Damien

"We'll use her as bait," Nate said.

"Not fucking happening," I growled at him, angry that he would dare suggest a thing.

"Damien..." he started to say.

"No. How could you even suggest it?"

"Because he won't stop until he gets to her and those kids and you know it. We may not want to admit it, but it's the damn truth. He's never going to stop and Hallie can't hide forever. We need to be in control. We need him to come to us on our terms, not his."

"Nate, I'm not risking her safety or her kids."

"They're already at risk."

"Damn it, Nate!"

"Just listen for a minute," Nate said.

"Damien, I want to hear what he has to say," Hallie said.

"You can't be serious," I said incredulously.

"You said you trusted him."

"I do, but."

"No. No buts," Hallie insisted. "Nate is right. He's never going to stop and I would rather be prepared for every possible scenario than live in fear, wondering when he's going to come for me."

"Hallie..."

"Damien, please."

I pulled her to me and dropped a kiss to the top of her head.

"Okay," I said.

I nodded towards Nate, letting him know he can let us know what his plan is.

"First we need to let Winston know about your existence, because this plan depends on whether he acknowledges and accepts you or not," Nate began. "Once Winston knows about your existence, we're going to plan how he would introduce you. Once you are revealed to be his only daughter and heir to his empire, the media will be on top of this story. With all attention focused on you, Barnes will find it hard to get close. That's when we'll approach him. Hallie will let him in and arrange what he thinks is a negotiation regarding Ty and Michy. It will be a set-up of course. We'll have the FBI involved, Joaquin can pull some strings and we'll only have men he trusts in on this. This whole thing will be a trap for him. A way to get him out in the open. He'll have a plan of attack. We already know that he's never going to let Hallie off the hook and he'll take any chance he can get just to get to her, but we'll be ready," Nate explained. "We want him exposed, it's the only way we can get him. We have to stop this cat and mouse chase. He'll come to us and we'll be waiting to nail the son of a bitch."

"He gets nowhere near Hallie or the kids."

"Agreed."

"How sure are you of this plan?"

"We're going to prepare for every possible scenario. Things don't always go to plan, but we have one goal and that is to keep Hallie and the kids safe. There is no other outcome but just that."

I nodded. "I know you guys and I trust you, but I want to know everything there is to know."

Nate nodded before looking at Hallie to see what she thinks.

"You need to change that goal," she said.

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The goal is to keep my kids safe. They are the priority. I don't care about why happens to me. If it comes to and I get caught somehow, you guys will take Ty and Michy and make sure they're safe. They're the only ones that matter."

"Hallie," I started to argue.

"No. Damien, you have no say in this. They're my kids and this is my life. I would gladly give mine to save theirs."

"Hallie," I started again, but she shook her head.

"Damien, I'm not budging on this. There's nothing you can say that will make me change my mind."

My mouth set in a grim line.

I wanted to say that she was mine. She and her kids were mine and no harm will come to them for as long as I live. I won't lose any one of them.

"I want to meet my father," Hallie said. "Let's set everything in motion. I'm ready."

"What is Winston refuse to acknowledge her?" I asked. "We can't even be sure of how he'll react."

"We still use her as bait, only we'll have to find a way to expose her to the media," Nate said.

"Is this the only way?" I asked.

"Like I said, she can't hide forever. We have a better chance of ending this if we control the situation.  With the media's attention on her, he'll find it harder to get close."

"Or we fucking give him her location and he gets her."

"Damien, you know well enough that there is always a risk of things not going the way we planned, but if you trust us and let us do our job, we promise you we can get this right."

I nodded.

"Hallie, you still call the shots. If you think that this is too risky at any point, you let us know," Jake pointed out.

"Okay. I just want this over with. A life in hiding isn't a life at all. It's not what I want for my kids."

"We'll be in touch soon" Nate said.

"I'll see them out," I said.

"Thanks for coming," I said to them.

"Anytime," Jake and Alan said. "See you back at the office?"

Nate nodded. "Have Joaquin meet us there," he said before turning back to me. "Damien, I promise you, we will do everything to keep your family safe," he said in understanding.

"They're mine, Nate. I can't lose any one of them."

"I know. You won't," he promised.

I nodded.

"So will we be seeing you tomorrow night?"

I nodded again. "Yeah. Mom's waited long enough," I chuckled.

"Lia was going to come today, but Riley's not feeling too well," he said.

