prisoners to the opposite corner. They shove them against the wall with their backs to us, guns drawn .

It'll take a miracle for us to walk away alive. And when I'm face-to-face with my demon uncle, it's hard to believe those exist .

At last, the goon called Soft Lips looks up, letting out a sly whistle between his teeth. “Six million even. Plenty more than Ms. Twitchy owed .”

Harry taps his foot loudly on the floor, stroking his chin. “All right, we'll talk. Congratulations, Ebenezer. You can thank the ghosts of past, present, and fuckin' future your balls don't have to meet my switchblade just yet .”

Cade gives him a dirty look. He's not impressed. My heart dive bombs my stomach and roars up again. If only I'd had his courage less than an hour ago .

“I wonder how much this brat is really worth to you?” Harry nods my way. “She's been a royal pain in the ass, trying to kill me and all. If you hadn't shown up like a good boy with a big wad of cash, this whole thing would be a huge waste of my precious time, considering she brought jack shit. Not counting the bullet with my name on it. Let's not kid ourselves, Ebenezer. You're rich as fuckballs, and I'm still in the mood for vengeance. Six mil? I dunno. Think you're gonna have to do better to sweeten the deal if you want to walk out of here whole, with her, too. Fair compensation for my pain and suffering .”

“Name your price. Let's start at eight .”

“Shit, you're stupid. Eight mil? What did I say again about my precious time?” Harry slams his fist into Cade's stomach .

Oh, God. Jesus .

I didn't know it was possible to be this mad, disgusted, and terrified simultaneously .

A short, sharp scream slips out before I remember to bite my bottom lip, afraid for what he'll do next if I don't .

Harry gives me an evil look, before he turns back to Cade, who's slumped on his knees. My beautiful man clutches his stomach, but shows no fear. Only brute rage. “We'll let that little squeal go on the house. But she does it again, and well, you just might meet my blade after all. Tell you what, Ebenezer ...”

Harry pauses, marches to the table, and digs through the bag with the artifacts. His hand reappears with a bust of Diocletian clutched in his palm. He turns the Roman Emperor's face to his, a dull look in his eyes, before he walks over to Cade and holds it high in the air .

“Make the next offer good, or we'll find out how much abuse this old piece of shit can take before it cracks apart on a human skull .”

“Ten million,” Cade growls again .

It's my turn to suffer. I can't breathe, can't think, can't control the rabid fear rattling my bones .

What are you doing? I want to scream. This isn't a game, Cade. He'll kill you !

It's so quiet I swear I hear the wind howling off the ocean. Exactly like the stillness before an executioner makes his move, and I'm expecting to watch Cade's beautiful face beaten in any bloody second .

Then Harry loses it. The bust slips out of his hand and hits the floor. He's laughing. A raw, low, evil booming sound, echoing through the room. Spence grunts his confusion across the room .

“You're killing me, Ebenezer. Christ almighty. Didn't think a boring, rich fuck like you had such a sick sense of humor. I love it!” Harry slaps his shoulder, pinching his fingers together across Cade's muscular shoulder. “Now let's get serious. Already told you how I feel about my time, so how about we call it twenty mil and walk away like men? I'll even let you shake my hand .”

Cade gives him the death stare. Unflinching. Unmoving. A tiger ready to explode any second .

Don't. Please, Cade, just give him what he wants. He's a sadist, but its our only chance .

Desperation suffocates me. My lips fall open, make a tiny sound, and one of the goons smiles, crushing his hand to my mouth. “Careful,” he whispers. “Next cry will cost you .”

“Handshake is a mighty big honor, Ebenezer.” Harry is still talking. It's amazing how this violent lunatic never learned when to shut up. “I'm letting you off light. Unless you think, maybe, I should pick up Caesar off the floor and find out how many whacks it takes to ransom my way to billionaire ?”

Another long pause. Another piece of my soul dies .

