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I cuddled him. “I don’t care about your money. I’ll sign a—”
“We’re forever,” he told me firmly, “so I won’t hear any talk about signing anything. I love you.”
“I was feeling sick last night,” I murmur, “so on the way here, I made a stop.”
Lois claps her hands together, jumping from her chair and walking up and down the short patio. “If this isn’t what I think it is, I’m going to be very angry with you.”
“It is,” I say, grinning. “I’m—”
She freezes, slicing her hand through the air. Turning, I spot somebody in the house. Two figures… One of them looks injured. I jump to my feet, memories of Axel returning to me, the gunshots, the mayhem, but then they get closer, and my heart soars.
Luke is wearing his gym gear, his hair glistening, the sides freshly shaved. His intense eyes lock onto me, his smile wide as he helps Christopher walk into the garden.
“Honey,” Lois says, hurrying over to him. “What are you doing home?”
“They gave me the all-clear,” Christopher says. “Of course, we’ll still need lots of home rehab.”
“Your dedicated support specialist will arrive later today,” Luke says, helping Christopher to sit.
“Dedicated…” Lois trails off. Tears in her eyes. “Luke.”
“She’s the best in the business. With her know-how and Christopher’s determination, nothing can stop him.”
Christopher smiles up at Luke, then looks at me. “You’ve got a good one here, Jane.”
“I’m so happy you’re okay.”
“Getting there.”
“His crutches are in the car,” Luke says when he sees Lois looking around for them.
“Let me guess. He said he could walk.”
Christopher grins. “Guilty.”
Lois raises her hands, and Luke chuckles, tossing her his keys. When she walks into the house, Luke turns to me. Suddenly, there’s concern in his eyes. He moves close to me, hands on my shoulders.
“What’s wrong?”
I thought I could hide it for the time being.
“I don’t want to make this about us,” I whisper. “This is about Christopher coming home.”
“Is something wrong, though?” Luke asks.
“No, not wrong. I’m…”
“Wait.” Luke’s eyes widen. “You’re glowing, Jane. You’re glowing.”
His voice becomes awed. Love swells in me with belonging and destiny.
“You’ve guessed right.”
I nod, the world blurring with my tears. He picks me up and spins me around, cheering.
“What’s the good news?” Christopher asks.
“I’m pregnant,” I tell him when Luke puts me down.
“That’s excellent news.”
“I know who the godfather’s going to be,” I quickly say. “The man who saved my husband’s life.”
Luke smiles warmly at me, wrapping his arm over my shoulder, and then turns to Christopher.
“I think that’s an excellent idea.”
EPILOGUE
THREE YEARS LATER
Luke
“Is that what you call typing, huh?” I tease, nudging Joey on the shoulder softly.
He breaks into adorable giggles, throwing his head back as his small hands bash against the toy keyboard. He hits it over and over, grinning up at me the whole time. Jane laughs from the door, her hand resting on her belly.
I look at my wife, the pink apron draped across her front, rising and falling with the terrain of her curvy breasts and her six-month-pregnant belly. Her curly hair falls immaculately around her shoulders, recently professionally styled. She’s wearing an apron with the scent of our dinner tempting from the kitchen, but I can see her in her sharp business attire just as easily.
She’s grown massively in programming ability since she started shadowing me. More than that, her business acumen has gone through the roof. She knows when to talk, what to say, when to remain silent, and when to wait.
“Daddy,” Joey says, laughing. “What it say?”
“It say that…” I pause, smiling at my wife, and then turn quickly to our son. “It’s tickle time!”
Joey rolls away from me. “No, Daddy, no!”
He’s giggling in that adorable way of his. There’s something of his mother in that laugh, the passion and enthusiasm for life, the readiness to keep moving forward, to constantly find new ways to make everything just a little more perfect.
I grab Joey and hug him to my chest as I stand. He throws his arms around me.
“So, how’s my little programmer?” Jane says, kissing Joey on the cheek.
“Good, Mommy. The bestest.”
Jane’s face is pure delight. It’s like she’s drunk on the love our son gives us.
“The shapes, Mommy? The shapes?”
I hand him to Jane, and the love in my heart expands as I watch Joey hug her tightly. The shapes are his dinosaur figures, which he has to match with specific shapes in an exercise book. Joey loves it. Jane carries him down the hallway, looking at me over her shoulder, silently asking if I’m going to follow. I take a moment to appreciate our lives.
Sergei is in a maximum security federal prison. Axel is in a regular prison. His sister, though, is safe. The Russians have wisely learned to forget I exist. My woman is dominating the programming world.
Christopher is more than back on his feet and leads my new protection business’s entire East Coast division. Soon, that business will require much more of my attention, and I’ll need somebody to take over the day-to-day in the cybersecurity realm. I know the perfect candidate.
