The Art of You

It was a lot to process. Like, a lot-a lot. Because even though we were all safe and okay, I’d been on the other side of someone’s screen for months. Watched by a madman. My every movement under the scrutiny of a predator. How does one just forget that?

We’d been rescued three hours ago, but without the drugs numbing me, it was hard not to remember the exchange with Keith, and his ugly words. His despicable actions.

I have to forget it, though. I have to. He wins if I let what he did hurt me.

“I should’ve killed him.” From the side of my hospital bed, Hudson was reading my thoughts. As always.

Refusing to be separated, Callie and I were in the same room, her bed right next to mine. Alessandro was currently pacing alongside her while we waited for the doctor to make an appearance and send us home.

I mean, physically I felt okay. The fact I’d been stalked and watched by a maniac would take more time to recover from. The man had defiled my privacy, and my bear. “No, I’m glad he’ll rot in his prison cell instead,” I finally answered him.

“He kissed you.” He bowed his forehead to our clasped palms, his angry tone jarring loose more emotions inside me.

I probably shouldn’t have told you that.

Hudson lifted his head, his sad eyes meeting mine, and I knew exactly what I had to do. What we all had to do. Get over what happened. Otherwise, guilt would suck us both into an ugly never-ending vortex of what-ifs, and we might lose our happily-ever-after to what-could-have-beens.

We were alive and safe. The past finally needed to take its place in our rearview.

“We’re going to get through this,” I promised. “Dad is okay. Awake and talking. Nothing can take that man down.” I forced a smile. “Even that AG is going to live. Only the bad guys were hurt.” I’d keep reminding all of us of the facts until we truly absorbed them as true. Baby steps, I supposed.

At the sight of the doctor finally joining us, Alessandro abruptly whipped around and rasped, “Tell me the baby is okay.”

Baby?

“Baby?” Callie echoed my thoughts aloud. “Wait, what? How do you . . .?”

“I found the test you took.” Alessandro reached for her hand and dropped into the chair next to her.

“It was positive?” She stared at him in shock. And well, she wasn’t the only one.

“I didn’t have a chance to see the results before they took me.” Callie looked expectantly at the doctor who just might hold the key to us truly letting go of the pain of what went down to move on to something happy and wonderful.

“Both of your bloodwork is good. And as for you, Mrs. Costa, your levels are excellent.” She smiled. “My guess is you’re about six weeks pregnant. You should make an appointment with your OBGYN when you leave here.”

The doctor’s words had Alessandro on his feet, bending over the bed to kiss his wife. Then he held her waist and lowered his mouth to her stomach over her hospital gown to kiss her there, too.

“We’re having a baby,” he said in a daze as he lifted his head, his glossy eyes on his wife. Tears fell as she cradled his face between her palms.

“See.” I sniffled. “Everything is going to be okay.” I rested my hand on top of Hudson’s that held my other palm, meeting his eyes.

He gave me a light affirmative nod that he was on board with my words, and I desperately needed him to be. No going back to any dark places allowed.

“Congratulations,” the doctor said after I did, then added, “You can see your father in a few hours. One at a time, though.” As she left the room, I caught sight of the governor, still hovering out there despite Hudson repeatedly telling him to take a hike.

The last thing on Hudson’s mind right now was any one-on-one time with his father.

At the sight of Constantine heading our way, wordlessly side-eyeing the governor, I sat taller in the bed. “Enzo call?” I’d take all the good news we could get.

Constantine closed the door, pretty much in the governor’s face. “Emergency C-section, but Maria and the babies are fine. We have two nephews.” He grinned from ear to ear in pride. It was adorable when the grump showed his softer side. “Aldo and Massimo. Enzo will FaceTime us when they’re in a room.”

Well then. Relief swelled in my chest, and I could truly breathe easily now. Screw Keith and what he did to me. I was stronger than him and what he did, dammit. We all were.

“I, uh, miss something here?” Constantine gestured with his phone back and forth between our beds, reading the room.

Plus, there was Alessandro still glued to his wife, half of his body on her bed as he continued to smother her with affection. “My wife is pregnant.”

The way that man said “my wife” had me anxious to hear the same from Hudson one of these days.

“Damn, wow, okay.” Constantine cleared his throat. “I’m happy for you.” He hugged the both of them, then turned my way, brows lifting. “Don’t tell me you have news, too.”

I laughed. “None that I can think of, no.”

His face muscles relaxed, and it was actually kind of comical.

“You can’t get pregnant quite that fast,” I teased, and Hudson squeezed my hand, a little, Don’t push your luck with him, embedded in his touch. Right. The idea of us being together-together was still new for my family.

