Isaak shakes his head, laughing. “I’m going to get Alara and tell everyone that you unfortunately survived, and we still have to put up with you,” he jokes.
“Take your time. I need a moment alone with this angel sitting at my bedside,” Josiah says, reaching up to touch my face.
Isaak grins, shaking his head as he walks away.
“I heard your voice,” he whispers.
“I was so scared,” I whisper back.
Tears of relief spill from my eyes and onto him as I lean over the bed. He shifts himself, moving carefully so that he can sit up. “Hey, come here,” he says, pulling me onto the bed next to him.
He wraps his arm around me even though I’m sure it must hurt him.
“Everything worked out fine,” he smiles softly as he strokes his hand down my back.
I sit up, looking him in the eyes. Those beautiful, dark blue eyes.
“Josiah, I’ve wasted so much time being afraid. I don’t want to do it anymore.”
His face falls, stress lines forming around his eyes. “You want to go? You want to take the girls somewhere safe? I understand…” he says with strain.
“No! No! Not that at all! I’m tired of being afraid of loving you. I’m tired of pretending I don’t need or want you. I can’t live without you, Josiah. You are my entire world. You are my other half. We were always meant to be together, and I forgive you for pushing me away, because I understand it. But I am choosing to stay. I love you!”
I can’t believe my eyes when a tear falls down his cheek. He laughs, embarrassed as he quickly wipes it away.
“You have no idea what you have done to me by saying those words. My love. My angel. My baby. My everything!”
He drags me into his arms again, holding me so tightly I can barely breathe. I bury my face in the curve of his neck and take in the scent of him.
“I love you. I can’t even stop loving you, and you’ll see—we are going to have the most beautiful life together. You, me, our beautiful little girls.”
“These beautiful girls?” Alara says, standing in the doorway.
“Daddy!” Kira shouts, running towards the bed. Isaak moves like lightning to snatch her midair as she tries to jump onto Josiah.
“Daddy hurt himself yesterday, and you can’t jump on him,” he explains, holding her at arm’s length while she tries to wiggle free.
“Be gentle, Kira, Daddy hurt himself!” Kelsey demands, climbing very slowly onto the bed and crawling to his side to snuggle against him.
“Why did you hurt yourself?” Kira asks, sounding annoyed that he would do something so stupid.
Isaak swings Kira around playfully. “One day I will tell you the story about how your dad saved me from a baddie,” he says.
“A baddie! Like Blue Slink?” Kira says, referring to the cartoon we have watched nine times now.
“Exactly like Blue Slink!” Josiah says, holding out his arm to invite Kira to snuggle up as well.
She moves with so much caution that we all start laughing.
After the girls have said hello, Alara ushers them out to make their dad some food, pancakes with syrup and butter.
Isaak sits in a chair in the room with us.
“Did you see Anton Radev?” he asks. “While you were looking for me?”
“We searched everywhere. We ended up taking down every single one of his known locations here in Chicago. Burned them to the ground. But there was no sign of him,” Josiah says tensely.
“So, he’s still out there?” Isaak groans.
