Page 48 of Gideon

“I love Haley. I’ll never let anyone harm her,” I said, meeting her gaze and wondering how much to reveal. “The lawyer is dead. The FBI found his body in the river—he was shot in the head.”

“That’s awful. But I’m glad he got Mike out before they killed him. He worked for the devil and knew his time would come sooner or later.”

The doctor entered the room, glancing at me. “You forgot to call me,” he said.

“Sorry, I did forget.”

“I’m sure you were just excited to see your fiancée awake.”

I winked at Laney to see if she caught the “fiancée” comment. “She’s the love of my life. Laney is my heart, and I love her more than anything.”

“I love you, too,” she said, her eyes welling with tears. I stood up, walked over, and kissed her.

“You’re walking?”

“Just a few steps at a time.”

The doctor smiled. “Okay, let me finish examining Laney.” Thirty minutes later, he nodded in satisfaction. “You can go home tomorrow if you take it easy. No running down the beach.”

“I promise.”

“Good. I’ll let the nurses know you’re cleared to leave in the morning.”

“Thank you.”

I sat on the bed and pulled her into my arms. “Laney Dean, I love you. Will you marry me?”

“You want to marry me? What about the mob?”

“I don’t give a damn about them. Raven and the team are handling it right now.”

“Yes, I’ll marry you. But not until James is out of the picture. I want my dad to give me away, Georgia as my bridesmaid, and Haley and Ellie to carry our rings. Am I being ridiculous?”

“No, I want everything you want. I want photos of everyone at our wedding. This will be the start of our new life. We’ll leave our children and grandchildren an inheritance of love and memories. Let’s have a big family.”

“I want five more kids—six in total. What do you think?”

“I think that’s perfect. We’ll start as soon as you’re feeling better.”

She grinned. “I almost feel better now. Can we call Raven and check on things in Chicago?”

“No, we’ll wait for him to call us. We never want a phone’s ring or buzz to give away their position.”

“You and Raven need safer jobs.”

“Sweetheart, our job is as safe as anyone’s.”

“Not as safe as mine,” she teased.

“I’m glad your job is safe, but don’t forget you’re often in the middle of a lake. What if your boat breaks down?”

“My old boat broke down all the time. I always carried oars so I could paddle back to shore.”

“That’s smart.”

She giggled. “Once, I swam to shore while towing the boat with a rope. My arms were sore for weeks.”

“You’re all muscle. Do you work out?” I asked. Somehow, we ended up lying next to each other, her head on my chest.

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