“I feel like there’s more you haven’t said.”
Decker put his arm around my shoulders. “There’s a lot more, but I don’t think we need to get into it tonight.”
“You said that you asked these guys to look into Adler’s background.”
“That’s right.”
“Are they also looking into what happened to my sister?”
“Yeah. They are.”
I looked out at the creek, knowing there were more questions I should ask, but like Decker, I wasn’t sure I wanted to get into it tonight.
“I can’t make sense of how I feel about you, Mila, and that’s not like me either. All I know is that I can’t stand the thought of anything bad happening to you. I can’t stand the thought of you getting on a plane and going back to Boston, and I sure as hell can’t stand the thought of Adler Livingston having a key to your apartment.”
“I’m really glad you brought me here, Decker. To the cabin, I mean. It’s like the rest of the world doesn’t exist for now.”
“We can stay on here as long as you’d like.”
I laughed. “We have enough food to stay a week.”
“Do you still want to go to the cemetery tomorrow?”
Did I? As long as we could stay at this cabin in the woods, sit by the creek, take walks, hold hands, and talk, that was enough doing for now.
“Hungry?” he asked.
“Starving.”
14
Decker
I couldn’t say for sure if I felt better or worse after telling Mila everything I had. She sure as shit didn’t need any more baggage dumped on her shoulders, but she also deserved the truth. If I’d told her in any way other than how I did, I wouldn’t have felt like I was being completely honest.
“You didn’t say whether you’ve made a decision about working for the company you mentioned.”
I put my hands on the edge of the kitchen counter and rolled my shoulders. “I’ve decided to accept their offer.”
Mila set the food she was getting out of the refrigerator down and came to stand next to me.
“You don’t sound happy about it.”
It wasn’t unhappy I was feeling; it was irritation. Rile had made a bargain with me. The Invincible team would help as long as I agreed to come on board. I wasn’t about to tell Mila that, though. It would make her feel as though I’d done something I didn’t want to, because of her. If I lied, though, there was a good chance she’d pick up on it.
“The truth is, I’d decided to accept their offer. I just hadn’t planned on telling them as soon as I did.”
“But you did it for me.”
“I did it now, in part, because of you, but as I said, I had already decided to take their offer.”
“What does it mean in terms of the ranch?”
“I don’t expect things to change too drastically. I’ve worked with each of these men before, so they’re accustomed to when I can take on assignments and when I can’t.”
She walked back to where she’d set the food, but I sensed she’d left something unsaid. That she was biting her bottom lip told me it was something she was concerned about. I walked over and rested my hand on the small of her back. “What’s bothering you?”
She took a breath as if she was going to speak, but then closed her mouth.