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He shrugged. “Up to you.”
I heard Theresa crying for me and slapped the computer back onto the desk. I kicked Donny in the head, hard enough to finally shut him up, and hurried to her side.
“My mom needs an ambulance,” she said, clinging to me again.
“They’re already on their way,” the guard said.
I pulled Theresa out into the hall, noticing her bruises and the blood trickling from her hairline. I hurried to grab a towel and returned to the hallway to find her leaning against the wall. The emergency workers crashed from the elevator, hurrying our way. I pointed them inside, telling them to only worry about the woman. They gave me a curious glance before deciding it would be worth it to listen to me.
“Oh, my love,” I said, gathering her into my arms. “My brave little one. I can’t believe I might have lost you.”
She shook her head, looking up at me. “You found me,” she said. “I knew you would.”
“Of course,” I said, still unable to shake the unspeakable fear of living the rest of my life without her. I kissed her, dabbing at the cut on her head. “The ambulance is probably going to make you go with them,” I said. “But I’ll be close behind.”
“I’m just a little dinged up,” she assured me. “I’m not going with anyone but you. You can’t make me.”
“Fair enough.” I chuckled and kissed her again, then grew serious. “I can’t wait any longer. I wanted to make a big deal of it on the boat, but then…”
“I remember,” she said drily.
“I love you,” I told her. “So damn much. I have a ring at home, Theresa. Say you’ll marry me so I can calm down.”
“Were you really that scared for me?” she asked, stroking my hair off my forehead.
“I was. And I was scared for me. I can’t live without you, little one.”
The emergency workers called for a clear path to get her mother out on a stretcher. I grabbed Theresa’s hands and squeezed. “Tell me,” I commanded.
Her smile was soft, serious. “I love you,” she said. “You know I do.”
“What else?” I urged.
She laughed and pulled me close, wrapping her arms around my neck. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
I kissed her, the warmth of her finally, officially being mine coursing through my body. The stretcher scraped past us, and Theresa gasped, hurrying to follow them. I caught up with them at the elevator, tugging her back since there was no room for all of us and the stretcher. Her mother opened her eyes and nodded weakly.
“We’ll follow her to the hospital,” I said, gathering Theresa close again. I couldn’t stand to be even an inch away from her. “I want you to get checked out, too.” I patted her belly so she wouldn’t argue. “To make sure Julep is okay.”
She looked at me with her mouth hanging open, and despite her horrific experience and face full of bruises, she burst out laughing. “You know I was teasing about Julep, right?”
I furrowed my brow and feigned seriousness, guiding her into the next elevator going down. “What? It was really growing on me. Good for a boy or a girl.”
Inside the elevator, she leaned against me. “What about Donny?” she gasped.
My heady mood almost evaporated at the mention of his name. “Don’t worry about him,” I said. “He’s not going to hurt anyone ever again.”
At the hospital, I waited for Theresa to get checked out and to see how her mother was doing, when Ivan showed up, looking grim.
“We managed to intercept Rossi at the airport,” he said. “He’s not too happy that we’re holding his son. Seems to think he’s just a screw up going a little off book with the video stuff.”
“He went too far off book and with the wrong people,” I said.
Ivan nodded. “I agree with you, but we can’t have yet another family on our shit list. Still, I’ll defer to you on this one.”
“Are you really worried about the Rossis?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Not particularly. I’ll send his father home on the next plane. We can keep an eye on him in Boston if Theresa’s mother is on board to help us out.”
