Chapter Thirty

“We are going to release you now, Madame Moore. Dr. Patalinghue has signed your release papers.” The nurse removed the IV. “Your family is outside waiting. I will send them in shortly. The doctor wants you to take these pills to help you deal with post traumatic stress. There are enough for two weeks.” The nurse handed her a bottle of pills. “Your sister brought you a change of clothes.” She laid folded clothing on the hospital gurney.

Alyson was dressed and running a comb through her hair when her dad and Gwen burst into her room. “Hey.” She blinked back tears and walked into her dad’s arms.

“Buttercup. Buttercup.” His voice was tight with emotion. “My heart can’t take much more. When I woke up and found only one of my girls in the adjoinin’ room, I nearly died.”

Gwen kissed Alyson. “Then we found your note that you went out for dinner. It was six o’clock in the morning by then. Your bed was still made up, so we knew you never returned.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “I have to tell you, Dad and I were both scared spitless. We called the embassy and then the police. The police sent us here.”

“I’ll be fine.” Maybe if she said it enough times, she’d start to believe it.

“You don’t look so fine, does she, Dad?”

Concern was evident in her dad’s features. “Buttercup, your face is a mass of bruises and cuts. Can you see okay? ’Cause your one eye is swollen shut. The nurse said you have two stitches on your cheekbone.” He pointed to her wrists. “You got bruises there, too.”

“I’ll be fine.” Her voice held more strength this time. “Have either of you checked in on Niko?”

“Dad went down to talk to Viviana earlier, but she didn’t know much. The doctors were operating on him to remove the bullet.”

Alyson took her dad by the hand. “Take me to him. He saved my life, do you know that?”

Her dad nodded. “That no-neck fella told me what happened.” He shook his head. “We’re common, quiet, simple people. I never thought I’d be in the middle of hair-raising events like this. Good God a’mighty, I can’t wait to step on American soil again.”

Gwen picked up Alyson’s wig. “Are you putting this back on?”

“Not yet, if ever. It holds too many bad memories. Look, I need to see Niko. Let’s go.”

When they stepped off the elevator, Jean-Luc sat in one of the chairs in the hallway. He stood, and Alyson hurried to him. “How’s Niko?”

“He’s out of surgery and recovery. They just brought him to his room. The doctor told Madame Reynard he removed Niko’s spleen. That’s where the bullet lodged. He had a blood transfusion.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Thank God we’re the same blood type. As long as infection doesn’t set in, he should be fine.”

“Buttercup, I want you to sit now. You’ve been through a lot, too.” Her dad hovered, concern on his face. Not wanting to upset him anymore, Alyson complied. “You want ol’ Dad to get you anything to drink?”

“Tea, if you can find it. Some pastries. I’m starving.” She looked at Jean-Luc. “What about you?”

“No, I’m good. Too good.” Jean-Luc sat, clasped his hands between his wide-spread knees and stared at them.

“Are you having a pity party because you’re the only one of the four agents who didn’t get shot? Sounds to me like you’ve got bragging rights.” She nudged his shoulder with hers. “Look at me.”

He lifted his gaze.

“You love Niko.”

“Yeah, brothers, you know?”

Alyson reached out and took Gwen’s hand. “Yes, the bond is close.” She smiled at her sister, thinking of their relationship. “I’ve been in situations these last few weeks where I’ve asked myself how Gwen would behave. I modeled my actions after hers. We dearly love our siblings, whether they’re siblings by blood or by heart.”

Gwen crouched in front of her, laying one arm across Jean-Luc’s massive thigh. Alyson noted her sister’s movement. Jean-Luc gasped, and she noted that, too, and smiled.

Gwen raised her other hand and pressed it to Alyson’s cheek. “My dearest big sister, you’ve always made me feel like I was so special. All along it’s been you. You’ve been the special one. You’re the one who shines. Don’t you think she shines, Jean-Luc?” Gwen turned her blue eyes on him and smiled.

Jean-Luc looked as if he’d been run over by a satin steamroller. The two just stared at each other for a few heartbeats. Then a look of fear registered on his face, and he stood. “Gotta go. Be back later.” Off he stalked—or ran. Alyson wasn’t quite sure.

Gwen softly chuckled. “I think I make him nervous, which is a good thing. You’ve got to keep a man unsettled.” She moved into the chair he just vacated. “It’s all a matter of who keeps control. Women do that so much better than men, don’t you think?” Both sisters laughed, their heads touching.

A nurse approached, her crepe shoes squeaking on the tile floor. She nodded before entering Niko’s room. In a few seconds, Viviana walked out. “Aly, you are here!” Her eyes widened. “Your face! Oh, my darling.” She kissed Alyson’s cheeks, making tsking noises.

“How is he? Jean-Luc said doctors removed his spleen?” Alyson took Viviana’s hands and gazed into the older woman’s worried eyes.

She nodded. Twin tears raced down her face. “I hate his job. One of these days…” She choked back a sob and Alyson stood to embrace her. “I am so afraid one of these days I will lose him.” She pulled a wadded tissue from the pocket of her slim black skirt and dabbed her eyes. “He looks so pale lying in there. He is still unconscious. And…and I am afraid there might have been some kind of nerve damage.”

Alyson’s stomach lurched. “What do you mean?”

“His one hand keeps trembling. He is so still. No movement at all, except for his right hand. It just trembles and moves about constantly.”

The nurse stepped out of Niko’s room. “You may go back in now, Madame Reynard.”

“Is he still sleeping?”

The nurse nodded and hurried on.

Viviana patted Alyson’s arm. “You go in with him. When he wakes up, he will want to see you right away.”

“Are you sure?”

“Go.” Viviana gave her a gentle push.

