Of all the things Vaughn could have said, that wasn’t remotely close to anything on the list of options.

“What did you say?” I stared in bewilderment.

Even through the bulkiness of our coats, I felt his warmth when he tucked me close to his body. It made me feel more grounded. Even though we were shivering from the cold, we were still connected, keeping each other warm.

“I said I think it’s time to leave,” he repeated.

“But why? What happened? You’ve never wanted to leave. Never.” God, I had asked so many times. Too many to count. I wanted him to quit before I left DC. I wanted it on our island vacation. When the nightmares started. Even when they stopped. But somewhere along the way I had stopped asking. Stopped believing there could be a life without Blackwing. I didn’t know if I lived in denial or acceptance.

His voice remained low. “They did the one thing they swore they wouldn’t do.” There was an iciness in his voice that was chilling, even though I knew it wasn’t directed at me.

“What was that?” I asked.

“They brought you in. You were off limits.” His jaw moved sharply when he spoke. “You were always off limits, babe. I can’t trust them anymore. If they’ll go after you, then there are no limits. No lines they won’t cross.”

There was something inside me that wanted to jump up and down. I wanted to scream and shout that this should have happened months ago. I wanted to hit him and punch him for taking so damn long to figure it out. And yet, I wanted to hold him. I wanted to get us through it. I wanted to love him for finally arriving at this place. A place that had always seemed obvious to me, but that Vaughn wasn’t willing to acknowledge until now.

“How do we walk away?” It was a frightening question. There were plenty of nights when I stared at the chandelier and imagined how it would even be possible.

“This is what I’ve been thinking about. We can’t just up and run. Too many people are already looking. Add Blackwing to that tally and we would be found quickly.” He waited while an older man walking his dog strolled past our bench. The man shuffled his feet, scattering gravel with every step. “People don’t leave Blackwing, Em. It doesn’t happen. There are no retired agents. There’s not a pension plan. The only way out is making our own exit. We have to create a door that doesn’t exist. And once it’s built, we have to run.”

“What if we run back home?” I suggested. “Asked the FBI to help us?”

He shook his head. “I’ll be behind bars the rest of my life.”

“But you could offer them something. Give them information on Blackwing in exchange for immunity.” I didn’t want to admit how many afternoons I had spent in the library, researching cases from old U.S. legal journals.

“That would be an option for you. You don’t have a criminal history. My crimes are too extensive and have gone on for too long. The FBI doesn’t want to barter with me. They want me to hang for what I’ve done.”

My skin crawled when he spoke like that. I wasn’t going to let that happen. “I’ll negotiate for you. We’re a package deal, right? Agent Kenneth would listen to me.” I twisted the leather on my gloves. “I think he would if I explained everything to him.”

“I love that you want to do this the right way. I love that you still believe the good guys are out there. It’s why I have to get out. If I don’t, they’re going to take that from you. They will wipe out every trace of goodness. I’m not going to be the reason that happens. We’re going to run. We’re going to build that exit. I swear.”

I searched his eyes. I was petrified. “How?” I whispered.

“It’s the only time I’m going to ask you to do this, but you’re going to have to lie, Em.”

I nodded. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get you away from them. To get us away.”

“We’re going to have to go on the offensive on two sides. It’s not just Blackwing. It’s going to be the FBI. Your friend Agent Kenneth too.”

I was confused. “Why is he a part of this?”

“We have to hurl Blackwing and the FBI at each other. The only way we can run is to start a fire so big between those two they won’t see us run through the smoke.”

“You think I can do this?” I wished it wasn’t as dark here. I wanted to see his eyes. I wanted to see the truth in his expression when he answered.

“There is a reason Eloise tried to recruit you. Blackwing knows you can handle it. I know you can handle it. It’s the way your mind works. That legal brain of yours, sorting through details and stacking them in categories. I’ve seen you do it a thousand times. And you never forget a date or a name or a face. You’re logical. Calculated, even though you don’t see yourself that way.”

“And now that’s a good thing? My legal brain?”

“Yes. It has always been a good thing. It’s an asset now. Rely on that to help me work through the plan.”

I nodded. “And then what?”

“And then I give you a happily ever after.” He smiled softly.

“Is that even possible?” I didn’t want to give the hope a place to live, but it was swelling in my chest. Wrapping around my heart. Making it pump faster and harder.

“We’re going to do this together. And I’m going to marry you. We’re going to have a house full of kids. And a dog. I’ll buy you five dogs if you want. We are going to be so damn ordinary.”

