Come hell or high water

Come hell or high water is an expression of unyielding resolve that marks a turn from recognizing danger to embracing it. Here, the speaker uses it to frame his desire for a woman as a promise he means to pursue despite whatever obstacles stand in his way—and to make that pursuit permanent through pregnancy.

Meaning and Force

The phrase conventionally conveys determination in the face of hardship. In this passage, its force comes from the contrast between the speaker’s clear awareness of danger and his refusal to let that danger govern his choice. He considers running because powerful men will not let him live in peace, especially with a shadowy mob boss directing their actions. The expression answers that prospect with insistence rather than caution.

Use in the Narrative

The vow follows the speaker’s admission that the woman has him hooked: he wants her body and craves her taste. The movement from attraction to resolve is sharpened by the phrase’s promise of permanence. He defines that permanence in explicitly possessive terms, intending to make her his by putting his baby inside her. The expression therefore signals more than persistence through external danger; in this context, it carries the speaker’s coercive ambition to bind the woman to him through pregnancy.