“I did,” I confess evenly. “We all did.”
Her face shifts, concern flickering in her eyes immediately. “Jagger?—”
“It’s handled,” I assure her, tightening my grip a little. “Allof it.”
She searches my face, reading between the lines like she always does. I don’t wait for her to put the pieces together.
“They knew Aegis is based out of Chicago,” I continue. “And with the assets Maryam’s family has, the consensuswas it wasn’t safe to leave loose ends. For you. For her. For all of us.”
Her jaw tightens. “So… they’re not a threat anymore.”
“No,” I state simply. “They’re not.”
I watch her reaction closely, worried that she might not approve. That the lines we cross in the name of work are far too far for her. She exhales, slowly and a little shaky, then nods once but doesn’t ask for details.
I pull her back in and press my lips to the top of her head, holding her there longer than necessary before asking, “How was the interview?”
She snorts.
I push away softly, confused by her answer. “What?”
“I threw up in his office.”
I blink at her. “… I’m sorry.” I mean it—genuinely—because I know how much that clinic mattered to her. “I’m sure you can find another place like it.
She looks up at me, lips twitching into a smile. “I got the job.”
I’m shocked. Not that she got the job—she’s amazing—but that it happened after that unfortunate turn of events. “You—what?”
“I got the job,” she repeats, smiling so broadly her cheeks puff out. “He offered it to me anyway.”
“That’s.” I laugh, the sound bursting out of me before I can stop it. “That’s amazing.”
“And…” she hums. “And I’m pregnant.”
The world stops, every sound fading into a dull hum, like I’ve been dropped underwater. I stare at her, my brain scrambling to catch up.
For half a second, my body reacts before my mind does.Pregnant. My baby already growing inside her belly.Feral possession triumphantly rears up in my chest because this is something I’ve imagined more times than I’ll admit. Her body carrying mine, permanently tying her to me.
I laugh again, louder this time, a disbelieving sound ripped straight from my chest. My hands come up to her face, and I tenderly cup her cheeks in my palms. “Are you serious?” I breathe.
“Two lines.” She nods, eyes shining. “Veryundeniable.”
Something in me cracks wide open.
I pull her back into me so fast she gasps, wrapping her up completely, lifting her off the floor as I spin us before setting her down carefully. My hands slide tenderly over her, pressing flat to the belly that is going to grow round with our baby. “I’m scared,” she admits. “But… I’m happy. I didn’t expect to bethishappy.”
“I know,” I exhale, pressing my lips lightly to her forehead. “I can feel it.”
She pulls back enough to look up at me, eyes bright and sure. “We’re really doing this.”
“Yeah, Doc. We are.” I smile, slowly, before leaning down and brushing my lips against her ear. “I should probably warn you,” I add, my voice deepening, playful andunmistakably suggestive, “I knowexactlyhow to celebrate this.”
She laughs, full and unrestrained, swatting lightly at my chest. “Jagger!”
“I love you,” I blurt on an exhale. I didn’t plan to say it, and it definitely doesn’t come on the tail end of a grand romantic gesture. It spills out of me, like my heart finally gave up trying to hold it in. My hand is warm over her belly, feeling the life there—ourlife—something in me locks into place. “I love you. I want to spend every part of my life with you. The loud days, the hard ones, and the soft mornings when we don’t say much at all. I want to grow a family with you, filling a home with love. I want everything. I want the rest of my life to be you.”
“I love you,” she echoes, steady and sure, without hesitation, as she stares up at me. “I want forever, too, Daddy. With you.”
