Chapter 48
This job doesn’t always follow the clock, and I’m home hours earlier than expected.
The op wrapped up cleanly. We—the Aegis team—are apparently very efficient when it comes to certain lines of work.
We were wheels-up the moment we were done, and the wind was on our side, making our flight just a little shorter than it should’ve been.
I probably should’ve called, but it’s been days since I’ve seen Blake and I want to surprise her.
Standing in the open threshold of the front door, I am covert and silent.
Accidental occupational hazard. Blake is in the kitchen, barefoot, wearing one of my hoodies and a pair of leggings, with her hair pulled up in a messy knot that’s barely holding.
The door closes behind me, and the metallic click of the latch clangs through the apartment. Surprise ripples up her spine as she jumps. She yelps, spinning around so fast she nearly drops the mug in her hands. “Jesus! Jagger! You scared the shit out of me.”
Yup, definitely surprised.
“I’m sorry,” I say immediately, holding up both hands in mock surrender. “I wanted to surprise you, not make you have a heart attack.”
Her hand is pressed to her chest, eyes wide, breath coming a little quick. The fear quickly wanes from her whole body, it softens and melts into something that looks like happiness. “You’re early!”
“By a few hours,” I acknowledge. “The job went smoothly. We were done quickly. In and out.”
Stepping toward her, I catch the faint scent of peppermint tea and toast. I suspiciously eye the cup because Blake is not a tea drinker. “I can’t figure out your complicated coffee maker. This is just to tide me over until I brush my hair and walk down the block.”
That makes much more sense.
“Our complicated coffee maker,” I correct. “I brought you something.”
Her eyes light up immediately. “You did?”
I reach into my jacket pocket, carefully pull it out, and place it in her hands. “I thought you’d want this back.”
The photo catches the light. The one I found the first time I visited her apartment, uninvited.
The one of her between her parents, her smile wide and unguarded, her dad’s arm slung proudly around her shoulders, and her mom leaning in close.
They look happy, untouched by the sadness they don’t yet know is coming.
Her breath catches, and she stares at it for a long moment before looking up at me with tear-filled eyes. She presses the photo to her chest like she’s giving a tiny embrace to the people in it. “Thank you.”
I can feel the weight of her gratitude as she places it on the counter with care. On her tiptoes, she flings her arms around my neck and places a kiss against my lips. I instinctually wrap my arms around and pull her from the ground and into me as I breathe her in.
“This… this means so much to me,” she says, muffled against my collarbone. “I thought it was going to be lost to me forever.”
I can’t help but smile into her hair. This moment was worth the extra twenty-five minutes we spent on the ground.
Blake pulls back enough to look at me, confusion knitting her brow. “Wait. How did you…?” Her eyes widen slightly. “You would’ve had to go back to Jadiriah.”
“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. “All of 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 consensus was 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. “Very undeniable.”
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 be this happy.”
“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 and unmistakably suggestive, “I know exactly how 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—our life—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.”
With my head dipped, I press my lips to hers, sealing the vow we already know is unbreakable.