Bodyguard's Baby Surprise

by Lisa Childs

  He needed to make sure she was all right. But more important, he needed to make certain she knew that he loved her. That he had always loved her—he’d just been too scared to admit how much she had meant to him: everything.

  Penny pushed him back against the bed. “You need to rest, Nick. You were in surgery for hours.”

  So where was Annalise? Had she given up on him?

  After all these years of loving him, had she finally changed her mind? Had he waited too long to tell her he loved her, too?

  “If she wasn’t shot,” he said, “why isn’t she here?” Images flashed through his mind. He remembered the way Darren Snow had shoved her to the ground. Had it been hard enough to hurt her? To hurt the baby?

  Dread washed over him. “It’s the baby, isn’t it?”

  Penny squeezed his hand again. “Nick...”

  He kicked at the sheet again, and this time he managed to swing his legs out of the bed. “I have to be with her. Have to make sure she’s okay.”

  If she’d lost the baby, she would be devastated. Hell, he would be, too. But he was more worried about her.

  “Why, Nick?” Penny asked. “Why do you have to be with her?”

  Had the woman lost her touch? Usually she understood what was going on with people before they understood it themselves. How could she not know what he had just realized?

  “Because I love her,” he said. “I love her!”

  “You could sound a little happier about it,” a soft voice remarked.

  Penny didn’t look surprised at the sound of Annalise’s voice. She must have known she had come into the room. She smiled and stepped back from the bed. “I’ll leave you two alone,” she said. “You need to talk.”

  But Nick couldn’t talk. Maybe he was paralyzed—because all he could do was stare at the woman he loved. She looked so beautiful, more beautiful than he had ever seen her.

  * * *

  The way he was staring at her made Annalise uneasy. “Are you okay?” she asked. Maybe she needed to call his doctor. He didn’t look right, more like dazed. Maybe it was the drugs.

  Maybe that was why he’d said what he had. That he loved her.

  Dare she believe him?

  “Nick?” Instead of going for a doctor, she stepped closer to the bed. She had been so worried that she’d lost him. That he wouldn’t survive the shots he’d taken.

  He blinked as if snapping out of a trance. And now he looked at her as if he were truly focusing. His gaze ran over her tangled hair and down her bloodied clothes. And he reached out for her, pulling her into his arms.

  She tried to hold back. She didn’t want to hurt him.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart,” he said, his voice gruff with emotion. “We can have another baby.”

  Another one? What was he talking about?

  “I know you’re upset, but we have each other. We’ll get married—”

  “What?” The doctor had said she was in shock—that was why she’d been so cold, so out of it in the waiting room. It must not have worn off yet. “Why are you talking about getting married?”

  He must have known it didn’t matter to her what Gage had said. Annalise wouldn’t have let her brother force him to marry her.

  “I love you,” he said.

  And she was as shocked as the first time she’d heard him say it. Was she dreaming? Had she fallen asleep in the waiting room and she was only imagining that she was here—in his arms? She slid her arms around his neck. He felt real to her. Warm and strong despite having been shot.

  He tightened his arms around her, pulling her closer yet. “I want to marry you because I love you. So it doesn’t matter that you lost the baby. We’ll have another—”

  Finally realization dawned, and she pressed her fingers over his lips. They were dry beneath her touch. He’d been through so much. No wonder he was confused. “I didn’t lose the baby.” And as if to prove it, their son kicked.

  Amazement and relief brightened Nick’s eyes as he felt it. “You didn’t.” He pulled back and stared down at her clothes. “But the blood.”

  “It’s yours,” she said. “From the park...” And it might have been Darren Snow’s, too.

  “I don’t know what happened,” he said. “You fell and the gunfire began. Is everyone okay?”

  She nodded. “Your family took out the snipers Darren Snow had on the rooftops. He was the one who shot you.”

  “What happened to him?” he asked.

  “He’s dead.” She shuddered as she remembered how he’d stared up at her with such surprise.

  Nick pulled her close again. And he noticed her wrist. The doctor had wrapped the sprain. That—and the shock—had been her only injury. Now his eyes widened with shock as he realized how she’d hurt her wrist—from the recoil from the old gun. “You shot him?”

  She shrugged. “I shot that gun. But I don’t know if it was my shot that hit him.” Gage claimed that he’d done it—from one of the rooftops. But she didn’t know if he was telling the truth or only trying to make her feel better. He understood her well enough to know that she would struggle with having killed a man.

  But she wasn’t sure that she would. Nick was alive. That was all that mattered. That and the fact that he loved her.

