Unconditionally

by Erin Lyon

  I laughed. “Running late because they had trouble getting out of bed, no doubt,” I said, giving him a playful kiss on the mouth.

  “I could see that being a very real problem,” he agreed, lowering his brows.

  “Oh my god,” I said, touching my fingertips to my forehead. “I have to call Logek.”

  Adam laughed, rubbing his hand lazily up and down my hip.

  “And your mother is going to be in shock,” I said.

  Adam smiled and brushed his knuckles against my cheek. “If by ‘shock’ you mean jumping up and down, calling everyone she knows, and knitting baby booties in case we ever have kids, then yes, she’ll be in shock.”

  I laughed. “Exactly what I meant.”

  He let out a contented sigh and closed his eyes. His arms curled around me and pulled my body closer so that intimate portions of our skin were touching again. He opened his eyes and looked into mine with a serious expression.

  “Kate, we can never sign…”

  Oh.

  “Or we can sign tomorrow. It makes no difference to me. Because I’m never going to let you go.”

  Oh. I blew out a little breath. I’m not going to cry. I’m going to try not to cry. Shit. I’m going to cry.

  Kate Shaw, big game hunter. Brought down a unicorn.

  EPILOGUE

  Mags stepped into my parents’ kitchen, smiling, and made a flourish down her dress. She was in a pale-yellow satin number that came to her ankles, with a slit up one side. Her dark hair was pulled back on one side with a sparkly clip, and she looked like she had just stepped out of a Ginger Rogers movie. Brad seemed to agree, because, as he moved in next to her, he looked so excited I thought he might break into song and dance at any moment. He was wearing a light suit with a narrow blue tie, along with his trademark black, thick-rimmed glasses, and seeing the two of them standing there made you question which decade you were in.

  “Oh my god,” I said, extending my arms to her. “You look so amazing.”

  “Mags,” Mom chimed in from behind me, “you are stunning.”

  Mags was grinning widely. “Thank you. And I can’t thank you guys enough for letting us have our signing party here,” she said, looking at my parents.

  My dad waved a hand in the air. “We are happy to. Ask Kate. We love throwing signing parties.”

  My mother was beaming, with her arm wrapped around my dad’s waist. “We’re so happy for you two.”

  Adam walked into the kitchen, carrying a case of wine. After setting it on the counter, he turned to Mags and Brad. He shook his head at Mags, appreciatively. “Wow. I would have expected nothing less from you.” He reached in and hugged her and then did the one-arm man-hug thing with Brad.

  Logek emerged from the back room and held out a hand to Mags. “Right? Did I nail her makeup or what?” Logek was everyone’s go-to for special event makeup, and making Mags look like a 1940s movie star was probably the most fun Logek had had in a while.

  “She is perfect,” Brad said, putting a light kiss on her forehead.

  Adam walked up behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and settled his chin on my shoulder. “It was very nice of you to invite my mom,” Adam said, looking over at Mags and then back to my parents.

  “Of course,” my mother said, enthusiastically. “But you did warn her that my brother will probably be making puppy dog eyes at her from across the room all night, right?”

  Adam chuckled and I could feel it vibrate through me. “Yes, I delivered your warning. She seemed undeterred.”

  “Happy to hear it,” Mom said.

  We all made our way to the backyard, and Mags made an uncharacteristic squeal of delight when she saw it. It was dusk, and the enormous patio was dotted with elegant tables draped in white tablecloths, with bright centerpieces of exotic-looking flowers. Every tree and post was wrapped in strands of white twinkle lights, and floating candles moved across the surface of the pool. Mags wasn’t wrong—it was pretty spectacular. This is why Mom and Dad were the friends-and-family go-to when it came to hitting someone up to host a signing party.

  People started arriving, and before we knew it the whole space was full of happy people, laughter, and music.

  Mags and Brad had been surrounded by a steady throng of people for the last hour, so, when it seemed to be dispersing, I took an opportunity to steal a moment with her.

