Page 46 of Code Name: Harbor

“A lot of years watching. Voronin’s had information he shouldn’t have. His operations have shut down hours before raids. That’s the word on the street, but I don’t have names nor have I ever tried to learn them. Most of my information is by passive observation or scuttlebutt.”

She nods slowly. She is, I can tell, already thinking about what this means for how the next operation has to be planned.

I save the best piece for last. “I know of another dock where they unload the women.”

Josie’s eyes flare. “Really?”

“Yeah. The one you blew on Fidalgo… they’re never going to use that again. But I know of another I’ve seen them at. I’ll show you on a map.”

She closes her eyes for a second and when they open, they’re pinned on me. “Finn.”

“Yeah?”

I expect she’s going to tell me how grateful she is for this, but I’m shocked when she says, “Will you ever give up whatever it is you’re doing that you don’t want me to know about?”

I physically jerk at the question. I think I’ve always been on edge that she’ll poke at me for information, not because she wants to turn me in but because she wants to understand me.

I never would have imagined she’d ask me to give it up, especially without even knowing what it is. But in the back of my mind, I understand why she needs to know.

Because in the end, assuming Voronin goes down and Josie becomes safe, she can’t work in a profession that takes down people like me. We’re ethically on opposite ends of the career spectrum. It would never work… not for the long haul.

“I’m not going to promise you something I’m not sure I can deliver,” I finally say. “But what I do know is that I’m not the same man I was before I met you. What I’ve been doing for twenty years stopped making sense to me sometime around the moment I pulled you out of the water that night.”

Her smile is grateful. “That’s not a yes, but it’s not a no either.”

“It would be life altering for me. I have people who depend on me and ending it would have to be done in a way that doesn’t hurt them.”

She stares at me for a long moment. “You’re a good man, Finn. I certainly don’t know what you do, and I probably don’t want to know, so in my mind, I think you smuggle Canadian angora bunny rabbits, but the only thing that matters is you’re a good man.”

Josie takes my hand and holds it. We sit at my kitchen island and sip our coffee, looking out at the water beyond the windows. Our eggs have gone cold. There’s so much left to decide and so much that can hurt us both.

But none of that matters right now. I won’t really remember any of this next week.

What I’m going to remember is her hand on mine, the way she fit against me last night, and how much I loved watching her eat her eggs on toast.

Josie clears her throat. “I have to get into the office.”

She stands from the stool, but I don’t release our entwined fingers, forcing her to stay. My hand goes to her cheek, slides to her neck, and I pull her to me for a kiss. “When are you going to invite me to your place?” I ask when our mouths part.

She grins. “Tonight? I’ll cook you dinner.”

“That’s an offer I won’t be able to refuse.”

I clean the kitchen as Josie dresses upstairs. When she comes back down, I walk her to the door and thoroughly possess her mouth one last time.

Just to start our day right.

I watch her get into her car, drive away, and I start to catalogue the ways in which my life has now drastically changed.

Could I give up the smuggling? I obviously do it for the money, but also because I’m good at it. It’s really the only thing in my life I’ve ever truly excelled at.

Could I have a happy life running an art gallery?

Or maybe I could look at another career.

I glance around my house. I certainly can’t afford this lifestyle if I give it up but not sure I really need any of this. Especially if the gain is Josie.

It’s a lot to think about, but first… we need to take Voronin down and secure Josie’s safety.