"You can stop pacing." Nancy laughed. "I think I just heard Maverick pull up."
I had been so lost in my thoughts that I almost missed the sound of a car door slamming. I rushed over to the living room window, and sure enough, Maverick was walking up the walkway. I made it to the front door just in time for him to throw it open.
"You're home." I practically jumped into his arms with no care that he would catch me. Of course he did though. There was no way he would ever let me fall.
"I am. I'm glad to know you're excited to see me."
"Tell me what happened?" I buried my face into his neck and begged.
"Let's say goodbye to Lex and Nancy. Then we can talk."
I had almost forgotten the two of them were still here. I spun around and caught Nancy smiling at the two of us.
Tucking me into his side, Maverick put his hand out to shake Lex's. "Thank you again for staying with her while I handled things."
Lex merely dipped his chin. I was glad to see it wasn't just me that he didn't speak to. Nancy, on the other hand, was happy to make up for her other half's lack of words. She pulled me into a hug and whispered in my ear. "Remember what I said. You can do this!" I stepped back and smiled at her.
Nancy gave Maverick a hug as well before her and Lex left. It wasn't until the door was closed that Maverick looked at me questionably. "What was Nancy talking about?"
"We'll talk about that later," I said as I dragged him over to the couch. "Right now, I want you to tell me what happened."
"There's not much to say. The threat is taken care of. You have nothing to worry about."
"Just like that? Everything's fine again? What about Ghost team?"
I could see the regret in Maverick's eyes. "You know I can't talk about them. They made that explicitly clear."
Well, didn't that just suck for me. "But you did get to meet them?"
"I did, and I'll forever be in their debt for what they did for us."
I sat back on the couch with a sigh. "So it's really over?"
"It is, and because of them, I didn't have to get blood on my hands."
I wasn't sure how that statement made me feel. I could only assume how they dealt with it was through murder, and I was relieved Maverick wouldn't have that on his conscience. But how did I feel about it?
"What's on your mind?"
"I'm just not sure how I feel about someone dying because of me."
Maverick took my hands in his. "It had to be done. He wouldn't have stopped until he ended your life. This might sound heartless, but I rather him dead than you and our baby."
That snapped me out of my mental spiral. "You're right. I would do anything to save our baby." It might be early in my pregnancy, but the maternal instinct to protect my child was strong already. If killing someone who wanted to take that away from me was what needed to be done, then so be it.
"Now are you going to tell me what Nancy was talking about?"
I chuckled. I should've known he wouldn't drop that so easily. "I had a bit of a revelation while you were gone."
"Is that so?"
I nodded my head.
"What kind of revelation?"
I took a deep breath. "I don't think I can ever get on board with marriage, but I would like to try and make a relationship work between us."
Maverick looked at me skeptically. "Are you just doing this because of the baby?"