"I wondered where she was. Thought she was coming."

"Yeah, I know. Well, she'll just have to wait till tomorrow," Nate said chuckling. "But knowing your sister, she's gonna have a million questions for me before I even get through the front door."

I laughed.

"I better head home so I can get it over with," he said.

"See you guys tomorrow then," I said. "Say hi to the kiddos and Lia for me."

"Will do," he waved, before getting into his car.

I walked back inside and found Hallie pacing.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She looked at me and sighed. "I'm a little nervous," she admitted. "What if he wants nothing to do with me? What if he's not the good man Nate and the rest of them thinks?"

I pulled her against and wrapped my arms around her. She was stiff at first, but she quickly melted in my arms, which made my heart swell. God, this woman drives me so fucking crazy. In a good way though. She's gotten so deep underneath my skin that I can't seem to stop thinking about her long enough to even think of my own name.

"Listen, if he wants nothing to do with you, then it's his fucking loss, not yours. You're fucking amazing and he'd be a complete idiot if he doesn't want to be a part of your and your kids lives."

"You always know what to say. Why is that?" She asked.

I smirked. "I was born perfect."

She laughed.

"God, I love that sound."

Her pupils dilated and her breathing deepened. She can feel it too. The pull between us.

"I want to kiss you so fucking bad," I admitted.

"Why don't you?" She whispered back, surprising the hell out of me.

"I don't want to scare you away."

She kicked her lips before answering. "No chance of that happening. You won't scare me, Damien. The only thing that scares me is not having you in my life. Our lives. It sounds crazy and I know that my track record proves otherwise. God knows, I've tried to escape you enough times to make you doubt me, but ever since you walked into my life, I've never felt more safe. We haven't known each other long, but my heart and every fibre of my being tells me that I can trust you and that being with you is where I'm meant to be," she said.

"You're really blowing me away with your honesty," I teased. "What have you done to my Hallie?"

"You made her strong," she responded.

"You've always been strong," I countered.

"I didn't feel like I am until you. You challenge me and your pushy and bossy and it can be so damn frustrating sometimes, but somehow, you've managed to push me to take a chance and have faith."

"I'm so fucking glad, baby, because I'm going to keep showing you that there is no reason to lose faith and not take a chance on me," I said. "You're right about one thing, Hallie, we haven't known each other long, but I don't care. I knew you were mine the moment I laid eyes on you on that sidewalk. You knocked me off my feet. Knocked my word off it's axis and you've been doing it ever since. You make me burn with need and want that it fucking drives me crazy. But I know that you've been through enough to know not to rush you," I said. "But Hallie, know this, when you're ready. Ready for everything I have to offer, I'll be claiming you."

"just kiss me, Damien," she whispered.

"God I want to. You have no idea how much I want to...."

"But?" She prompted.

"But I won't. Not until you're ready for everything. When I kiss you, you'll be mine. Mine to keep. Forever. And I need you to be ready for that."

"I... I... Damien..."

"When you stop thinking about running from me..."

She frowned.  "I...," she began, about to deny it.

"I can see it in your eyes. You trust me, I know. But you don't trust yourself and that's what's making you want to run."

She frowned again.

"I can't have you running from me, Hallie. But know this, even if you do, I will come after you. So either way, you're mine."

"Then why won't you kiss me?" She pouted stubbornly.

"Because you're not ready yet," I said.

She glared at me. "Remember when I said that you're bossiness is so damn frustrating sometimes?"

I nodded.

"Well this is one of those instances. It's just a kiss Damien. How can I not be ready for a kiss?"

I chuckled. "Because my little hellion, I won't be able to stop with just a kiss."

Her eyes widened, telling me that I was right. She wasn't ready for more than a kiss.

She glared at me again, while trying to push me away, but I wouldn't let her. "You probably just suck at kissing."

I pulled her closer and leaned in. "Oh trust me, baby, I'm good at everything I do, especially when I'm truly passionate about something," I said, before I pulled and forced myself to walk away.

Hallie

I watched as he walked away.

Damn arrogant man!

Who does he think he is?

What the hell just happened? Better yet, what did I just do? Did I really just ask him to kiss me?

Oh god.

I've completely lost my mind.

I've gone insane.

I shook my head.

I can't... I can't give in to whatever this is I'm feeling. Especially when I'm still keeping something from him.