I laughed. “Really?”

He cupped the side of my face. “Really.”

He tasted like the wine. Our mouths crashed in hungry force. As if we were fighting to stay alive. Fighting for each other. Fighting for that beautiful future he promised me. His tongue twisted and turned, drawing purrs from my throat. I could see the dream he painted. Living somewhere in the European countryside. There was a garden and dogs running in the yard. And I was pregnant with Vaughn’s baby. There was even a picket fence in the yard like I had seen on so many of the houses here. We didn’t care about Blackwing anymore or running from investigators. We didn’t live with shadows overhead or around the corner. All we cared about was the family we were making and the life ahead of us.

He rubbed the side of my cheek. “Is that what you want, Em?”

“God, yes. It’s what I’ve always wanted.”

He kissed me again before offering a hand to lift me from the bench.

He pressed his lips to my temple. “I never wanted it before. But I want it now. I want it with you. I want to have the most boring ordinary life with you.”

I laughed. “Boring? I don’t see how five dogs and three babies could ever be boring.”

He tipped my chin forward, catching my mouth with his. “I’ve never wanted boring so badly.”

“Me either.” I breathed.

He slung an arm around my shoulder as we headed back to the apartment.

“Everything has to stay normal inside,” he warned. “Keep talking about everything we usually do. Don’t change your schedule or any of your habits. Eloise will notice.”

“I don’t like that she knows so much about us.”

“I don’t either.”

We waited for a car to roll past so we could cross the street to our building.

“One last thing.” He stopped in front of the giant doors.

“What’s that?”

“I think you’re going to have to get that code from Aubrey.”

“What?”

He brought his finger to his lips. “At least let Eloise believe you are. We’ll work it out. You can fail. But she needs to believe you are trying. It will buy us some time while I build the door.”

“How do I let her know?” My head was trying to figure out how to organize all the information.

He huffed. “Don’t worry. She’ll be back in touch. Maybe even tomorrow. She’s not the kind of woman who is going to let what you did slide.”

“God, she’s horrible.”

“Yeah, well, she’s made a reputation for herself by being the best in the company. She has a way of motivating people.”

“Motivating? That’s a lovely way to put it.” I rolled my eyes.

“I’m switching our phones again tomorrow,” he explained. “But I’m adding a second phone. Not a Blackwing phone. You can’t call me on it in the apartment, but you can text me. Just don’t forget to use the first one like you always have. The activity needs to look consistent and normal.”

“Blackwing monitors our phones?” I eked. I thought about the sexy texts. The private messages. The plans we had made.

He shrugged. “They encrypt them. They’ve always had access to our data.”

“And you’re just now telling me this?”

“It wasn’t important. It didn’t change anything.”

I halted abruptly at the elevator. “I don’t know if I can go back upstairs knowing they are listening to us.”

“Just try to think about something else. We’ll binge watch a show. You’ll forget.”

I shook my head. “And when we have sex? They’re listening?”

Vaughn tapped the elevator button. “You don’t think our neighbors have heard us? Or Greer ever heard us?”

I groaned. “That is not the same and you know it.”

“I’ll blast music and turn on the shower. They won’t hear you scream anymore.” He winked and I slapped his chest.

“Not funny.”

We stepped into the open carriage.

“Can you do this, Em? Can you play both sides to win our freedom?”

I nodded. I rose on my tiptoes to reach his mouth. “If it means I get to be your wife.” I kissed him slowly. He leaned over, scooping my legs into his arms with a protective hold.

“You’re going to get more than that,” he growled.

“And if it means I get a dog.”

“Keep going.” He kissed my throat. “Ordinary, remember?”

“Oh yes, I’ll do it for the cute house.”

“And the Sunday crossword. And the brunches with neighbors.

“If it includes brunch then I’ll do it,” I teased.

The doors retracted and he carried me to the apartment. The corridor was quiet. I never saw anyone else on our floor.

“I think it’s show time, Kate Birch.” He turned the antique knob. “You can do this,” he whispered.

I nodded, not exactly sure how I could pull off something that was nearly impossible for me to do. But with Vaughn carrying me over the threshold, I knew I wasn’t alone.

This was our chance to take back our independence. To crawl out from under Blackwing’s thumb. We had to outmaneuver the masters. Outwit and outplay them. Lie better than the devil.

His athletic frame closed the door behind us. His arms held me tightly. He turned the lock.

His eyes fell to my lips as he kissed me.

“Let’s finish that bottle of wine.”

The new game started now.