Page 103 of Allegiance

I love you and I’ll always love you.

Dak.’

As she saw the ‘I love you’ part, her heart thumped in her chest. What she never expected was a humbled Dakota. It was completely different than the fight she expected from him.

This was exactly what she’d wanted.

A man who could admit he’d made a mistake, and that what they’d had wasn’t just sex.

It was love.

His words healed that hole.

How could it not?

Now, Adder, the protective half of her, had to make sure that Eve, the weaker half, would be safe. They were the same person, but they both had different roles.

Pulling out her phone, she made a call.

She needed to know the truth, and there was one person who would tell her.

When Mamba answered, she blurted into the phone, her heart racing, and her stomach a giant knot.

“Mamba, does he love me?” she asked.

Jinx had her phone on speaker.

Well, her husband had been right. He said that she’d be calling after Dakota showed up on her doorstep.

“Do you really want to hear that?” she asked, as her husband drove her to scope out a house to trick a bunch of cops to come to.

“Yes. He was here. He put a crib together, and he told me he loves me in a note. I don’t know if he’s just saying that to have access to the baby, or if he means it. I need to know if I get back on this ride is he going to walk? I have to protect this child, but I also have to protect me.”

“I can’t answer that since Dakota tells the men things he doesn’t tell me, but Rogue is right here. He can answer if you like.”

He shifted the car and waited.

“Yes, please.”

Rogue pulled no punches.

“Eve, he’s in love and has been since the day you two first had sex. That’s why he’s been fighting it. His heart said it was possible, but he overthinks EVERYTHING. Dakota doesn’t have random sexual encounters. He’s been celibate for three months. His first love was Elizabeth, and he has a close relationship with her. Then, he fell for Sarah, and we all know how that worked out.”

She listened.

“He’s only had sex with them. That’s it. Dakota doesn’t fuck and run, and he doesn’t lie. He is honest to a fault. He hates himself a lot, but he has a good heart.”

She heard him.

“So he loves me?”

“And that baby. When he found out, he tried to go after Mamba out of anger. If that’s not stupid in love, I don’t know what is.”

Eve gasped.

“And you didn’t kill him?”

She laughed.