Harry's brow furrows. He reaches for the Diocletian bust, grips it, and lifts it high over Cade's head. “Come the fuck on. Do we got ourselves a deal, or what? I don't have all day .”

“Cade!” I whimper his name, forcing it through the goon's fingers. It comes out mush, and Jesus, I wish he would look at me .

Just tell him there's a deal. I'm begging, holding in my thoughts. Please .

Cade shifts on his knees, staring up, angrier than ever. He'd be a nightmare to anyone except my hardened thug mafia uncle. Harry sniffs, a prelude to the long, low sigh he releases. “Okay, asshole. Have it your way ...”

He's lifting the statue higher, ready to ram it into my love's forehead, when a new voice joins the fray. “Cade, are we done with this asshole now, or what ?”

“Almost.” It's all Mr. Relentless says before his knees swing. He leaps up so hard, so fast, everyone hears the sound of his fist crashing across Harry's jaw .

My uncle howls, half-curse and half-agony. Hell breaks lose several times over .

I still haven't managed to replenish the air in my lungs by the time I take it in .

Harry and Cade have traded places. Now, my uncle is on the floor, a neatly polished shoe on his chest, Cade leaning on him. Every gun in the room is drawn, fixed on him, half a dozen ways to die in a tidy circle .

He doesn't even flinch. “I'm only leaving your evil ass alive so we find out how many other people you've killed, hurt, or made missing persons. Besides, I'm too fucking good to stain my soul killing a worm .”

He's crazy .

Cade's polished shoe digs deeper into my uncle's ribs. Harry unleashes another strained growl, still struggling, one hand on his jaw. It must be broken, judging by how drunk and slurred his next command sounds. “Shoot him, shoot him! The fuck you idiots waiting for? Kill this asshole !”

I close my eyes, heartbeat reaching a crescendo, Cal and Spence chuckling in the corner for reasons I'll never understand. This is it .

I think I'm already dead during the next sixty seconds. When I open my eyes, I'm still in this worldly hell, but the walls are moving. They're shaking, a voice as loud as God's ringing through them .

“Federal agents! Lay down your weapons! Put down the guns! You're under arrest .”

The goons have time for one panicked look before the door gets blown off its hinges. I'm screaming when the big burly men in wetsuits rush in, military rifles drawn. It's sudden, fierce, and frightening enough to disarm every man in the room. Nobody has time to fire a shot in the commotion .

“Nice work,” Cade says numbly, once he makes his way over to me, laying a warm hand on my icy shoulder. He looks at the stranger next to us. “A second later, though, and I'm not sure we'd have made it .”

“It's harder running up on land in this crap than it looks” the man with the gold badge on his wetsuit says. “Gotta hand it to you boys. If it weren't for your little plan, we'd have missed our chance to try out our new toys, and nab these sonsofbitches .”

The men are grinning. So are Cal and Spence. They stand next to us while the police, FBI, guardian angels in frogsuits – or whatever they are – haul the evil out .

At last, he looks at me. “Next time you go off and do something like this on your own, Skittle, I'd love a heads up. You're lucky. I'm so fucking glad you're alive and mine. There's no point wasting breath on a lecture .”

“Cade ...”

I don't even try to hold it in. I'm on him in a frenzy, with a life I wasn't sure I still had .

This man .

This manic, fearless, selfless man who just won the key to my heart forever .

What do I say? There are no words. Only warmth, flesh, and spirit .

We kiss. We embrace. We clutch at each other's clothes .

We're two famished beasts in need of love. We spend the better part of the next hour with our mouths glued to each other and our limbs tangled, even when more men come in to shoo us away from the crime scene, ushering us out into the moonlit ruin around the warehouse .

I never thought it could be so bright, so beautiful, and so full on a Fall Seattle night .

I was wrong .

If there's anything Cade Turnbladt has proven a thousand times over, it's how damn good he is at bending the world to his knee .

I'm going to marry an artist, an explorer, and possibly a crazy person all in one. And I swear, forehead pressed to his, I couldn't be happier .