“So, what do you think?” Mason asked as they headed down the steps.
They turned and gaped up at the tall but narrow house, each trying not to talk about the terrible décor of the interior. It looked like it had been plucked from an older decade—a much older decade—but it was all stuff that could be worked on. The age wasn’t in the bones.
“It doesn’t feel like home,” Diane said.
“Then we’ll keep looking.”
Silent, they walked back to the car, ready to go pick MJ up from a friend’s house, where he was being taken care of. Mason held open the door for her, despite that she would be driving for as long as his arm was in a sling. The bullet had hit a nerve, the nurses had said, but it would mend in time with only the occasional spasm.
They sat together, taking one long look back at the house, double-checking it wasn’t the right place for them to live. Mason knew he wouldn’t be happy here, but if Diane was excited about the house, then he could try to be, too. Thankfully, she seemed less interested than he did.
“When we find the right place,” she said, “we need to talk about your work.”
Mason nodded, unwilling to have this discussion again. Once more, a sadistic killer had come out of nowhere to mess with their lives. All after he had promised yet again that he would give up this insane lifestyle.
But when Diane continued talking, Mason was shocked to find a new point of view. It was like a different person was talking.
“I understand it all now,” she said.
“You do?”
“When he had me in the back of that RV, all I thought about was whether or not you were coming for me. I was so scared. Every time he pulled open those doors, I thought I was going to die. So now I see why you have to do these things. It made me wonder if everyone else feels the same. If you’re their only hope. I thought that if you had listened to me and stood your ground, I would probably just be the center of a crime scene right now.”
“It’s slightly different.”
“How?”
“You’re somebody I couldn’t bear to lose.”
“But when some random person is kidnapped, they have people who care about them, too.” Diane shifted in the driver’s seat, facing him. She reached out a hand and softly turned his chin to look at her. “What I’m saying is that I won’t argue with you anymore. If this is the life you need to live, I won’t stand in your way. I’ll be right here at your side, a part of the team.”
Mason gazed into her perfect hazel eyes, seeing truth and understanding. This wasn’t some sort of trick or sneaky method to draw things out of him. She genuinely cared for him, and he read that without an ounce of doubt. It was all he needed to carry on with the life he had carved out for himself, and now more than ever, he was so grateful to have her there.
“Thank you,” he said, because no other words were needed. She finally got him, and he would always protect her because he loved her more than anything in the world.
It really was that simple.