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“You’re right, I want everybody I love way the hell away from me,” Ryker admitted.

They both turned as Nolan walked up. “What do you have to smile about?” Ryker growled. “Your ass is in the same leaky rowboat as mine, only you have Maggie and Iris here in Virginia Beach.”

“First,” Nolan started holding up one finger. “I did not call Psycho Sykes needle dick to his face seventeen times.” Then he held up his second finger. “Second, Evie Avery just picked up Maggie and Iris and is taking them to stay at her place in Jasper Creek now that it is fixed up.”

Ryker opened and closed his mouth. He was not going to make a snarky remark about Evie trusting Maggie to not lure people to her home and have it destroyed again. Gideon gave him a subtle nod of approval for his restraint.

“Have we all sent Kostya flowers?” Ryker asked the two other men.

It did his heart good to hear them laugh.

“How’s he doing?” Gideon asked Nolan. They all knew that Nolan would have the most inside scoop since he was the medic.

“He’s a tough son-of-a-bitch. He already tried to get out of bed to go to the bathroom in his room so he didn’t have to pee in a pan. He only gave in because the nurse almost cried when he wouldn’t listen to her,”

“Has he talked Lark into going back to San Francisco with her mom?” Ryker asked Gideon.

Gideon shrugged. “I don’t know. He wants you, me, Nolan, Landon, and Linc to meet him in his hospital room after visiting hours tonight.”

“I’m up for that,” Ryker said.

Ryker swung back to his townhome for a shower before heading out to the hospital. He called Amy after his shower.

“Hello?”

“Miss me?” he asked.

She didn’t immediately respond.

“Amy, are you okay?”

“No,” she said in a teary voice.

“What is it, honey?” He dropped his elbows down on his kitchen counter, trying to hear everything that was going on around her.

“Somebody spray-painted the ‘C’ word on the front of my door in red paint while I was asleep last night.”

“What the fuck! Did you call the police?”

“First thing.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because you have more than enough on your plate. I didn’t want to worry you until I’d heard how Kostya was doing.”

“Honey, I never want you to wait. You’re my number one priority. You got that? Until we have kids one day, you will always be my number one priority, and even then you and the kids will be my number one priority.”

“We’re having kids?” she whispered.

“Shit, this is more for a long evening out, honey. I’m so sorry. But yeah, I was thinking we might want to have kids together.”

She didn’t say anything and his heart dropped.

“But it’s not a dealbreaker for me. The important thing is that you’re in my life. That I have you as my wife.”

“No, no. You don’t get it. I love the idea of having kids. As long as I get to raise them with a man in a healthy home. That sounds like a dream to me.” He heard her start to sniff again. Once again he strained his ears, trying to make out just how badly she was crying.

“Aw, Amy, don’t cry. We’ll have a few walks on the beach, talk about our hopes and dreams, and even discuss when and where we’re going to get married, I promise. It’s all going to calm down.”