“You’ll get it back,” he says.

I better or he’ll never be able to father children. With way more effort than it should take, I place Dad’s watch in the palm of his hand. The detective holds it with an air of reverence and that one slight gesture makes me feel slightly less like slitting my wrists.

I’m like a jack-in-the-box that has been sprung and I jump to my feet to pace the small room. Hands in my pockets, hands out of my pockets. Nausea in my stomach, knots in my throat. Vision clear, then fuzzy.

Hands on my hips and I’m spun into something very hard and very warm, and when I glance up, I’m met by the most beautiful dark eyes. “I’ve got you, Violet.”

I melt. Every inch of me a puddle on the floor. His hold on my hips tightens, and as if I weigh nothing, he sits me on the cleared-off section of the desk. The mischievous grin on his face is ghostly mirrored on mine as he settles between my legs.

“We’re in a police station,” I say.

“Police trailer,” he corrects. “We already kissed in the police station. Just seems wrong to not kiss here, too.”

My heart aches as I drink him in. Chevy. Broad-shouldered, a waterfall of muscle, dark hair, dark eyes, perfection and beauty and every cell within my body calls out to him. A sharp pang of regret causes me to close my eyes.

“Violet,” he murmurs. “What’s wrong?”

I shake my head that I don’t want to answer, but then fingers roughened by years of hard work raise my chin.

“Tell me.”

My mouth dries out and I swallow to help. “I regret not making love to you the other night.”

He tilts his head in understanding. “You weren’t ready and that’s okay. We’ll know when it’s the right time.”

I suck in my lower lip as the ends of my mouth bend down and tears prick my eyes. “What if that was the only time we had?” What if I mess this up and don’t make it out alive?

His body stiffens and he cups my face with both of his hands. “It’s not. We are going to have plenty of time. Do you hear me? We’re going to get through this. Next month, this will start to become a fleeting memory and I’ll have to actually fill out a college application.”

I laugh, but don’t know why. Maybe because that sounds so normal and normal seems so obscure. I place my hands on his chest, lightly fisting his shirt and bringing him closer. “Tell me that after this is all over, we’re going to have the most boring and normal life ever.”

Chevy brushes his fingers along my side, and where there had been lots of fear and anxiety in my blood, there are now warm fuzzies.

“I promise—we are going to be so fucking bored.”

My lips edge up at the idea that he’s playing along. “I want normal. I want high school parties where people sing bad karaoke. I want pie at midnight at the diner. I want to make out under the bleachers during basketball games.”

“That doesn’t sound boring, Violet. That last one sounded like a fantasy coming to life.”

Because I’m soaking in all that Chevy is, I ignore where we are and how we shouldn’t be doing any of this. My fingers slide down to the hem of his shirt and sneak underneath to touch the curves of his abs. He sucks in a breath and a thrill runs through me that I can do this to him.

“Tell me you want to go to college.”

“I want to go to college.” His hands wander a bit lower and in a rapid movement he shifts me so that my body is sweetly pressed to his.

“Tell me we’re going to go to the same college.”

Chevy lowers his head and his lips whisper against mine as he speaks. “We’re going to go to the same college.”

The electricity building between us enters my veins as liquid fire. “Tell me you’ll never leave me again.”

“Never.” And he brings his lips to mine.

I open for Chevy—my mouth, my arms, my heart, my soul. It all belongs to him. I pour all that I am into this kiss and leave nothing behind. I revel in the perfect way that our lips move, the pleasing goose bumps that form along my skin as his fingertips glide along my thighs.

Everything about Chevy is heat and strength and every nip, every touch brings on a glorious spinning in my head. In this moment, I want more, I need more, but then there’s a clearing of a throat and the warmth I’m experiencing this time is in my cheeks.

Chevy kisses my forehead, hugs me close and then helps me off the desk. He keeps an arm around my shoulders as we face the detective.

“Do you need a few minutes or are we good to go over how today’s going to play out?” the detective asks.

Part of me wonders if he’s teasing, but he appears as serious as ever. Guess I’m about to walk into the valley of the shadow of death for him and he probably thinks the least he can do is let me kiss my boyfriend.

“We’re good,” I say.

“Then let’s go over the plan.”

CHEVY

I SQUEEZE VIOLET’S hand and she gives me a faint smile as she goes into the bathroom and shuts the door. The moment reminds me a lot of when I put her into the bathroom when we were kidnapped. Like then, I feel like barricading the door and keeping her locked in until I can confirm she’s safe.

The detective is in the room Violet and I have been in and he’s going over the backup plans to the backup plans with the two undercover agents who will be in the vicinity of the house where the exchange is taking place.

I pull out my cell and text: Only two police officers watching her and they will be down the street. They won’t have live feed because they’re scared the Riot will have equipment to detect bugs. She’s only wearing a recorder that they’ll listen to later. Understand what they’re doing, but this means we won’t have ears on the situation if it goes bad. They feel there are only two routes to leave the meeting place, and if they take Violet, they can stop it. I’m concerned about the Riot taking her, but I’m more concerned about what happens when she’s alone. Violet won’t tell me where the meeting place is. She figured out I’d tell you.