Page 7 of A Killer's Heart

All my fear and anxiety melts as I admit, "I love you, too." I can taste the alcohol on his breath as he kisses me, but I don’t care. As we lose ourselves in each other, the nightmare I felt trapped in only hours prior fades, and I know I’ll be okay as long as I have Smith.

"This isn’t over yet, but I want you to know when it is, I'll give you the life you’ve always wanted." Honestly, I’m not even sure what that would be, I just know that it has Smith in it.

Chapter 8

Smith

Lawson calls from Seattle, letting me know they took out someone that fell for the fake trail. I let him know Quinn did as well. "You’ll be hearing from Duke, Porter, and Griffin soon, too. They’ve texted the past week to inform me of the same thing."

"They all dead?" I ask, though I’m sure of the answer.

"Fewer assassins in the world couldn't hurt," he responds in confirmation. This news, along with Novak and Maddox getting rid of their own, shows me how desperate the Donald family is to have Poppy dealt with. I thank him for the update and he warns me Foster is coming to offer assistance, and bringing Annabelle as she wants to help Poppy. I’m tempted to deny that I need Foster, but having a brawler like him isn’t a bad idea. And his wife would keep Poppy focused on anything other than the shit show surrounding us.

"I'll let Boden know."

"Have you heard from Luka?"

I shrug, though he can’t see it, and remind him, "He has his country under control. Nobody would take the bid at the risk of getting on his bad side."

"We'll continue to keep our eyes open. Call if you need anything." And with that, he hangs up and I lean back in my chair to glance around Boden’s office. We’ve been here a month and things have been quiet. Which bothers me, the whole calm before the storm thing. It gives you a false sense of security, making you relax, and that’s when they strike.

Poppy’s due date is getting closer, and she grows more beautiful every day. With each ultrasound we see, my eagerness to meet our daughter strengthens. She looks so perfect in the sonograms, and I just know she’s going to take after her mom and the thought of boys being interested in her already terrifies me.

"Still slumming it in here I see," Boden says from the doorway.

I retort that it’s too pompous for my tastes. "What happened to the man that’d give orders out of a Bourbon Bar? You traded that for this hideous monstrosity?"

"I rather like it. I've never lived in a place larger than six hundred square feet."

"And now you have five thousand," I state as he sits across from me. Flicking me off, he asks how Poppy’s doctor appointment went yesterday.

"It went well,” I assure him. “The baby is strong and healthy. I can’t thank you enough for putting us up. She’s enjoying it here despite the circumstances.”

"It's a beautiful thing you have. Don't lose it," he warns me, voice thick from the pain of his own experience as he glances at the photo on his desk of Finley that’s almost a decade old. Finley is wearing a white dress with long sleeves and made of lace. It’s from their wedding when she was just eighteen. Her death tore Boden up and he’s never been the same. He doesn’t speak of her, shutting down if anyone else tries. It’s too hard for him. I promise that I’ll do everything within my power to ensure that I don’t. "You love her," he declares, not even bothering to phrase it as a question, though I answer as if it is.

"More than anything."

"Took you by surprise, huh?” He whispers. “Life has a way of doing that.” I nod in agreement, then exchange goodbyes as he leaves for a meeting. As I haven’t seen Poppy since early this morning, I go in search of her, feeling bad that she’s been cooped up in the house. I find her in the living room, hand resting on her belly while she reads. She peeks up when she hears me and gives me a smile, asking how it went. Before her, I never had anyone to talk about my day with. I tell her everything, knowing she’s truly interested, she doesn’t judge me, and she’s always honest with me.

When I tell her about some of the killers that were after us, and Lawson’s sentiment on it, she reminds me that not all assassins are bad men. That makes me laugh as I rub her feet, knowing they’ve been hurting her lately, and declare, “You’re the only person who thinks that.”

"Doesn't make me wrong," she retorts as she sets her e-reader down and stares at me. I know what that means. She wants something. When I ask what she needs, she admits, “I want to explore New Orleans. I’ve never been here before and haven’t left the house since we arrived.”

"It's not safe."

She pouts, pointing out, "Even with all of Boden's firepower and him controlling the city? We could wear disguises." That makes me smirk, then she pleads with me and I can’t say no.

"Okay," I agree and she squeals in delight as I help her stand. “Go get ready. We leave soon,” I tell her, needing time to inform Boden’s men. Poppy gives me a quick kiss and goes to our room. I know I’m going to regret this, and two hours later, I am. Thankfully, it’s not because she’s in danger, but due to the fact I am. She’s dragged me to every baby store we see. I urged her to get whatever she wanted, telling her I’d pay for it. That upset her at first, but I reassured her I had more than enough and have hardly used any of it. Hell, she can have it all if she wants it. When she’s finally done, I arrange for the bigger purchases to be delivered and pack the rest in the SUV we’re using. We’ll more than likely still be here when the baby is born, so we do need to prepare for that. After depositing the bags, we proceed, where I promptly take her into a jewelry store and tell her to choose. Clearly, I suck at romantic gestures.

"What?" She asks in confusion.

"A ring. And don’t forget you’ll be wearing it for the rest of your life.” She’s clearly shocked and double-checks to make sure she understood me correctly. “Well, make it a wedding set. We should get mine, too.”

"Is this your way of asking me to marry you?”

"We love each other and we’re having a baby together." Taking her hands, I bring them to my mouth and place a kiss on each. “I’ve never been good with words, but I love you, Poppy. I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than to spend the rest of it with you.” When she bursts into tears, I feel the eyes on me, the strange looks as they wonder what I did.

"I'm sorry,” she apologizes. “I'm overwhelmed and emotional." I’m nervous as I wait for her answer, and when she gives it to me, I bring her body to mine and kiss her. “Yes!”

---