Alyson opened the door to Niko’s room and entered. Viviana was right; he was very pale. He was hooked up to monitors and IVs. His right hand was moving just as his mother mentioned. Alyson watched the movements, and they registered. He wasn’t trembling. He was signing. In his subconscious, he was signing her name over and over. Even now, his heart cried out to her.

“I’m here, Niko.” She covered his moving hand with hers, leaned over him and whispered in his ear. “It’s Aly. I’m here, stud muffin.” She kissed his face with feather light kisses. “Rest now. I’m here.”

He shuddered with a long sigh as if finally relaxing.

“I love you. Love you more than I thought possible.” She kissed his lips.

Niko’s eyes opened. “Cherie.” His voice was rough as if he’d gargled with nails.

“Yes, I’m here. We’re together. Battered, bruised and shot, but we’re together.”

“Kiss me, mon amour.” He drifted off to sleep again.

She sat by his bed and waited. Memories of her time here in France flitted though her mind like a butterfly from blossom to blossom. Lots of horrible things happened, but so did many wonderful things. The wonderful things revolved around this man whom she came to love. There was no way she could leave him now. Their connection was too powerful.

For a while she thought she lost him to his memory of Hae-Won, but she hadn’t. When the time came for him to chose, he chose her. He killed Hae-Won to save her life. She’d never forget that.

Niko wanted her to stay in Paris. He was buying Marie-Clare’s business and apartment to give them a home. Could she stay? Her eyes traveled over him. Could she leave? He had a way of bringing out the best in her. He understood her love of art and her secret desire to devote herself to it.

She could run a business and see if there would be a market for her sketches. She would call the shop Mona Lisa’s Room. Her eyes closed briefly as the dream unfolded—painting and sketching this beautiful city. The experience would be a dream come true. So many dreams were unfolding because of this man and their relationship. She loved him with all certainty.

An hour later, Niko woke up again. “Kiss me, cherie.”

Alyson stood and pressed her lips lightly to his. “The last time I kissed you, you went back to sleep.” She kissed him several times, just because she could and because she needed the closeness. She almost lost him.

“A kiss before sleeping is always a good thing, cherie. Promise me you’ll always kiss me before I go to sleep.”

She patted his chest. “That sounds like a proposal.”

“You mean I haven’t proposed yet? I think I have.”

“I think you’re going to milk this little gunshot wound for all it’s worth, that’s what I think.” She smiled and smoothed his sheets. “You want to see your maman? She’s outside in the hallway.”

He covered her hand with his. “Not yet.” His dark eyes studied her. “I’m sorry for the way I acted over Hae-Won. I was a fool where she was concerned. The woman I thought I loved never existed. I’ll get over being a fool, but it’ll take me a lifetime to get over hurting you.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not okay. You’ve been hurt enough by a man. I’m supposed to be different. I’m supposed to cherish and protect you…and I will. Marry me, Alyson. Stay with me in Paris and marry me.”

She did love this man. “Well, since you called me by my full name…” She winked.

“I’m a man of absolutes, Alyson. I need a yes.”

She fussed with his sheets some more, watching his eyes narrow. Gwen said it was good to keep a man unsettled. With a strong, determined man like Niko Reynard, that might be a delightful challenge. She imagined their years together would be passion-filled and she welcomed that.

He snatched her hand from the sheet. “I’ll quit my job if that’s what it takes. Anything, anything for you, Alyson. You are the beat of my heart.”

“And you are the beat of mine.”

“I need a yes.”

Someone knocked on the door and opened it. Niko groaned at the interruption. The nurse from the emergency room stuck her head in. “Madame Moore, I have been looking for you. Might I have a private word with you? The results of your blood tests are in.”

What was this about? “Yes, I’m coming.” She turned to Niko. “Behave yourself and don’t go anywhere.”

“I need a yes, Alyson.”

The man was determined, she’d give him that. She stepped out into the hall with the nurse.

“Madame Moore, we just got the results back from your blood and urine analysis. Dr. Patalinghue asked me to share the results with you.”

“Of course, thank you.”

Gwen stood and stepped toward them. “What’s wrong?”

“May I speak in front of this lady?” The nurse regarded Gwen with raised eyebrows.

Alyson slipped her arm around her waist. “Yes, this is my sister.”

The nurse nodded. “Very well, then.” She shot another glance at Gwen, as if she wasn’t pleased. “Well, you’re anemic. Here’s a prescription for some potent iron pills.” She handed her a slip of paper. “And here’s a prescription for prenatal vitamins.”

Gwen gasped.

Alyson stared at the nurse, willed the buzzing in her ears to stop. “Pre…prenatal?”

The nurse smiled. “You’re pregnant, Madame Moore.”

Gwen pumped a fist in a victory sign. “Yes!”

“I’m…I’m…”

“Pregnant.” The nurse’s smile broadened.

Alyson hugged her. “You’re sure? Positive?” She hugged Gwen, who squealed and spun her in a circle. The hallway spun a little. “I can’t be far into my pregnancy. How accurate are the tests?” A baby. She was going to have a baby. At last.

“They are very accurate, Madame. The doctor asked that you give me back the prescription for pain medicine. He fears they might harm the fetus.”

She tugged the wrinkled prescription from her pants pocket. “Here, take it. From this moment on, I will be the picture of health. A baby.” Alyson hugged the nurse, Gwen and some strange man walking past. “I’m having a baby!”

When she went back into Niko’s room several minutes later, she was crying. Crying and smiling and laughing with joy. A baby. She was carrying Niko’s child. His and hers.

“Cherie, what is it? Why are you crying?”

She leaned over him and kissed his forehead. “You said you needed a yes.”

He reached out to cup her cheek, concern on his face. “Tell me.”

Alyson pressed her lips against his as she spoke. “Yes, my potent stud muffin. Yes.”