Alive with Me

Chapter 8

Nate

"Nate, maybe we shouldn't go through with this. You should just quit," Lia said as I was packing our things.

I stopped and frowned at her.

"Lia, I'm not quitting. And we're doing this. I need to get you out of here and somewhere safe. This will also keep your family safe. We've talked about this."

She sighed and but her lip. "I know. But..." She trailed off.

"But what, Sunshine?"

"I... I just feel like you're risking your life unnecessarily."

Unnecessarily? What the fuck? Doesn't she know or feel how much I care about her. How much she means to me?

"This is my job. My job is to protect you. And I'd like to think that over the past few days, we've manage to become friends. And Lia, I take care of my friends." I nearly scoffed at the word friends. Lia is more than just a friend to me. I'm in love with her.

She's the woman I love.

"But..."

"Baby, no more buts okay? I need you to promise me that you will do everything that I say, no matter what."

She looked at me with fear and uncertainty in her eyes.

"You said you trusted me," I said. Did she not mean it?

She nodded. "I do."

Oh thank fuck!

"Then please let me protect you. Promise me that you will help me help you protect yourself. I need you to promise me that you will do what I say without question, because I'm not going to lie to you, Sunshine. This won't be easy. I have no doubt that Rivera won't stop until he finds you, and when that happens I want you to be prepared."

"Nate, there are things that I did when I was with Miguel and I... It's... It's bad," she said.

I frowned. Did she honestly believe that I care or that it will change the way I see her? Because it won't. No matter what it is, it won't change the fact that she's mine and I love her with everything I am.

"No matter what it is, sweetheart, it doesn't matter to me. Nothing you say to me will change how I feel or how I look at you. You are the strongest woman I know. Whatever you did, you did against your will, and you did to survive."

Tears started streaming down her cheeks.

"Shh, come here," I said and wrapped her in my arms.

"I promise you, Sunshine, I'm not going anywhere."

She squeezed me tighter.

I kissed the top of her head. "We really need to get going."

She pulled back and nodded.

I gave her a smile and kissed her on her forehead, before packing the rest of or things.

She stood there watching me. Her hand clutching at the bottom of my shirt.

She's really tensed and scared. And who can blame her?

"There. Are you sure you've got everything in here?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Okay, come on," I said. "I've made contact with my team and they'll meet us where we need to go."