"I'll never make you run again."
She laughs, watery and broken. "You're a terrible liar."
"I know." I pull her close again, ignoring the pain, ignoring everything except the feel of her in my arms. "But I'm good at other things."
"Like almost dying?"
"Like loving you." I tilt her chin up so she can see my eyes. "Like spending the rest of my life making sure you never have to run again. Like building something with you that's worth protecting."
"Deck..."
"Marry me."
The words come out before I can stop them. Before I can think about timing or romance or the fact that I'm bleeding all over her and we're standing in the middle of a compound surrounded by my entire team.
But I don't take them back.
"What?" She stares at me like I've lost my mind. Maybe I have.
"Marry me. When this is over. When Castellano is behind bars and you're safe and we can actually plan a future instead of just surviving." I brush hair from her face with trembling fingers. "I know it's fast. I know we've only known each other a few weeks. But I almost died tonight, and the only thing I could think about was you. The only thing that kept me fighting was getting back to you."
"You're delirious from blood loss."
"Probably. Ask me if I still want to do this again when I'm lucid. The answer will be the same."
She searches my face, looking for doubt, for hesitation, for any sign that this is the trauma talking. She won't find it. I've never been more certain of anything in my life.
"Yes." The word is barely a whisper.
"Yes?"
"Yes, I'll marry you." She's crying again, but she's also laughing. "You impossible, stubborn, infuriating man. Yes."
I kiss her properly this time, deep and thorough, pouring everything I feel into it. She melts against me, her hands sliding up to cup my face, and for a moment the pain disappears. The fear disappears. Everything disappears except her.
Someone clears their throat behind us.
"Not to interrupt," Hayes says dryly, "but the boss is actively bleeding out, and I'd really like to get him on an operating table before he proposes to anyone else."
Vivian pulls back, her cheeks flushed. "Operating table?"
"The compound has a full medical suite," Mace says. "Cade's prepping now. We'll take care of him."
She looks at me, then at my shoulder, then back at me. The joy in her expression wars with concern.
"Go." I squeeze her hand. "Let them patch me up. I'll find you when I wake up."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
She kisses me once more, quick and fierce, then steps back to let Hayes and Mace guide me toward the medical building. I look over my shoulder as we walk, and she's still standing there, watching me go, her hand pressed to her heart.
The woman I love. The woman I'm going to marry.
The woman who ran eleven miles through the wilderness to save my life.
I'm the luckiest bastard alive.
