The safehouse was really quiet except when the radiator made a noise because it was cold. Eva sat on a bed her knees pulled up to her chest. She watched Kevin walk back and forth he looked like an animal in a cage not like a man. He seemed upset and wanted to get out.
"Stop " Eva said to him.
He actually stopped walking. Not because she told him to because Kevin Fontaine never listened to what people told him to do, not her.. This time her voice sounded different and he heard her.
"You have been walking back and forth for twenty minutes " Eva said. "It will not change what happened before."
Kevin said, "No. Maybe it will change what happens next."
He walked over to her. Got down on his knees. His good hand touched her ankle his fingers were gentle. His thumb touched the bruise on her leg. He looked tired his eyes were dark. He did not look like himself. For a moment Eva thought he looked scared.
"You could have died tonight " Kevin said.
"But I did not " Eva replied.
Kevin said, "That is not the same as being safe Eva." He squeezed her ankle a little. She felt like he was trying to tell her something without saying it. "I watched what happened on the video. I saw you go through that door there were three men with guns waiting for you. You were gone for four minutes. I did not hear anything from you. I did not know if you were alive. I did not know if you would come out all."
Eva shook her head a little. "I told you before I can take care of myself. You do not get to decide that you have the right to be scared for me."
Kevin looked at her. He seemed calmer but there was something strong and serious underneath. "I took that right the day I got you involved in my problems. The day I decided I would not let you leave me even when you tried to. That is when you became my responsibility to protect. You can be mad at me I know you are. You cannot tell me that I do not have the right to be afraid of losing you."
Eva really looked at Kevin then. There was a time when they sat in a conference room and he stared at her like she was something he owned. He told her "You belong to me " like it was a fact. She spent months trying to prove that she was not his that she was her person.
Now she was not sure who won that fight.
"I am not your property " Eva said, her voice was softer. She sounded tired. "I did not agree to belong to anyone."
Kevin stood up. Pulled Eva up with him. His hand moved from her ankle to her waist it was not forceful he was just asking her to trust him. "I know you did not. That is the part. I used to own everything, companies, buildings, but none of it meant anything until you looked at me like you could leave me whenever you wanted."
"I can " Eva. She meant it. "I still can."
Kevin nodded he understood. "Yes that is the part I cannot handle. I can fight against anything. You I cannot control whether you stay or not."
The silence between them felt heavy it was not something they could fight or negotiate.
"Then stop trying to own me " Eva said, her voice was steady. "Try to earn me."
Kevin paused he did not look weak but it seemed like he had put down a weight that he had been carrying for years.
"Is there a difference?" he. He really wanted to know.
"Ownership does not ask for permission " Eva said, she put her hand on his chest. "It just takes. But now you are worried about losing me you want to fix it you know you cannot control it that is not owning me that is just being alive. It took you forty-one years. A lot of money in legal fees but you finally understand."
Kevin laughed it was an painful sound. "It sounds easy when you say it."
"It is not " Eva said. "I used to do stunts in movies so I would not have to let anyone get close to me. You are not the one who does not know how this works."
Kevins voice was low and rough. "So what do we do? Neither of us knows how to want something we cannot control."
Eva pulled Kevin closer. Put her forehead on his. She was not acting she was just being close to him.
"We figure it out as we go " she whispered. "No contracts, no rules. You choose me. I let you, one day at a time."
Kevin looked scared he seemed young like he did not know what to do. "That is more scary than a dozen men with guns."
"Good " Eva. She kissed him slowly and gently.
When she pulled back Kevin held her hand not tightly steadily like a man who finally knows why he is holding on.
"For the record " Kevin said, his voice was low in her hair "I will always worry when you are, in danger."
". For the record " Eva replied, "I would worry if you stopped."
Outside the world kept moving old enemies were planning again. Problems were getting bigger.. Inside just for that moment Kevin let himself have the one thing he could not buy. This time he held on because he finally understood why it mattered.