Russell Blake - Revenge of the Assassin

Dinah sprang to her feet and followed, but stopped at the kitchen, standing with her arms down, palms outstretched, taking in the bag and uniform in a split second.

“Romero. Please. What are you doing?”

“I don’t want to be here anymore. I’m leaving.” He turned towards the door and leaned down, shouldering his bag and holding the uniform while he reached for the knob with his free hand.

Dinah’s eyes suddenly flashed with fury. “And was it the right thing to send your ill-prepared men up against such a dangerous man? Would Lupita Guerrero deem it right?”

Cruz blinked back at her. What the hell was she talking about?

“Lupita who?”

“Lupita is a pupil of mine — you sent her father up to that apartment to tackle El Rey — now she doesn’t have one. Can’t you see, Romero…you couldn’t even safeguard your own men against such a force and yet you expected me-”

“I expected you to trust me. To have faith in me, Dinah…” he said, twisting the lock.

Her anger faded as quickly as it had flared to the surface. Her voice became quiet as she read his face.

“But…Romero. What are you going to do?”

He held up the envelope with her notes and the top secret document in it, then put it into his shirt pocket. With a twist, he opened the door, and then looked at the tears rolling down her cheeks as she sobbed, heartbroken and afraid. He fixed her with a gaze that spoke of sadness, and fatigue, and broken dreams, and then he turned, stepping over the threshold into the long hall.

“The right thing, Dinah.” He sighed wearily. “I’m going to do the right thing.”