  “And now I love you even more,” he remarked. “There’s something I want to ask you.”

  He had already said they were getting married. But if he wanted to propose properly, she wasn’t going to stop him. Smiling she asked, “Yes?”

  “Why do you love me?”

  And she laughed.

  “I’m serious,” he said.

  Realizing why he was asking, pain constricted her heart. Now she knew why he had pushed her away, why he had never accepted her love. He hadn’t believed anyone could love him.

  “You are the most amazing man,” she told him. “You were amazing even when you were just a boy. You have such honor and integrity. You always want to do the right thing. You always want to protect everyone else.”

  And maybe that was why he’d spent so many years pushing her away. He’d wanted to protect her.

  “I didn’t think I deserved your love,” he said. “I didn’t think I was worthy of it.”

  “Nick...”

  “My own mother couldn’t love me,” he said.

  “She was an addict,” she reminded him.

  “She was all I had.”

  Annalise shook her head. “You had me.”

  He clasped her closer. “I’m so sorry I didn’t realize how I felt sooner. I didn’t recognize it.”

  He didn’t recognize love because he’d never felt it before. Her heart ached for all he had missed. “I’m not the only one who loves you, Nick,” she assured him. “You have a family out there who is frantically worrying about you.”

  He smiled. “I’m sure Penny has assured them that I’m fine. Right now she’s probably getting them all fitted for tuxes for the wedding.”

  “It’s too soon to worry about fittings,” she said.

  “I’m marrying you as soon as I get out of the bed, Annalise.” And he tried to stand again.

  “I’ve spent my life waiting to marry you, Nicholas Rus,” she told him. “I think I can wait a little longer.”

  “I can’t. I want to marry you right away. I don’t want to waste another minute of time that I can be with you.”

  Tears stung Annalise’s eyes. She’d always known she’d loved Nick. But she hadn’t known Nick could love like this—as completely as she loved him.

  “Shh...” he murmured. “I don’t want you to cry.”

  “I’ve shed a lot of tears over you,” she admitted.

  He grimaced. “I don’t ever want to make you cry again.”

  She leaned forward and pressed h
er lips to his. They kissed softly, tenderly. He lifted his fingers to her face and wiped away her tears.

  “You’ll make me cry again,” she said. “Because these are happy tears. And you’ve made me so happy...”

  She’d thought all she’d wanted was for Nick to survive his gunshot wounds. She hadn’t realized how badly she’d wanted him to love her—until finally she had her wish. Her dream was realized.

  Nicholas Rus loved her as much as she loved him.

  “Make me happy,” he said.

  She tensed. “You’re not?” she asked. Of course, he was probably in pain. He’d just had surgery. She tried to pull back, but he held her tightly.

  “I will be,” he said, “when you finally agree to become my wife. Marry me, Annalise. Right now.”

  She laughed. “I guess I’m the one who will need to teach our son patience.”

  “You have been patient with me,” he said. “For so many years. That’s why I don’t want to wait. I don’t want you finally to give up on me.”

  “Never,” she assured him. “I will love you for the rest of our lives, Nicholas Payne.”

  “And I will spend the rest of our lives loving you.”

  * * *

  Nikki smiled with pride. Even though she worked for Cooper, Nick had given her another assignment. She would have thought it would have gone to Gage—who’d known him longest. Or to the FBI agent he’d roomed with in Chicago—Jared Bell. Or even to one of the brothers he’d just recently discovered. But she was the one he’d asked to be his best man.

  After all the times she had been a bridesmaid, it felt good finally to wear a tux instead of a damn dress. Her mother had been sad, though.

  Not about the marriage. She had been thrilled to throw together Nick and Annalise’s wedding. She had even been happy that Nikki was his best man.

  But she’d admitted that she wanted for Nikki what Nick had with Annalise. She wanted her daughter to be as happy as all her sons were.

  From her place at Nick’s side at the altar, Nikki stared out at everyone gathered in the church. It was good to see her brothers so happy—with women they’d made as happy as they were.

  But her mother stood alone—as she had for so many years. And Nikki realized that Penny needed to worry about herself instead of her. She was the one who needed to find someone to make her happy, someone who finally and truly deserved her.

  Nikki was happy. Her brothers were finally taking her seriously. She wasn’t going to be strapped to a desk anymore. She was going to do fieldwork.

  Probably.

  As soon as she was fully healed.

  It had been only a couple of days since the shoot-out at the storage units. She was surprised that Nick could even stand after the surgery on his back.

