"I wouldn't be surprised if Bellum was - " Sam was cut off as Joanie suddenly shook him and he blinked, surprised at the sudden change in conversational topics. "Stalking? Dracula?" he repeated, sounding confused. "No, no, no. Joanie, no. Listen." There was obviously no avoiding this any longer, or else she'd start to think that he was secretly an undercover agent for the CIA or something.
He reached up and cupped her face in his hands, holding her gaze. "I love you. Who you are now, and no matter how 'evil' you'll get, no matter what happens, or where we end up tomorrow. I just wanted to tell you. Because I think it's something you need to know, and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened and I never said it."