Page 83 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 4

“Thank God. That was a nightmare. None of that went as planned.” He eased back and cupped my cheeks, wiping my tears as they fell.

“You’re hurt.” He took in my battered face, tracing my swollen cheekbone. “If he weren’t already dead, I’d kill him myself. I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” he breathed, his expression tortured.

I put my hand over his on my cheek and nuzzled into it even though it hurt to do so. “I’m okay. What happened to Damon?”

That’s when Rhodes gave me his first smile. It was glorious in its beauty.

“He’s been charged with one count of murder for the security guard, two counts of attempted murder on you and your mom, and that doesn’t include whatever they find in those drives your mom pulled out of the safe. I suspect he’ll be in jail for the rest of his life. And cherry on top, the feds are now involved and investigating their entire outfit, their past cases, the whole lot of them are fucked royally.”

I sobbed in relief. “So as long as Mom comes out of this okay, she and my siblings are free and clear to live their lives.”

“Yeah. The feds are on their way to interview you and Buddy. One of my lawyers is parking the car he drove us here in and will be right up to provide you both with legal counsel.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head against his chest over his heart, letting his heartbeat soothe me. “Thank you, Rhodes.” My voice shook. “Thank you for saving me. For saving them. For all of it. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you.”

He cuddled me close. “That’s what we do for the people we love. Anything and everything possible to ensure their safety. And no repayment is necessary. We’re family.”

I glanced over at my brother and sister. Zach was cuddling Maisie, whispering softly to her.

“Yeah, we are. Speaking of, did you talk to Emily?”

Rhodes’ entire body went stiff. “Fucking Portia. She can’t do the right thing for one damn weekend. I’m done. Emily’s done. I talked to her on the way here from the station. She’s hurt, but for some reason, her entire focus is on planning our wedding. She briefly told me about Portia bailing on her, then asked if I would be willing to wear a brown tux.”

I grinned and sighed. “She was sad, I redirected that sadness to helping plan the wedding.”

“You realize we were already supposed to be married by now. Based on the marriage contract,” he whispered into my ear.

I shrugged. “I don’t care about any of that, or the money. As long as you love me and continue to help my family, none of the rest matters. I want to marry you because you’re the best man I know. The man I want to love and cherish for the rest of my life. Not because of some stupid piece of paper.”

Rhodes held me close and laughed deeply. “Me, too, Maia. I’m so glad to hear you say that. I want to do right by you. Give you the wedding of your dreams.”

I chuckled and patted him over his heart. “We have time for that. On our terms. I just want you, Emily, Mom, Zach, Maisie, and a few friends and family like Alana and Christophe. Speaking of…have you heard from Alana since we left?”

He shook his head. “Last I heard they were leaving their French estate to go to a safe house. With everything that’s happened, I haven’t checked back in.”

“And neither of us have heard from them?” I frowned.

“No,” he shook his head. “I’ll check in later. Tell me about your mom.”

Gooseflesh rose on my skin as I gave him the short version of what the doctor shared.

“Come on, let’s have a seat,” Rhodes encouraged, bringing me over to where my siblings were settled.

“Glad you’re back, Rhodes,” Zach stated. “What’s going to happen now? Did they arrest Dad? What about Derrick?”

I glanced at Rhodes, my entire being preparing to share the good and bad news with my brother and sister while we waited to hear if our mother was going to make it.

* * * *

I was awakened by a soft tap on my shoulder.

“Maia, the surgeon is here to update us,” Rhodes whispered close to my ear.

I blinked away the sleep, realizing that I had been leaning against Rhodes. I looked to my right to find Maisie asleep against Zach who was alert and completely awake.

A woman wearing light blue scrubs approached. She looked tired, but her corresponding smile was all I needed to see to know everything was going to be okay.

“Your mother did very well. It was touch and go for the first couple hours, but she’s strong. We removed the bullet and repaired the damage and stopped the internal bleeding. We extracted her gallbladder. She will have some dietary restrictions and bedrest for the next few weeks, but she is expected to make a full recovery.”

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