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He continued to move her, away from the body, away from the gates, and toward some trees where he would still have a line of sight of Marco and Daxton. Of Jason and Manson, too. They were both being treated. Manson by Lizzy and Jason by Jimbo Griffin, who’d brought out a first aid kit.
“I’m glad Jason wasn’t the killer,” she said. “Will he be all right?”
“I think so. Well, with his physical injuries anyway. I don’t want to know what kind of therapy he’ll need after his father just tried to kill him.”
Yes. Manson as well. She had that tough exterior, but she was sobbing now and probably in pain from where her own father had shot her.
In the distance, Rachel heard the welcome sound of the sirens and the police cruisers. Help would arrive soon, and Manson, Jason, and Jericho could get the medical attention they needed. Though she doubted Jericho would have those stitches tended until he was certain she was truly okay.
Rachel gave him a head start with that.
“I’m not hurt,” she spelled out. “I’m probably a little in shock and have a river of adrenaline slamming through me, but I need to tell you something. Something that can’t wait.”
The timing was awful. And Jericho likely wouldn’t want to hear what she had to say, but she was going to say it anyway. She’d come too close to losing him tonight to hold back her feelings.
“You’re in love with me,” Jericho said, clearly beating her to the punch.
She felt her eyes widen. “How—”
That was all she managed to get out before he kissed her. It wasn’t one of those warm and fuzzy kisses either. It was the real deal. Jericho’s A-game kiss. And he didn’t pull back until oxygen became an issue.
Rachel had to take a couple of seconds to drag in enough breath so she could speak. “How did you know I was in love with you?”
He grinned. “ESP. It’s standard issue for Maverick Ops.” His grin widened. Then, faded as his expression turned serious. “Because I’m in love with you, too, Rachel, and hoped it was mutual.”
Oh, that sent her heart in a spin. A really good one. In all their years together, Jericho had never said those magic words to her. Hearing them now—despite the questionable timing—made this moment perfect.
Almost.
The perfection became complete when she heard Woody shout. “I found Sasha. She’s okay. She’s okay,” he repeated, the relief and emotion coating every word.
Rachel was feeling her own relief and emotion, and while she knew being in love didn’t solve all their problems, it was the start to their future together.
Wasn’t it?
Sweet heaven. Wasn’t it?
She had a moment of panic, a moment where she thought this was it. That declaring their love for each other didn’t change anything about their lives. In fact, they could end up going their separate ways. But she didn’t want that. She didn’t want to lose him. Not to a killer. Not to the job.
Not to anything.
Maybe Jericho did have ESP. Or else he simply saw that panic in her eyes.
“Option one,” he said. “You move in with me and commute to the group home. Option two,” he went on while the howl of the ambulances got closer. “I move in with you and do my normal job thing. Or option three, we get a new place together that suits both of us.”
That definitely tamped down the wild worry that was running through her. “Any of those,” she answered. And Rachel went ahead and risked it all by saying exactly what she wanted.
“Sex, marriage, forever,” she spelled out.
Jericho flashed that smile again. “Did you just ask me to marry you?”
“I did.” She held her breath.
But breath-holding and worrying about his response weren’t necessary. Because Jericho’s smile got even bigger.
“Yes, to all of it, Rachel, but I’ll add a little more. My own proposal. Let’s make the sex frequent.”
“Yes,” she said. Easy to agree to that when it was Jericho.
“And the sex will be hot, hot, hot.”
Rachel went with another, “Yes.”
“Now, I’m going for broke and laying out one more proposal,” he went on. “Let’s do the marriage thing fast. Like maybe tomorrow.”
Now, her smile was as big as his. “Yes.”
“Good. A triple win for both of us.” He brushed his lips over hers. “And as for the forever? Yeah, let’s get started on that right now.”
He kissed her again, too. The full Jericho kiss to seal the deal of a lifetime. Rachel sealed the deal right back with him.