  I grabbed her hand, smiling. “Having a good time?”

  “Oh my god. The best,” she said, squeezing my hand.

  “And Kate, thanks so much for drafting the contract. It meant a lot to us,” Brad said.

  I smiled. “Of course. I was happy to. Especially since it conflicts me out from either of you asking me to represent you in a breach,” I said with a wink, and they both chuckled.

  Brad gave Mags a peck on the cheek and took her empty wineglass from her hand. “Another?” he asked.

  Mags was too happy to give him a more Mags-appropriate smart-ass answer, so she just nodded. Logek slid in next to us and wrapped an arm around Mags’s waist.

  “Me too, Brad,” Logek said, passing over her empty wineglass. He grinned and obligingly took the empty glass.

  A photographer in a white shirt and a bow tie stopped in front of the three of us. “Could I get a picture?”

  We squeezed in together, with Mags in the middle, and gave our best smiles.

  “So,” Logek said, after the photog walked away, “let’s see it.”

  Mags turned over her wrist, displaying a small tattoo of the signature quill declaring she was signed. It was done in pale yellow and pink, so not too dramatic, but nonetheless permanent.

  Logek shook her head. “You know, you only signed a seven-year contract.” She lifted Mags’s wrist a little. “This is gonna last a lot longer.”

  Mags just shrugged.

  “Well, I think it’s very you,” I said.

  “I agree,” Mags said with a nod. “And how was I possibly going to accessorize a watch or bracelet into my outfit every day?”

  Now it really made sense. One thing you never mess with is Mags’s ability to flawlessly accessorize. That probably would have been grounds to cancel the signing.

  “So, where’s Jared?” Mags asked Logek.

  Logek made a face. “We aren’t seeing each other anymore.”

  I frowned. “What? What happened?”

  Logek laughed. “Calm down. I’m just kidding.” She pointed over my shoulder to where he was stopped, talking to Adam. “He was just running late.”

  Jared looked over, and he lit up when he saw Logek looking at him. Yeah. I didn’t see this flame burning out for a while.

  He and Adam made their way over to us. Jared, being the sensible litigator he was, congratulated Mags and told her how gorgeous she looked before he turned his complete focus to Logek, folding her in a tight hug.

  Adam moved in behind me and wrapped an arm around me so that his arm was across my chest and his hand was holding on to my shoulder. He casually pressed a kiss to my temple. Big inner sigh.

  Brad came back and handed wineglasses to Logek and Mags, then he took Mags’s hand. “They’re playing our song,” he said. I listened to the music, and it was some old-school slow song that seemed to fit perfectly with their clothing choices. She smiled at me and handed me her glass.

  Brad actually gave her an elegant twirl onto the dance floor before they fell into something that looked suspiciously like a waltz. Who knows how to do the waltz these days?

  “Damn, that girl’s got style,” Logek said.

  “Come on,” Adam said, standing in front of me. “You too.”

  I smiled and played pass-the-wineglass with Jared, since Logek already had a glass in one hand and her other was firmly occupied fiddling with the hairline at the top of Jared’s neck. Jared took the glass with a smile.

  Adam pulled me into the area where Mags and Brad and a few other couples were dancing. He gripped my hand tightly, tugging me against him. I reached my hands up behind his nec
k and laced my fingers together.

  “Kate,” he said, in a soft voice.

  I grinned broadly. That will never get old. At my giddy smile, Adam chuckled and kissed me.

  “This is a beautiful backyard,” he said.

  I did a quick look around and nodded agreement.

  “Must have been a great place to grow up.”

  “It was. It was perfect.”

  He nodded. “Nice neighborhood, too.”

  I lowered my eyebrows a little and nodded again. “Very.”

  He lowered his head so that his face was closer to mine. “I was just thinking. We might want to consider moving out this way. You know—if we’re going to have kids, we need to think about school districts and stuff like that.”

  Oh. My heart was beating faster and I felt a flush creep up my neck. My mouth dropped open a little.

  Adam smiled and his green eyes lit up a little. “Well?”

