He doesn’t say anything about me easily reciprocating his declaration. Instead, he keeps trying to piece together our horrible experience. “You smacked me too.”
“Yep. I also waved my Karambit at the staff when they tried to separate us, yelled at you to not fucking die, and apparently screamed like a lunatic. It was all kinds of insanity while you were taking a nap.”
“Marry me.” Maybe it’s the sandpaper vocal quality, but that comes out far more like a domineering demand than a proposal.
So, there is only one way for me to respond.
MADDOX
Everything hurts. Before she stormed into the room, I felt half dead. But her doll-like face and her sultry voice and all the ways she’s devoted herself tousrevive me.
“Yes,” she whispers with a shuddering breath. “As soon as you can dance.”
Her promise to grant me forever is so worth a bullet to the chest.
My mouth is tired, but that doesn’t prevent a smile from blasting into my cheeks.
A chorus of groans and grumbles behind her disrupts our blissful bubble. I peek around her at my family, sifting through their wallets and throwing money at Jax.
“Three fucking minutes.” He holds the bills up in victory. “They all thought I was crazy. Who knows shit now?”
That’s about right.
Cash notes Tessa’s furrowed brow. “We took bets on how long it would take for a deathbed proposal.”
Mercy hangs her head, passes money to Jax, and then scurries toward us, hugging Tessa’s back. “Congratulations.”Her eyes brim with a blend of elation and anguish. “Making this official is one hell of a way to join us. It’s been a long couple of days.”
The rest of them crowd around us with more congratulatory sentiments and faces drawn in expressions of the agony they’ve endured. Pacing in the waiting room is arguably worse than being the one unconscious, so I get it.
I drift in and out for a while, but more poking and prodding from the doctor and boisterous discussion from my family have me alert again.
Liam and Gage strut in with conspiratorial grins, and as much as I like the idea of knowing what’s going on with the motherfuckers who strapped me to this bed, all I want is to kick everyone out and go back to sleep with Tessa in my arms.
She’s glued to me, her fingers entwined with mine, her piña colada fragrance a welcome vacation from the dizzying pain. The physical aches are nothing compared to the anvil of anguish weighing on my chest. I know she went through hell without me, which is a certain kind of torment. She mentioned it flippantly, but the image of her screaming is haunting, even if I once suggested it as a method to rid some of her ire. On the flip side, I can’t help but celebrate how her walls seem to have crumbled.
“Hey, man.” Liam smirks. “Sittin’ this one out, huh?”
I wish I could string two words together without being wiped out, but since I can’t, any speech is reserved for my girl—my fucking fiancée—so I settle on the middle finger.
He laughs, along with the rest of the room.
“I brought beignets.” Gage holds up a party-size white bag of pastries as he glances at Axel, gesturing to the waiting area. “We want to get back to Ty, Rena, the babies, and the rest of the fam. Thought I’d update you, but … you want to take this out there?”
Axel considers that for a beat, but when he peers at me, I shake my head. I want to sleep and spend time with Tessa, but Ineed to know what’s going on. She won’t be safe unless both the Lunds and the Makarovs are gone, which is a terrifying thought since breathing is currently excruciating. I hate not being able to protect her myself.
“You can speak here,” Axel tells him, but then he eyes Dr. Landry and his nurse. “You need to leave for this. Is he good for a few minutes?”
Dr. Landry huffs a humorless chuckle. “Not that any of you will listen to me, but he should not have all these people in here or be agitated. He needs to rest.”
“Understood,” Axel returns, respectfully dismissing his expert opinion. “We’ll call you if we need you.”
The good doctor and his nurse leave, Cash and Jax cart some extra chairs into the room, and Gage utilizes that time to pass out his treats, get himself a cup of coffee, and help himself to a couple of the beignets.
“The Big Guy always brings snacks.” Liam chuckles, but he makes himself comfortable with his own pastry.
And I get a bare-bones briefing on where we stand. They start by updating me on Hunter’s motivations, which explains a lot. I still hate the guy for disrespecting Tessa when they were together and making her second-guess her choices, but I admire his commitment to protecting her and Violet. I’m sure there was quite a bit of self-preservation mixed in there too.
“Earlier”—Tessa turns to Gage—“Jax asked about why Shane didn’t tell the Makarovs I’d killed Niko, if he knew, but we never got to the answer.”
