Kyle touched her cheek, gently brushing away a tear with his thumb. “Why?”

She paused hesitantly, and then with a tender smile, finally put it all on the line, too. “I guess I always hoped you’d come back for it someday.”

Fuck, that completely undid him. His chest pulled almost uncomfortably tight as he pulled her into his arms. “I love you, Rylann.” He cupped her face, peering down into her eyes. “And now I finally have a good answer to the one question everyone always asks me—why I hacked into Twitter. I didn’t know it at the time…but I did it to find you again.”

She leaned into him, curling her fingers around his shirt. “That may be the best justification I’ve ever heard for committing a crime.” She looked up at him, her eyes shining. “And I love you, too, you know.”

He smiled, lowering his mouth to hers. He did know that. It may have taken nine years, and a whole lot of wrong turns along the way, but their story felt complete at last.

Because, finally, she was his.

Thirty-five

LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Rylann stood in front of Cameron’s door.

She paused, took a deep breath, and then knocked.

A voice called from inside. “Come in.”

Rylann opened the door and saw Cameron at her desk. The U.S. attorney smiled and gestured to the open chairs across from her. “Rylann, hi. Have a seat.”

Rylann shut the door behind her, trying to gauge the other woman’s mood. She’d worked with Cameron for two months now, and had nothing but positive things to say about the experience. While young for her position, Cameron was driven, fair, and an excellent trial lawyer. As the U.S. attorney for one of the largest districts in the country, she commanded significant power within the federal criminal justice system and had, in particular, garnered a lot of favorable attention over the last several months by prosecuting one of the most notorious crime syndicates in the country.

She was, in other words, a woman Rylann respected very much.

Rylann took a seat in front of the desk, trying to decide where to begin. Funny story, Cameron. Nine years ago, I let a perfect stranger walk me home from a bar…

Probably not there.

She cleared her throat. “I need to speak with you about a personal matter.”

Cameron looked concerned. “I hope everything’s okay?”

“Yes, thank you. But there’s something you should know, and I wanted you to hear it directly from me.” She paused before coming out with it. “Kyle Rhodes and I have been exploring a relationship in a nonprofessional capacity.” She cocked her head. “Wow. That sounded a lot less lame when I practiced it in my head. Let me try that again, without the BS.” She looked her boss in the eyes. “I’m dating the Twitter Terrorist.”

Cameron said nothing for a moment, and then leaned back in her chair. “Okay. First things first. Was this going on while he was your witness?”

“No,” Rylann said firmly, wanting to make sure they were clear on that.

Cameron nodded. “Of course. Had to ask, though.”

Rylann sat forward earnestly. “Look, Cameron, I realize this is unusual. We put the guy in prison and called him a terrorist. And because he’s such a recognizable figure in this city, it won’t be long before someone sees us together and links me to this office. I realize, when that happens, that our relationship might raise a few eyebrows. More than a few, probably. Trust me when I say that for those reasons, this was not something I entered into lightly. But regardless, Kyle is part of my life now. And I’m ready to accept whatever fallout comes with it.”

“That’s quite a speech,” Cameron said.

Rylann exhaled. “Thanks. I’m a little nervous here.”

Cameron studied her. “Are you worried that I’m going to fire you over this?”

Rylann shook her head, being direct. “No. But I am worried that this will put a strain on our working relationship. And that you’ll question my judgment going forward.” And while both would be tough pills to swallow, she nevertheless didn’t regret her decision. She’d told Kyle that she was committed to this, and she’d meant it.

Cameron rested her elbows on the desk. “I appreciate your honesty, Rylann. So I’ll be candid as well.” She gestured to her door. “I realize that the door says ‘U.S. Attorney’ on it, but only six months ago, the word Assistant was in front of my name, too. And if things were different, and Silas had still been in charge, I have no doubt that he would’ve held the fact that you’re dating a man this office recently prosecuted as a big-time strike against you. But you know what? Silas was an ass. He ran this office like a dictator, and the only thing he cared about was his public image. Whenever one of the AUSAs had an important victory, he took all the credit. If something bad happened, he let us take all the blame. Not to mention the fact that he was taking bribes from the biggest organized crime boss in Chicago and essentially tried to have me murdered—but that’s a whole other story.”

Rylann blinked. Okay…safe to say things had been a lot different under the previous U.S. attorney.

“The point is,” Cameron continued, “when I took over this office, I vowed to do two things: first, clean up the corruption, and second, be the kind of U.S. attorney that I wish had been in charge when I was an AUSA. So yes—the fact that you’re dating Kyle Rhodes is a little weird. When word gets out, are there going to be people who find it unusual that I’ve got a prosecutor dating the Twitter Terrorist? Probably. But in comparison to everything that was going on around here when Silas was in charge, I think I can handle it. We’re a team in this office, Rylann. You’re a fantastic trial lawyer and incredibly dedicated to this job. That is what’s most important to me.”