Key to His Heart (Sequel)

Broken

Jake woke with a start. The bed next to him was cold and Hope was missing. He hurried through the apartment looking for her and exhaled in relief when he found her in the kitchen. "I–I was worried you had gone somewhere," he said after grabbing her and leaning against the cabinetry with her in his arms.

"I'm not going anywhere without you," she replied by rote. It was a deception, but it was for his sake.

"Please, love. We need to talk. This has gone on for long enough."

Hope snuggled into his chest. "I am angry," she admitted. "I do not understand why that man is free and alive. He needs to die."

The cold and bitterness in her tone concerned him. His Hope was a warm, empathetic person. "I do not want you to become like the enemy to defeat him," he told her. "He is not worth it."

"But I can't live like this anymore, Jake," she said softly. She sounded like she was holding back tears.

He stiffened, torn between wanting to comfort her and needing to know if she wanted to end their relationship. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that all of this is my fault, and I can't live with the guilt. You have been shot twice now because of me, and you were clinically dead for several minutes...because you came to rescue me. It was probably because of my carelessness that we were found after they thought you were dead–again, twice. And this isn't even counting what happened to your sisters, whom I was trying to protect, or how many times your name has been slandered. This all happened because I asked you for help. I should have just died, and then you would be safe. And probably with someone else, and happy with them leading a normal life."

Jake let her pour out all these thoughts because she had been holding them in and it wasn't good for her. He wanted to interrupt her and tell her she was wrong, but she needed to say them. "And what do you want to do now?" he asked, fearing he knew the answer.

"I want to go after him. But not like before, when I was blinded by anger. I want to find out where he is and strategize ways to get to him. I will not act until I have the perfect assassination plan."

"You're speaking about this as if it was a solo mission," Jake perceived. "Did you think I would be left behind for something like this?" He was getting upset. "If your plan is so perfect, then why would you need to do it alone?"

Hope tried to step away, but he kept her in place. She dropped hers from his waist, leaving her standing with her arms at her sides within his embrace. He felt her trying to both emotionally and physically distance herself from him, and it brought on panic.

"You have been hurt enough," Hope explained. "I want you to be somewhere you aren't involved and can't be accused. Just in case anything goes wrong. I am aware there is no such thing as a perfect execution of any plan, no matter how well-prepared I am."

"You made me promise to stay away from Perrault. Why is it alright for you to do otherwise?"

"Because I owe you!" Hope raised her voice. "I owe you everything, and I want to do this for you so you can finally be free. So that you can live normally and be with your family."

"Hope, my love," she wouldn't look up in his direction or hug him. He did not want to be forceful with her, but this situation was unacceptable. He needed to disabuse her of these distorted perceptions she had. So he lifted her.

Hope made a surprised noise but didn't struggle. He brought her to the bedroom and laid her in the middle, then put himself on top of her so they were eye-to-eye with him propped on his forearms. She would not look at him; she kept her eyes closed. Fine. He had other ways to break down her defenses.