Elect (Eagle Elite, #2)

by Rachel Van Dyken

Okay, I could handle a lot of things. Guns, violence, people who didn’t know their place in this godforsaken world, but my best friend kissing my girlfriend’s hand? The same girl I’d been in love with my whole life? Yeah, I was going to freaking murder him if he did anything to mess that up.

The fact was, I needed Trace; she wasn’t just a girl to me, she was my lifeline. I was terrified that if I lost her, I would lose myself—lose everything that keeps me grounded and sane.

Sometimes I wondered what normal would be like. For example, what does it feel like to wear jeans without hiding a gun on your leg?

I could shoot a man twice my age in cold blood. I’ve buried more bodies than I can count. I’ve grown up around drugs, prostitution, and the gambling underworld. Nothing—and I mean nothing—had ever been harder to do than forcing Trace to relive one of the worst moments of her life.

“Yes. Whether you like it or not, we belong to each other. I’m as much yours as you are mine—I don’t share. I want to freaking murder anyone who even so much as looks in your direction, or at your shoes, and damn if I don’t hate those boots that Chase got you. I want to consume you. I want to be the one that puts a smile on your face. I want to be the one that teaches you pleasure—me. Not anyone else. Sharing you—even by way of my cousin, who I trust more than anyone in the world—has to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”

“Your problem stems from the very fact that you’ve finally found someone to live for. It is not our death that we fear, but leaving those behind that we love.”

“You make me feel—incredible. I think of the fear as something healthy. It means I’m that much more careful with the treasure I’ve been given.”

“All it takes is one kiss. One kiss can save you. One kiss can ruin you for life. And my kisses? They better ruin you, Trace. Because if they don’t, then I’m clearly not doing a good enough job, and let’s be honest—I can’t really act to save my life, so my kisses are exactly what you should be worried about.” I trailed my finger over her lips. “Because my kisses are real—they mean a hell of a lot more than yours, and from here on out—I’m not holding back.”

“No wonder girls fall all over themselves for you, Chase Winter. You kiss like a god and you make girls forget you’re a player.”

After all, if something doesn’t cost you absolutely everything—did you ever truly love it in the first place?

Had she turned out to be just a normal girl and not the little girl I grew up with, I would have still fallen.

I would have still wanted her. Because she was so damn special. She was… my other half. She didn’t take my shit like most people and she seemed to genuinely care. When she touched me—well, sometimes it felt like everything was still in my world. And I needed that peace more than I’d care to admit.

I truly believed that the greatest sacrifice someone could make in life was putting someone else’s needs before your own wants and desires. Loving someone with such a passion that you’d suffer the rest of your life just so you could see them smile. You’d go to hell and back—if only it meant keeping them safe.

“Chase.” She pulled away and wiped a tear from her eye. “You have my heart, but Nixon… he owns my soul.”

That’s the thing about love—you’d do anything to secure it—except when you finally have it, you’re so damn worried about losing it that your choices are no longer selfless but selfish.

“When I wake up in the morning… I don’t think, wow, how can I make her love me more? How can I have my way with her? I, I, I? Not in my vocabulary. In fact, I’m a big fan of the letter u. I eat, I think of you. I drink, I drink to you. I cry, so you don’t have to. I’d die, for you to live. And I’d survive with a broken heart only if it meant mending yours.”

When you fall in love, when you take that leap, it’s as natural as breathing; it’s as simple as that. I’m romantic because my heart demands I be nothing less than one hundred percent, for you, day and night.”