Page 180 of Don’t Say Mafia

“We’re getting married.”

Maddox stared at me, waiting for the punch line. “You just stabbed a man to death like a hundred times,” he said. “And before that, you nearly died.”

“Yes.”

“And your next logical thought,” Lawson added carefully, “is marriage?”

“Yes.”

I looked down at Eden again. “Eden,” I said quietly. Her gaze lifted to mine. “We’re getting married tonight.”

She blinked up at me.

“You don’t get a vote,” I added calmly. “I’m tying you to me in every possible way. Legally. Permanently. I’m dragging you there whether you like it or not.”

Maddox made a strangled sound, and Lawson rubbed a hand over his face. Eden still hadn’t said anything; she just stared at me as if her brain hadn’t caught up with the conversation.

Maddox started the SUV rolling toward the road. “Where exactly am I driving during this…impromptu kidnapping wedding?” he asked dryly.

“The Little Vegas Chapel.”

Maddox slammed on the brakes, and we all pitched forward. “You are not serious.”

“Drive.”

He stared at me in the mirror for another second before scoffing and accelerating onto the highway.

Lawson twisted around and held out a packet of wipes. “You could at least clean the blood off your face,” he said dryly. “And I’d take off some of that bloody tactical gear or you’ll have Elvis fainting at the sight of you before he can officiate.”

I took the packet and dragged one of the wipes across my cheek without looking away from Eden. She was still sitting stiffly in my lap, her hands resting against my chest. After a moment, I grabbed another wipe and brushed it gently across her face, too, wiping the damp tracks from her cheeks and beneath her eyes. She didn’t resist or even seem to notice what I was doing—she simply sat there and let me, her gaze fixed somewhere over my shoulder, distant and unfocused.

I tightened my arms around her and buried my face against her neck. She smelled like smoke and fear and something softer underneath that made my chest loosen just enough to breathe again. “Faster,” I snarled at Maddox.

He muttered under his breath about at least having a “fucking proper suit on” but pressed the accelerator down harder.

Lawson had already pulled his laptop onto his knees. “You know,” he said irritably while typing, “after everything I’ve done tonight, I think I deserve a considerable amount of appreciation.”

His fingers flew across the keyboard.

“I’ll shut the cameras off at the chapel,” he continued. “And since you’ll probably want them watching for this extremely stable decision, I’ll get Gage and Cruz on FaceTime from the hospital.”

He paused, then sighed. “Which, incidentally,” he added, “I also arranged—if anyone wants to thank me for saving everyone’s lives.”

Maddox snorted. “I helped,” he mused.

Lawson kept typing. “Yeah, but they already bring you along for things. I’m the one fighting for respect. Honestly,” he muttered, “the things I do for you people.”

Eden finally came to in the parking lot of the chapel.

She sat straight up in my lap like someone had yanked her awake with a defibrillator. Her eyes were wide, pupils blown, and she stared at me as if she was seeing me for the first time. “You were serious,” she gasped.

I met her gaze. “Deadly.”

Maddox twisted in the driver’s seat, looking back at us. Lawson did the same from the passenger side. Maddox cleared his throat. “We’ll just . . . be waiting outside,” he said lightly.

Lawson nodded once awkwardly. “Yeah. Take your time. Or don’t. Whatever.” They both climbed out fast, and the doors slammed behind them.

She continued to stare at me incredulously. “I can’t marry you,” she said finally as she scooted off my lap and into the seat next to me.