Page 53 of Knight Watch

Blindly, she reached for his hand, and he reached out too, touching the ring on her finger before taking her hand in his.

“We did everything backward it seems.”

The sadness she heard in his low voice thickened his accent and made her turn. “What are you talking about?”

His eyes fell on their joined hands and the gold ring. “I mean that in an ideal world, I would have seen you on the street, we would have talked, maybe I could have convinced you to come for a coffee. We would have dated, and after many, many dates I would have popped the question in a romantic setting with a diamond ring with the hope you’d say yes.”

Her practical mind took over. “What are the odds of that happening? I hardly went out, and you don’t seem like a guy that goes for walks for the fun of it. If not for this situation we would never have met. Admit it.”

Kingsley stepped in front of her and took her other hand. Eyes downcast, she saw the ring on his hand and licked her lips in apprehension. “I… I feel as if I’ve trapped you because of my problems. You’re a good man. It’s in your blood to act when someone is in danger. What if it was that selflessness in you that turned you into my knight in shining armor? Maybe our emotions got mixed up. If you want, we can have this marriage annulled.”

He cupped her cheek to force her to look up and cut off the flow of words, uncertainty, and pain spilling from her. His blue eyes gleamed with tenderness, but his face was severe. “I know how I feel about you. So often I’ve had danger pursuing me like a shadow. That constant fear for my life, and the lives of my team, always made things clearer. From the moment I saw you, I knew. You’re not the first person I’ve saved, Syd, but you’re the only one who’s touched me, deep in my soul. I don’t know what happened and I don’t care. But I’ll tell you what it’s not. It’s not mixed up. It’s as clear as I’m seeing you, touching you right now. I love you. It’s as simple as that. My only regrets are that you’re still in danger and I wish that I’d been able to propose properly. Ask you in a more traditional way. Because I can be traditional.”

His smirk made her smile. The words he spoke warmed her belly and wrapped around her heart. “We did everything backward, Syd, but if that was the only way I got to have you in my life, I wouldn’t change a single thing.”

“We barely know each other. What will happen once we take care of my uncle?”

Gently, he brought her into the safety of his arms. “Why don’t we discover that as we go? One step at a time? For example, I would like it if we could find a place by the sea. It may be expensive, but I’m going to ask for a raise after this mission.” When he winked at her, she laughed.

“Caitlin asked me to help her with her K-9 squad. What do you think?” She was nervous about revealing her intentions as they’d never talked about the future before.

“Would that mean you’d be at the Agency all the time? Because if that’s the case, I love it. You need to have your own dog, too.”

Sydney thought about the little ball of fur she had seen that morning, and her heart started to beat faster. “Do you like dogs?”

“Yes. I love them. And I can’t wait to discover everything else you like and dislike.”

Snaking her arms around his neck, she whispered against his lips, “I love you.”

With a groan, he took her mouth for a heated kiss that made her burn for him. When he finally allowed her to take a gulp of air, he spun her in his arms.

“We need to discuss where we’ll live, and we need enough space in the backyard for your dog and still be close to Alliance. I can’t wait to take you home and show you around. That could be our honeymoon.”

“You’ve got everything planned.” She should be scared of how fast things were going between them, but she wasn’t because it was the right and most perfect decision.

“You’ll see I’m good with details. It has to do with disarming bombs for a living. We need to change your ID to Knight, get you a passport too. And I’ll put your name on my papers, including my life insurance.”

Sydney rolled her eyes. “There’s no rush. I’ve never had a life insurance policy, so I can continue to be insurance-less for a while longer.”

As she giggled, Kingsley’s face turned expressionless for a moment. It was something she saw him do when he was struck by an idea. “What? What did I say?”

“That’s it! That’s how he hid it.”

Sydney looked at him as if he had lost his mind. “What are you talking about?”

Kingsley kissed her brow before touching her shoulders. “The team went through everything under your parent’s names, and yours and didn’t find anything. He could have hidden the money through a life insurance policy under your name. It’s not something we would have looked at because the amount of any insurance can be significant and it’s not something we would suspect. And if I remember correctly, Alex said that he’d found your name listed on a life insurance policy. Rutherford probably took it out in your name and it’s something so common you would have dismissed it.”

“You mean a genuine life insurance policy?”

“I doubt it, but if it looks and feels like one, why would we have checked where the money came from? I wouldn’t be surprised to find it in the papers you stored in your safety deposit box. That would be something you would have naturally put there.”

Hope surged through her. “Is it what we need to get rid of him?”

Kingsley kissed her hard before smiling at her. “I sure hope so. Let’s go tell the team. And with a bit of luck, we can put this nightmare behind us and plan for the future. Our future.”