Page 129 of Every Last Breath

She gritted her teeth and set down the phone.

Cole clutched her hand. “I caught the gist.” His eyes darkened. “This mole is a serious problem. I feel it in the marrow of my bones. Is it always like this, Mads? Your job, your life?”

Inwardly, she winced and braced for some caveman speech about how dangerous her job was and how she shouldn’t be putting her life on the line to get it done. “Yes.”

She watched his muscled chest expand as he took a deep breath like he was winding up to say something she didn’t want to hear.

“Mads—”

“Don’t say it. I don’t want to fight with you and I’m not quitting my job.”

His eyes softened, and he caressed her bruised cheek. “Marry me.”

Her breath stalled, thoughts spinning like a carnival ride.

“I love you. Till the day I die. I want to own my future. The only one possible, with you as my wife. I want to share everything with you, have a family.”

Family? A sudden flash of fear paralyzed her. “What if I can’t have children?” Pressure pounded in her head. “The doctor could’ve been wrong. I might not be able to carry a baby to term. I don’t even know how to squeeze a kid into my life. You shouldn’t be deprived of that.”

She’d sacrificed having a husband, children, happiness, because she’d believed her chance had died with him. But he was alive and should have everything.

“Look at me.” The unyielding hardness of his tone snatched her gaze. “If we have children, it’s because we both want to. We’d find a way to squeeze a kid into our life. Not like I can strap a car seat to a motorcycle. My living room is a freaking gym and I don’t own a dining room table. But we’ll make it work. Together. We’ll see a specialist.” He pressed his palm to her belly, and the touch brought tears to her eyes. “Or adopt. Or we’ll get dogs and spoil them rotten and be those crazy dog people.”

She laughed, letting the image wipe away the sadness.

“We’re going to build a home and a family together. No secrets in our house, no pretending. I’m not promising perfection, but I know we’ll create an atmosphere where we’re safe to be messy, happy, and honest.”

Belief didn’t waffle and creep up on her slowly. It dropped in her gut and detonated with certainty. But she didn’t want him to feel obligated.

“Are you sure you don’t want time to think about who I’ve become and what our lives will look like? Marriage is big. You’ve got me. You don’t have to propose right now.”

“Ask me why I chose Matthews as my last name when I ditched Reznikov.”

Okay, she’d bite. “Why?”

“Because I loved the sound of Maddox Matthews. It has a ring to it, don’t you think?”

A bittersweet smile touched her lips. Her heart swelled, full and light like a balloon, on the verge of bursting from love. A love that had survived against all odds.

“My soul knows yours,” he said. “My heart never stopped beating for you. You’re a phenomenal woman and this butt-kicking super agent—”

“Butt-kicking super operations officer.”

“It really doesn’t roll off the tongue, honey, so I’m sticking with agent. My point is you’re not going to bake cookies for the PTA. And you don’t have to. We’ll define our normal as we go, together. I want you as you are, Maddox. I love you now and always.” Those intense eyes sparkled. “I’m committed to us. No matter what. So, will you marry me?”

They’d never forget the past, all they’d both suffered, but they’d managed the hardest part—forgiveness. What they shared was real and rare. They were better together than apart, belonged to one another, and would find a way to create the life they wanted, even if it wasn’t going to be easy.

“Yes.” She kissed him hard. Quick pecks of joy on his cheeks, nose, along the jagged line of his scar from his brow to the corner of his mouth. “I love you. I want to be your wife.”

He pressed his forehead to hers and stared in her eyes. “For the next two days, I don’t want your mind on the Gray Box. Give me all of you, and I’ll support whatever you have to do.”

If the situation was reversed, she wasn’t sure she could be this understanding. Danger came with her job, and she wasn’t quitting. For him to recognize that and be so supportive meant the world. He was amazing.

The concern regarding Novak and the mole lingered, but Cole was this wonderful buffer. With him, she could get some much-needed space from the work that normally consumed her, compartmentalize her duty, and find balance.

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, tight and hard. If forty-eight hours of being completely focused on their future, on him, would earn his unconditional support in the monumental task ahead of her, ahead of them all, she was sold.

No negotiation necessary.