  But he stood tall and proud beside her, staring at the doors of the church. Music began to play, and everyone stood and turned toward the back—to Annalise starting down the aisle, holding on to her brother’s arm.

  Her parents hadn’t been able to get a flight out of Alaska in time for the service. But they would make the reception later.

  Annalise wore the same wedding dress so many other Payne brides had worn. Penny’s dress.

  It was lace and satin, very vintage and graceful. If Nikki ever married—and she doubted that would happen—she wouldn’t wear that dress. But Annalise looked beautiful in it. The empire waist hid the swell of her belly.

  Beside her, Nick gasped. And Nikki grabbed his arm in case he toppled over. He wasn’t in pain, though. He was in awe. “She’s so beautiful,” he murmured.

  “She is.”

  The kind of beautiful that radiated from the inside out. As she drew closer, it was clear to see that love radiated from Annalise, as well.

  She loved Nick with all her heart—the same way he loved her.

  Nikki felt a flash of envy for that kind of happiness. But she didn’t need love. All she wanted was to be taken seriously. She had that now—thanks to Nick.

  So she pushed aside that momentary lapse and focused on being the best man. She handed over the rings with a steady hand.

  Nick slid a diamond band on Annalise’s finger. She slid a silver band on his. They repeated their vows in strong, certain voices. They had no doubts—only love. They would love and honor each other forever.

  Epilogue

  Hours had passed since their wedding. It was all a blur to Annalise, a kaleidoscope of color and music and voices. But she remembered staring up into Nick’s handsome face as he pledged his love and devotion.

  She would never forget that. She would never doubt his love. He had given her his heart—like she had given him hers so many years before.

  Fingertips trailed over her naked skin. He hadn’t left her alone in bed this time. He lay next to her, staring at her in the moonlight. “I am the luckiest man in the world.”

  She laughed. “That’s the same thing your surgeon said.”

  A fraction of an inch to the left and the bullet would have paralyzed him. He had been so lucky.

  “You’re the reason I’m so blessed,” he said. His fingertips trailed over her belly now—where their son moved beneath his father’s touch.

  She smiled. “We both are.” She was so happy she felt almost guilty.

  Now Nick touched the furrow that had formed between her brows. “What? What are you worried about?”

  “Not us,” she assured him. She had no doubts they would be happy. “About Gage...”

  “He made it back,” Nick said. “Both physically and mentally. He’s doing great.”

  He was better. But he still wasn’t whole. It was as if a part of him was still missing. He’d lost something. And she suspected it wasn’t in Afghanistan. He’d lost something before he’d left: his heart.

  “I want him to be as happy as we are,” she said.

  Nick sighed and pulled her into his arms. Holding her close, he murmured, “Me, too...”

  * * * * *

  Look for the next thrilling installment in the BACHELOR BODYGUARDS series, coming soon!

  And if you love Lisa Childs, be sure to pick up her other stories:

  BODYGUARD DADDY

  THE AGENT’S REDEMPTION

  AGENT TO THE RESCUE

  AGENT UNDERCOVER

  THE PREGNANT WITNESS

  Available now from Harlequin!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from CONARD COUNTY SPY by Rachel Lee.

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  Conard County Spy

  by Rachel Lee

  Prologue

  The hotel room was opulent, befitting an important man, one on a diplomatic mission for his country. But there was not a diplomatic discussion taking place within its confines. Deadly business was on the table.

  The gray-haired man sitting near the window in a very expensive tailored suit looked at the dossier in his hands. He appeared to be extremely fit and when he moved, did so with fluid ease.

  The man who faced him was decades younger, dressed in much less expensive garb suitable to a government clerk. He was also a little nervous, no matter how calm he tried to be. He was the cover for the people helping the older man. They both knew it. They both also knew it could end badly for this young man if this meeting became known to the wrong people.

  The gray-haired man had a lot of experience judging people, and he knew that this one knew only what he needed to in order to complete this task. “So this is the one who betrayed me? Trace Archer?”

  “Yes, sir,” said the other. “We told you that several months ago.”

  “Where is he now?”

  “We sent him on his way to recuperate away from here. We’re tracking him.”

  “So you know where he is?”

  The younger man nodded. “What he did put you in great danger, General. My superiors understand.”

  “My man did a poor job of taking him out in Bulgaria. It will be harder here.”

  “It will be cleaner here. You know we value you highly. But if something happens to him on his trip, no explanations will be needed from anyone. That’s how we all want it.”

  The general put the dossier aside and went to stand at the window. “In Ukraine, the situation is very delicate. Now it is even more delicate because of this man.”