“Count his toes,” he repeated.
I looked at the nurse and noticed she wasn’t the only one staring, but all of the NICU nurses had gathered around and were watching us. I looked back at Riggs and saw my mother and brother standing behind the glass window witnessing this moment.
“Go ahead,” he urged.
I unwrapped the blanket from Eric’s feet, blinded by tears that I tried to blink away before setting my eyes on the ring that dangled from my son’s big toe.
“Oh, my God,” I whispered, looking back to Riggs. “Is this what I think it is?”
“I’m going to make a hundred mistakes, but I promise I’ll fix them. I’ll always fix them. I know I’m not your plan, but I’ll make the detour worth it. We’ll make new plans, and you’ll dream…please keep dreaming. I want to make all your dreams come true, starting with a family. We already are a family but I want to make it official,” he insisted.
“You want to make an honest woman out of me?” I joked through my tears.
“I want to make you my woman,” he corrected. “Marry me, Kitten, be Mrs. Tiger.” I laughed, earning another smile, the kind that reached his eyes…my favorite one.
“I love you, Lauren Bianci, so goddamn much,” he added.
“I love you too,” I replied, watching as he gently lifted the ring from Eric’s toe, laughing when the baby curled his toe and held the ring hostage for a second. He slipped the ring onto my left hand before he looked back at me.
“Tell me it’s a yes.”
“Yes! Of course,” I exclaimed.
“I knew you’d say yes,” he grinned, pointing his thumbs toward himself. “How could you say no? This is all yours now.”
“I got news for you, Tiger. It was always mine and it would still be mine with or without the ring.” It was my turn to wink and grin back at him. “But the ring is a nice touch and the baby? Is the best bonus.”
“Good, glad you feel that way. I want more.” He said seriously, as he rose to his full height. “I’m thinking five or six.”
“Five or six kids?” I questioned. My eyes widening in disbelief—I’m pretty sure my uterus twitched violently at the thought.
“Yeah,” he tipped his head over his shoulder toward my mother. “Think she’ll move in and watch them when we need alone time? You know, when we feel like playing drop the pencil or just the tip?”
“You want my mother to move in?”
He waved at my mother and brother through the glass, giving them a thumbs up.
“Shit, Kitten, I’m joking. You Bianci’s are a shitload of fun to fuck with,” he said with a chuckle, turning back to me and kissing me softly. “Who would’ve thought I’d be marrying a Bianci?” He whispered against my mouth, pulling back to kiss Eric’s head.
“I bet Bones did,” I whispered.
“He’d be so fucking proud right now,” he said, as he looked down at our son. “Best thing I ever did was listen to him.”
Thank you, Bones.
The End.
Epilogue
The thing about finding your heart is knowing that you now have something valuable, something worth more than any dollar in a trust fund, and with that knowledge comes the urgent need to always protect your heart.
One month ago Sun Wu tried to take my heart from me.
Stupid fucker.
But tonight he’d be a dead fucker because tomorrow my family was coming home and before they step foot outside that hospital it’s my job to ensure their safety.
To settle the score once and for all.
For the first time since the shooting, I parked my bike in front of the Dog Pound and killed the engine before removing my helmet. I glanced over to the spot where both Bones and Lauren had been shot and the memories came rushing back. Her frightened eyes as she begged me to choose Pea, and Bones’ short breaths as he bled out beside her.
The memories gave me a burst of adrenaline, making me even more certain that tonight was the night I’d live up to the promise I made to Bones.
I shook my head, trying to shake the memories as I pulled opened the door and heard the boisterous sounds of my brothers as they prepared for war.
I missed that fucking sound.
“Get your dick out of your ass, boy, and suit up,” Wolf told Stryker, slapping him upside the head before dropping a bullet-proof vest on his lap.
“Well, look who it is,” Pipe shouted over their voices as his eyes met mine.
The room grew silent as they all turned around and looked at me as I walked further into the clubhouse, my eyes catching the cut that hung behind the bar in a frame.
I didn’t have to look at the patch to know it was Bones’—the blood still stained parts of the patches. I locked eyes with Jack, who stood behind the bar, lining up a row of shot glasses.
“Nice to see your pretty face,” Pipe said, breaking the tension that filled the room.
I tore my eyes away from Jack and looked back at the rest of my brothers.