“Did you honestly think I was going to disappear into the sunset never to be seen again?”
“I had such hopes.”
Adrian Harper, wanted assassin on the FBI’s top ten list, leans against a wall in the spacious but cozy kitchen of Ethereal Escape Café owned by his former fiancé Evangeline Wyndam.
“After three years you haven’t missed me a little bit?” he teases watching her knead dough.
“That’s plenty of time to get over someone.”
“Then why is the engagement ring I gave you locked away in a box at the very back of the bottom drawer of your desk?”
“You’ve been through my house,” she accuses, slapping the dough onto the counter before her with more force than necessary.
“I missed you.”
“That would be endearing if it wasn’t so fricking creepy. How many times have you been in my house?”
“In the past three years or just this month?”
“Hah, that’s just…I don’t want to know.”
“It’s less than a dozen. Visiting you is a big risk to my freedom, but I can’t keep myself away,” he tells her, a hint of longing on his face. “That’s why I’m here. My feelings haven’t changed.”
“Let’s go back to you breaking into my house. Disturbing as it is, I like that topic better.”
“This isn’t a joke, Evangeline. Come with me, live beyond the rules of society instead of wasting your life on baking.”
“I like baking!” she snarls turning on him. “There’s no freedom in living beyond the rules with you, just fugitives running from the law, always watching their backs, and giving up everything or anyone that means anything.”
“What do you want, an apology? I’m sorry you were caught in the fallout three years ago. If you recall, I tried to get you to come with me to spare you that suffering.”
“My only regret about that day is calling you a sanctimonious ass before you left.”
“You didn’t call me that.”
“Well, I’m never one to miss an opportunity you sanctimonious ass.”
“Alright, fine. Will you at least consider my offer?”
“No.”
“Why not?” Adrian
“You kill people for a living, for starters. My life was left in shambles three years ago because of you. And, honest to God, you just aggravate the hell out of me.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
“Then let it go. Let what we had become a bitter sweet memory.”
“I can’t.”
“You won’t.”
“Both. You are the only thing left in this world, outside of myself, that I care about. Believe me, that isn’t some cheesy exaggeration, it’s an annoying truth that I’ve come to terms with.”
“Be that as it may, I’m still not going to come with you.”
“What’s so wonderful that you won’t leave?”
“My family, friends, a beautiful café, almost everything I need.”
“I’m not here.”
“That would be the almost.”
“So you’re still—”
“Yes, but it’s not like I want to be. I’ve moved on the best I could in the past three years but that, that just won’t change.”
“Good,” a smirk, “you had me worried.”
“It doesn’t change anything.”
“It changes everything.”
“No, it doesn’t. I’m not going to travel the world sitting idly by while you murder people. As long as you’re alive the FBI won’t stop hunting you, and I refuse to put the people I care about through that.”
“You’re still so selfless; protecting the innocent, me, your family. Isn’t it time you were selfish.”
“You want me to be selfish. If I could have you here with me safe from the government and not killing people, then my life would be fantastic. But real life isn’t like that. Hell, real life shouldn’t even be like this.”
“You’re right, that’s impossible. At the very least, it’s improbable.” A pause. “You won’t come with me?”
“No. I really am sorry, Adrian
“Suppose I’ll just have to make the impossible possible.” Stepping forward Adrian
“Oh,” Evangeline mutters minutes later, fingers touching her lips as she stares at the door he departed from. “If only I could believe that.”
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