Page 137 of The Finish Line
“Glad to see you two so happy,” Tyler interjects. “You deserve it.” He gives me a pointed look. “I was charged with checking in on you every so often. I was pissed you didn’t come back raising hell a lot sooner.”
“Should have told me I had a good reason to come back.”
“Couldn’t. I had a psycho for a boss.”
“Eh? What are you going to do?” I shrug, and we share a sad smile. “But we aren’t the only ones who deserve to be happy.”
He winks in response, but I can feel the plea in his eyes not to press the conversation any further. I don’t want a loveless life for his future, that much I do know. I hate the thought of it.
After a few minutes of chit chat, Tyler rolls up the partition and checks the clock. “We have about eighty minutes until we pull up.”
“Speak freely,” Tobias says, and Tyler nods.
“I can tell you pretty much everything, but I’d rather Preston explain it, so you don’t have to hear it twice.”
“Please don’t make me wait,” I ask between them, noting the fact that Tyler calls the President by his first name. The reality is, I’m on my way to meet the leader of the free world. The President that my gorgeous soulmate and lover helped put into office with a scheme they cooked up when they were teenagers. And I’m afraid I won’t be paying close enough attention to details once I get there. I don’t let my nerves get the best of me often, but this is a big fucking deal. Eyes roving from Tobias to Tyler and back, I can see the hesitation.
“I’m going to legitimize us,” Tobias says simply.
“What?” It’s the last thing I expected him to say.
“To an extent,” Tyler adds.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning no more hiding from ‘Big Brother’ and we’ll no longer be at risk for doing felony or any other type of time.”
I dart my eyes between them. “You’re serious?”
They both nod.
Tobias leans forward and takes my hand in his as I speak up. “This is your plan B, your window?”
“It has to happen, Trésor.”
“But... this goes against everything you stand for. Why would you...” I shake my head, “Oh, no, hell no, you don’t get to use me as an excuse to do this.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
“But this is... Tobias. This is conformity!” I shriek. “No.” I snap at him before turning to Tyler with another emphatic, “No.”
“Told you she would hate it,” Tobias says, a barely perceptible smile on his lips.
“Monroe is only going to be in office for seven more years at most,” I remind him, “and then what?”
Tobias shrugs. “Then we’ll have a lot to accomplish during that time. This can’t last forever.”
“And what about the others, what about—”
“They’ll come around, or they can kick fucking rocks,” Tyler speaks up. “This isn’t selling out, Cecelia. This is next level. It wouldn’t be a new CIA or anything. Don’t jump to conclusions. But if there’s a way for us to evolve without further risk, then it’s worth exploring. We want to change and work with a government we can trust. That’s the whole point of all of this. And if it’s temporary, which history guarantees it will be, we’ll do what we can, while we can. If I didn’t think it was a good idea, I wouldn’t have put it on the table. Right now, we’re in the position to write our own rules.”
“I don’t understand. Why now?” But I know the answer. I look to Tyler, widening my eyes at him, and mouth, “what the fuck?” His features remain impassive as he stares back at me.
“It will work out. Trust me.”
I shake my head and turn my attention to Tobias. “Don’t do this. You don’t have to.”
“We do have to, Trésor.”