Chapter 38
Archer's heart pounded inside his chest as he sat beside Jeremiah in the ambulance and stared at the prison walls in the distance. The radio was silent, but their ears were open. They wanted to catch the call as soon as it arrived.
"Don't forget to breathe," Jeremiah reminded Archer.
"I can't," Archer muttered, leaning his head back and letting out a deep sigh. "Not without her."
"We'll get her back."
"When I get my hands on Cain....." The thought of the man-made Archer's blood boil. The anger that spread through him left him feeling lightheaded and full of rage. "He's going to pay for every second I spent away from Mila."
"Then what happens?"
Archer turned to look at the man sitting beside him. Jeremiah's eyes were hooded. They were always carefully guarded as if they were the doorway to all his secrets. His salt and pepper hair was neatly combed back to make his piercing gaze visible like a watchful hawk.
Archer's chest tightened at Jeremiah's question, his mind immediately returning to the one person who occupied his thoughts day and night...Mila.
Her face, her laughter, her warmth...
He closed his eyes for a moment, summoning the image of her. Her soft, brown eyes, her flowing hair that danced in the wind, and the way her smile could light up even the bleakest of days. Archer's love for her was an unyielding fire that had burned within him from the moment they met.
"What happens after Mila comes back?" Jeremiah asked, breaking through his thoughts.
"What do you mean?" Archer wondered, his brow furrowing.
"Giovanni and Anjali," Jeremiah explained, his tone measured. "They're not very fond of the idea of you and Mila being together."
"Fuck them," Archer snapped, his voice edged with frustration. "I love her, and she loves me. That's it. That's all. End of story. Everyone else can fuck right off and go to hell."
Jeremiah's gaze remained steady, his wisdom apparent in his eyes. "It won't be that easy."
Archer clenched his fists. "It is that easy. Do you really think Giovanni will want his daughter to live like he has? Alone. Without the person she loves?"
"Love isn't a solution," Jeremiah said with a sigh. "It's great. It feels good, but it's not enough. You have to think of everything."
"Like what?" Archer challenged.
"Life, Archer," Jeremiah continued. "You and Mila are not compatible."
"You don't know shit," Archer retorted.
Jeremiah pressed on, his concerns rooted in practicality. "Where will you live?"
"Wherever she wants to," Archer declared without hesitation.
Jeremiah probed further. "What will you do? You think she will want you to continue working with Giovanni?"
"We don't know how she feels about all that right now," Archer said, his voice softening. "Maybe she'll be fine with it."
"She was raised by her mother," Jeremiah rolled his eyes. "Let's be realistic. That girl is not going to stay with her mafia father."
"That girl is the love of my life," Archer said sharply. "I'll do whatever she wants. I go where she goes."
Jeremiah suddenly chuckled, his laughter carrying a hint of resignation. He shook his head as if he had just lost a debate with a stubborn child.
"You were right," he conceded.
