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“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.”

“I’m crying because I’m happy. But I’m also crying because I’m so pissed off that my mother would do that to me. How could she write that on my door?”

“How did she get in? You need a key and the security code.”

“I don’t know, but when I looked at the footage with the cops, it was her.”

“You were able to positively I.D. her?”

“No. She was wearing a hoodie, and a horrific blonde wig that covered her face, but I’d recognize that skinny ass of hers in those JUICY track pants anywhere.”

Ryker muffled his laugh.

What an image.

Still…