Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

JACOB

" T hank you, Vanessa," I say, standing up from the dining table, smiling at her and then Xavier, feeling like my heart is floating in my chest. I've just asked for her blessing. This morning, my woman told me about her conversation with her mom. Now, it's time to do the right thing—the only thing—and make the best choice of my life.

I leave her house, Rusty panting at me from the driver's seat, his head hanging out the window. His tag hangs proudly from his collar, glinting and silver. As usual, my woman was right when she said I'd keep him. I can't let the little guy go.

After scratching him on the head with a big smile on my face, I start the engine. Maybe it means there's still some darkness in me, the fact I can smile so widely after murdering four people within a few days, but I had my reasons. Since taking Rafael out, chaos has spread throughout his operations. We're saving more innocents every single day.

However, now, a question burns in my heart. A ring box presses through my pocket, burning against my leg. There were long, lonely years when I thought I'd never feel this level of commitment. I thought a man like me was too broken, but my woman healed me. She made it possible for me to reconnect with my mom and even contemplate retiring and saving what's left of my body and mind. She's shown me a path forward I never could've imagined before.

"Today's going to be a good day, boy," I tell Rusty.

I drive to the suburbs, pulling up outside a six-bedroom house with a Sold sign in the yard. That was a risky move, but the look on my woman's face tells me everything I need to know. She's wearing casual clothes, a shirt with her sleeves tied up in knots, faded jeans, her hair tied up and artistically sexy. "Uh, Jacob?"

"This is ours," I tell her.

Her voice squeals with excitement. "Jacob! How?"

I step from the car, walk to the passenger side, and open the door, pulling her into my arms. She springs up as I sweep her into my embrace, holding her tightly, knowing I'll never have to let her go.

"How do you think I could start my own company?" I ask. "In the military, I spent nothing and invested every penny. This is our money to build our life. I never had a reason to spend it, but now I do—on us and our future."

She blinks, her eyes glistening when my voice gets husky. I step back, feeling Rusty watching us, knowing he has a big old grin on his face. When I take a knee, she brings her hands to her face as if to catch her tears.

"I love you, Emma Wilson," I say, taking the ring box from my pocket and opening it to show her the glistening diamond. "I love you more than anything. I need you. I can't imagine life without you. Will you marry me?"

"Yes," she yells, letting out a trembling sob. "Oh my God , yes."

I take the ring from the box. It's a large cushion-cut rock set within an elegant platinum band. When I bought it, I was thinking curvy, like my woman.

"I love you," she whispers as I slide the ring onto her finger. "So much."

Standing, I pull her into a fierce hug. She clutches onto my sides.

"Would this be a good time to tell you I'm pregnant?" she whispers.

I didn't think my heart could get brighter than this. I take her by the shoulders and lean back, looking down at her. She smiles up at me, nodding. "I did a test earlier. It was positive. We're going to have a baby."

She looks uncertain for a moment, but surely she knew I wanted this. All those times, I took her perfect body with nothing separating us.

"This is the happiest I've ever been," I tell her, pulling her close again. "Outside my home. With my fiancé. With our future growing inside you. I love you, Emma."