Chapter 36

-James-

**2007**

"Just to be clear, you said it first." Jianna chuckled.

When she said that she couldn't lose anyone she cared about and loved anymore, I was surprised and a little taken aback. It was a vulnerable admission from her and it made me wonder what kind of pain she had experienced in the past but I could see the sincerity in her eyes and I was captivated by her honesty. I couldn't help but stare at her as she looked ahead at the trail we were walking in, lost in thought.

"I love you too, J," I replied, breaking the silence. "But I meant it when I said it. I don't want to lose you either. I will kill every person on this earth to protect you."

Jianna's smile faded slightly. "I'm sorry if I'm coming off too strong. It's just that I've lost a lot of people in my life, and I can't bear the thought of losing anyone else."

I stopped and turned around.

"Hey. Stop. Stop." I said grabbing her arm so she would stop walking and look at me. "Hey. I'm not going anywhere. You got that?"

At first, she didn't look at me, but she looked up and I saw that she had started crying so I pulled her in my arms and let her cry on my chest. When I knew she had stopped, I held her by the chin and had her look at me again.

"Look at me. We've both led a life riddled with blood and death. Almost all of them by our own hands. But we've always been alone. Never made any connections. Always so scared to attach to anyone. And out of anybody in this world, you know I would be the only person who would understand the reason why. So when I tell you that the decision I made on that rooftop was the best fucking decision I have made in my entire fucked up life, I mean that in the most irrefutable way. So no. I am not planning on going anywhere. You got that?" I said.

I don't know what came over me at that moment. It felt like I had been keeping that in me for the past couple of days and now that I've said it out loud, a huge burden has lifted from my shoulders but my heart felt aflutter. I didn't know how Jianna would react to this. Talk about coming too strong.

Jianna looked at me, tears still streaming down her face, but this time, her smile was wider than ever before.

"I got it," she whispered, before leaning in to press her lips against mine.

The kiss started slow and gentle, but it quickly turned passionate and urgent. It was like all the pent-up emotions we had been holding back were finally being released through this one kiss. My hands found their way to her waist, pulling her closer to me as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

As we pulled apart, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had someone who truly understood me, someone who would stand by me no matter what. For the first time in my life, I knew that I was capable of loving someone in a way that I had never thought possible. But also, for the first time in my life, I knew that I had something to lose. And that terrified me. I had never let anyone get this close to me before and the thought of losing Jianna horrified me. But for now, I pushed those thoughts aside and focused on the present.

Jianna's eyes were still locked onto mine with a type of devotion that made me feel like nothing could ever hurt me again. Her fingers lightly traced the outline of my face, and I felt myself getting lost in her touch.

Jianna noticed the change in my expression and gently cupped my face with her hands.

"What's wrong, James?" she asked softly.

"I just... I don't want to lose you. You mean everything to me now." I admitted, feeling vulnerable again. "I'm finding myself scared of what the future holds. I have never cared for someone this much before. It's a foreign feeling to me."

Jianna smiled and leaned in to kiss me again. "You won't lose me, James. Together, remember?"

I nodded, knowing that she was right. I couldn't let my fears hold me back from experiencing the happiness that I had been denying myself for so long.

Jianna intertwined her fingers with mine and started leading us down the trail again.

"Come on," she said. "Let's enjoy the rest of this hike. We can worry about the future later."

Her words filled me with a sense of comfort, and I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. With Jianna by my side, I knew that we could face anything together.

We continued walking down the trail. The air was filled with a sense of peace and contentment that I had never felt before. It was like all the struggles and pain we had faced so far were worth it because we had found each other.

After a couple of hours, I noticed the sun was starting to set and I knew we either needed to find a place to set up camp or push for the town which is about an hour away.

"Hey, J. Did you want to find a place to set up camp for the night or keep pushing for the town? It's getting late," I said, pointing to the sun setting in the distance.

"Oh. I didn't even notice. Ummm... about how far is the town you think?" she asked. She sounded calm so I wasn't worried about either option bothering her.

"About an hour give or take," I answered.

"I don't know. Would you be ok to push on?" she inquired, looking at me with hesitation.

"It's getting late and I think we should find a place to camp for the night," I replied.

Jianna nodded, understanding my thoughts, and we started looking for a suitable spot.

While we were walking, I had a weird feeling of being followed.

"J, do you feel that?" I whispered, slowing down and scanning our surroundings.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her eyes darting around nervously.

I didn't mean to scare her but when I usually feel like this, my gut feeling was always right.

"I don't know. It just feels like we're being followed." I said, my hand instinctively moving towards the gun in my waistband.

I glance at Jianna and she already had her gun out and pointed at nowhere in particular. Her eyes darted everywhere. Damn. She's fast.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes, and before we knew it, we were surrounded by a group of armed men.

*"Consegnate i vostri portafogli e tutti gli oggetti di valore che avete!"* yelled the man in the middle. Looks like he's the team leader of this ragtag group of assholes.

Fuck! We raised our hands since they had knives pointed at us. I started to panic but I didn't let it show.

"English?" I feigned stupidity.

*"Merda!"* said the lead asshole.

"Ehhh...How you say?" he looked at the asshole on his right. *"Solo la nostra fortuna! Come dici che ti stiamo derubando?"*

Jianna looked at me and then looked at them. Then squinted her eyes and grinned.

"J. Don't. We can't use our guns." I whispered. "It'll give away our position."

"I wasn't going to," she whispered back.

*"Ehi, teste di merda!"* she exclaimed in perfect Italian.

"Oh, so we can speak Italian I see." I chuckled.

She looked at me and winked.

"You're not taking our shit," she said calmly. "You're going to take your little buddies here, turn around, and go back home to your *mama*."

Asshole number 3 laughed. "You're funny *piccola ragazza*. Now you give us your money or we kill you."

Jianna looked at me for approval and I looked at her with concern but gave her a nod.

She smiled at me and turned her head to look at the 3 men. Her eyes turned dark.

She then stepped forward and she was gone. The next thing I knew, I heard a crack and one man was on the ground with a broken neck.

The other two saw the first man go down and start to scramble. I saw a glint and realized that Jianna had the first guy's knife in her hand. She is fucking quick. I see why she's the best. I've seen her work from afar but seeing it close up is a sight to behold.

I see her fluidly get the second guy and do one quick stab up the man's neck. I see the knife go out of the guy's mouth and he's down.

She stopped and looked at me again. Making sure that I approve her next move.

"No witnesses, J," I said coldly.

She nodded and caught up with the third man who had started running. I saw her jump and use her legs to take the third man down.

"I want you to know who's about to kill you right now." I heard her say to the man.

The man looked up and looked at her and realized that he fucked up.

*"Rosso?"* he asked with trembling breath.

*"Giusto. Possa il Signore avere pietà della tua miserabile anima."* whispered Jianna.

May god have mercy on your wretched soul. She looked at me again, asking for permission and I gave it to her.

She grabbed the man's hair and pulled his head back. In one swift motion, she sliced his throat and the man's dead.

So much for leaving that life behind.