Chapter 13 - THE LAST MEETING
Paige called Roman before he could make a reckless decision. He admitted Mercer had offered to surrender documents proving where the remaining stolen money was hidden, but only if Roman met him without police. Roman's old instincts told him to settle the matter himself. Paige's answer was immediate. “That's the man who used your grief to control you. Why would you let him choose the rules again?”
Roman went to the investigators instead. They arranged a monitored meeting at an empty municipal building, with legal counsel present nearby. Paige was not involved in the operation. She spent the afternoon at the clinic with Elena, organizing a benefit dinner and trying not to check her phone every thirty seconds.
Mercer arrived with a small briefcase and the serene expression of a man who believed he still held all the cards. He offered Roman a deal: the location of the missing funds in exchange for a public statement absolving him of responsibility for the bombing. Roman refused to make a false statement. When Mercer threatened to expose Roman's past activities, Roman told him those records were already with investigators.
For the first time, Mercer lost his composure. He accused Roman of betraying the family and sneered that compassion had made him weak. Roman answered quietly that his family had been destroyed by men who treated people as disposable. He would not continue the tradition. Investigators entered when Mercer attempted to leave with the briefcase. He was taken into custody, and the documents inside provided additional leads. The case was not finished, but the man who had haunted Roman's life could no longer dictate its direction.
That evening Roman came to the clinic. Paige found him helping Elena carry folding chairs into storage. His expensive coat was draped over a dented radiator, and there was dust on his sleeves. He told Paige the truth about the meeting, including the parts that could still hurt him legally. She listened, then led him outside where the autumn air smelled of rain.
“I care about you,” she said. “But I won't build a future on secrets.”
“I don't want you to.”
He asked if he could kiss her. She answered by stepping closer, but she made him wait long enough to understand that this was a choice, not a reward for rescuing her. When their lips met, it was gentle and uncertain and astonishingly ordinary. For Paige, that was the most romantic part.
Waiting was its own kind of courage. Paige wanted to be at the meeting so she could see Mercer's face when his control slipped, but she knew her presence would make the operation more dangerous and would accomplish nothing. At the clinic she sorted invoices, checked chair rentals, and answered a patient's question about the new assistance fund. Ordinary work kept her connected to the future rather than trapped in the past.
May you like
When Roman finally called, she listened to the details before allowing herself relief. The investigators had made the arrest. No one had been injured. The documents would be reviewed. None of those facts guaranteed a conviction, and Roman did not pretend otherwise. Paige realized that his refusal to promise certainty was a form of honesty she had once thought him incapable of offering.
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