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“Is he dead?”
“One of Spencer’s snipers shot him down.”
“Oh.” She pressed her face back against his chest before lifting it again. “I need to see. For my own peace of mind. And for closure. For my child.”
He understood. She’d been on the run for nearly six months. Living in a state of emotional turmoil even longer.
Closure meant more than visual comfort.
He held her close as they walked back toward Spencer. The MVPD team was moving around Ferdy’s body but hadn’t yet covered him and Nova stopped a few feet away.
“All that muscle and bravado, gone.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I am, too. He could have chosen another life. Another way of living.” She took a deep breath and turned away. “Do you know, he didn’t even ask me about the baby? Nothing beyond whether it was his.”
“Again, all I can say is that I’m sorry.”
“Maybe I will be. Someday. Today I’m just grateful to Spencer and his team.”
Spencer’s K-9, Boris, raced over to her, planting himself beside her. “Hey, baby.” She bent down to pat his head.
Nikolas moved them away from the clearing and the police. Once they were far enough away, Boris still keeping close, Nikolas pulled her to his chest once more. “I didn’t tell you before. I’m sorry for our fight this morning and I’ll do whatever I can to make it right. But I love you, Nova. I want you and the baby and I want you to move in with me. I want to make a life with you.”
“Oh, Nikolas, I want that, too. Even as I said it, I knew I’d pushed unfairly. We’ll find our way. We’ll figure it all out. Because I love you, too.”
“We’ll figure it out together.”
“Yes, together.” She lifted her head for a kiss, their lips meeting in warmth and something that felt a lot like permanence. The old Nikolas Slater would have turned tail and run.
The man he was today knew he’d not only found his future, but there was nowhere he wanted to go if Nova wasn’t by his side.
Epilogue
Three weeks later, Nova stared down at the emerald cut engagement ring on her left hand and marveled at all that had happened in the past few weeks. She was continuing to grow by the day, the baby kicking and positively thriving as they marched ever closer to her due date.
Each night, she and Nikolas spent their time wrapped up in each other. And then each day the man had been a shopping fiend, ordering so much baby furniture online she finally had to lay down an ultimatum.
He either needed to stop or she was moving into the Triple R. It was part threat, part practical argument. If he bought anything else, she feared they’d no longer fit into his condo.
Even as she knew they could make anything work, the barb had hit its mark and they’d—thankfully—only had three packages delivered that week.
Ferdy’s death had hit her more emotionally than she’d expected. Not that she was upset he was gone—especially as the extensive nature of his crimes continued to come to light—but she did care about his death as far as it affected her child.
She knew they’d both be better off in the long run, but it didn’t change the fact that new life was coming into the world that he had been a part of creating. It was going to take some processing, and her obstetrician had recommended a wonderful therapist who was helping Nova work through the strange mix of freedom and guilt, neither of which had fully faded away.
It had been her therapist who’d recommended she take another step. One she’d finalized just the day before.
She was no longer Nova Ellis. She was Nova Colton, in the eyes of her new family and in the eyes of the government.
Nikolas came up behind her, his strong, solid arms wrapping around her. She and her belly still fit within them, but if she kept growing like she was, she doubted he’d be able to do it for too much longer.
“Hi,” she whispered as she leaned back and pressed a kiss to his jawline.
“Hi, yourself.”
She tilted her head slightly toward the floor. “I know I’ve said no more furniture, but maybe we can get one of these rugs?”