  I looked around me, dazed. Mags and Brad were gazing into each other’s eyes like the rest of us weren’t even here. Logek and Jared were where we’d left them, talking close, laughing, and kissing intermittently. My parents were standing near the pool next to Sandy. They were all watching Adam and me dancing. Sandy waved, grinning, when I looked over.

  I looked back at Adam and he hooked a finger under my chin and turned my face up to him. I smiled.

  “This is a pretty great area to raise kids,” I said.

  Adam pulled me in tight against him and lowered his lips to mine, but instead of kissing me, he whispered against them. “Can I get that in writing?”

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Here we are again. I’m so glad you could join me. (I feel like I’m trying to seduce you while slipping into a smoking jacket. Am I the only one envisioning Christopher Walken on SNL right now?)

  Since I got the husband out of the way in the dedication, I don’t need to start with him this time (even though he probably deserves it for putting up with me for the last twenty years).

  So I’m starting with my agent, Michelle Wolfson. I’m so grateful that you picked me. I’m so happy to know you. You may be small, but you are mighty. #WolfPack

  To Whitney Ross for being such an amazing editor. Thank you for all of your insight and for sharing the same vision for Kate. To Amy Stapp, Alexis Saarela, and the other fantastic people at Tor/Forge for being consistently supportive, creative, and fun. It’s been such a pleasure working with you all.

  To Penny Lyon and Katie Copeland for (still) being eager to read everything I put in front of you. Writing—and life in general—is easier with you two at my back.

  To my pop, Bob Lyon; my brother, Jeff Lyon; and my sister, Kelly Erickson, for being my cheerleaders through a difficult couple of years. We’re making it. And she would be proud.

  To so many friends, old and new, who were so supportive of I Love You* Subject to the Following Terms and Conditions. From the bloggers and Instagrammers who loved it and talked about it, to the many friends, family, in-laws, and coworkers who posted pictures and reviews, and to all of you, friends and strangers alike, who reached out just to say “When the hell is book two coming out??” I appreciate every single one of you.

  To my girls, Sydney and Alexa, just because I love you and you are amazing women.

  To my uncle, J. R. Williams, for nothing in particular other than the fact that you gave me a bunch of crap for not being in my last acknowledgments.

  And to you, Mom, always. Miss you every damn day.

  BOOKS BY ERIN LYON

  I Love You* Subject to the Following Terms and Conditions

  Unconditionally

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Erin Lyon graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and then worked in broadcast television for ten years before going to law school. She is now a practicing attorney and blames all of the people in her life for not trying to talk her out of the whole “becoming a lawyer” thing. (Except for her brother who, to be fair, did say, “Really?”).

  After finishing law school, she completed her first novel, I Love You Subject to the Following Terms and Conditions, and began working on the sequel. Erin lives in Northern California with her husband of twenty years, her teenage daughter, and a houseful of rescue animals (and a husband-imposed ban from visiting her local SPCA). You can sign up for email updates here.

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Books by Erin Lyon

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  UNCONDITIONALLY

  Copyright © 2017 by Erin Lyon

  All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Daniela Medina

  Cover photograph by Dean Drobot/Shutterstock.com

  A Forge Book

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates

  175 Fifth Avenue

  New York, NY 10010

  www.tor-forge.com

  Forge® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

  Names: Lyon, Erin, author.

  Title: Unconditionally: a contract killers novel / Erin Lyon.

  Description: First edition. | New York: Forge, 2018. | “A Tom Doherty Associates Book.”

  Identifiers: LCCN 2017039438 (print) | LCCN 2017045083 (ebook) | ISBN 9780765386137 (ebook) | ISBN 9780765386120 (trade pbk.)

  Subjects: | GSAFD: Romantic suspense fiction.

  Classification: LCC PS3612.Y558 (ebook) | LCC PS3612.Y558 U53 2018 (print) | DDC 813/.6—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017039438

  eISBN 9780765386137

  Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.

  First Edition: January 2018