Constantine stared at Hudson, eyes narrowing. “You may not have to worry about me anymore, but let’s not give our dad, who just survived two rounds, a heart attack, okay?”

“You have my word on that,” Hudson was quick to say. “I, uh, mean it this time.” He looked at me, giving me an innocent shrug. “Babies after marriage only.”

Marriage. Babies. We’d gone from being held hostage and nearly murdered to celebrating life and fresh starts in the blink of an eye.

It felt like yesterday I’d sold myself on the idea I needed to officially move on from Hudson, worried he’d never feel the same, and there he was looking like he just might drop to one knee any minute.

Before I could make any more comments or push my luck with my siblings, there was a knock at the door. Constantine opened up, letting in Adelina and Sydney. He also went for round two of blocking Hudson’s dad from joining with a lovely door to the face again.

“Thank you for your help. And please send my gratitude to Roman’s teammates, too,” I told them, then zeroed in on Adelina in particular. “Will Agent Clarke give you a hard time about what happened?”

“Clarke’s had a change of heart. Which is the only reason why I’m not going to ensure he gets strung up on charges himself for passing the AAR from Hudson’s op over to Kit,” Adelina answered. “He’s assured me the intel has all been destroyed, and she’ll be writing a retraction piece.”

“We believing him?” I asked, eyes on Hudson.

Hudson’s mouth tightened into a firm line, before he remarked, “I’m going to try. He didn’t stop us from doing what needed to be done, so.”

“At least the AG survived. Seems like, despite Keith’s best efforts to bring us down, the only ones that did die were the terrorists.” Adelina mirrored what I’d said not too long ago in my efforts to not fall victim to what I’d learned Keith had done.

“How’s that boy, by the way?” I asked at the memory. “Will he be okay?”

“Alfie’s team handed him over to his aunt who lives in Paris,” Hudson let me know. “Found out on the way to the factory, but I was a bit too focused on getting to you to process that development. The aunt seems stable. Safe. He should have a much better life with her and will hopefully not follow in his father’s footsteps.”

I let go of a sigh, one other thing I didn’t need to worry about. “Everyone and everything really turned out okay.” Maybe I’d need to repeat that a few hundred more times to believe it.

“Maybe not my ex-husband’s job at the Pentagon,” Sydney commented in a serious tone. “And he’ll have to do some major groveling after hiding what happened from me, but yeah, looks like everything worked out exactly how it was meant to.”

“Except one thing,” Hudson remarked, drawing my eyes.

“What’s that?” Constantine asked before I could.

“The exposé Green wanted shared with the world.” Hudson smoothed his free hand over the top of mine. “Maybe that intel should be leaked. All twenty case files. The only way to pressure the government to do better might be to make sure the people know the truth.” He added quickly, “Maybe not have Kit write it, though.”

A slow smile crossed Adelina’s face. “I just might know the perfect journalist for the job. Not really in the media business anymore, but I think my twin could still write the hell out of that article.”

“Done.” Hudson focused on me next, and second by second, I could see the dark edge and heavy pain losing its hold on him. He was coming back to life. “Maybe we should give your brother and Callie some privacy and get you into your own room.”

Ah, he wanted me all to himself, he just couldn’t say that in front of my brothers. I was ready to also be smothered in kisses for hours. Hugged for days. “Or, after we check on Dad, we could just head home.”

“You can’t seriously be thinking about going back to your place after what that animal did,” Alessandro barked out, and uh, way to remind me.

I needed all new things. Clothes. Perfumes. Furniture. Everything. I’d be hitting reset after this. I angled my head at Hudson. “My new home,” I said with a small smile. “If you think you can handle me living with you?”

Hudson leaned forward and brought his mouth to my ear, ignoring the fact we weren’t alone. “Oh, I can more than handle you. All. Fucking. Day. Sweetheart.”

Mmm. Nothing like my guy punctuating sexy words to officially suck me free from the orbit of what was left of my bad thoughts and back to sexy la-la land.

We had a lot of time to make up for, and I refused to let Keith’s failed revenge plan stand in the way of our happiness.

I’d been a little nervous after being abducted that Hudson might use that as an excuse to pull away, blaming himself for my being taken. Then I’d have to spend a lot of energy bulldozing through his reservations. But he didn’t appear to be pushing back, and instead, was drawing me closer. Quite literally. He had his arm wrapped around me, practically joining me on the bed.

Of course, he’d told me I had nothing to worry about in that hotel in Spain, and he really was a man of his word.

Now I was ready to give him one of my own.

Okay, maybe two. Like as in, I do.