But the rules meant I got to keep Daphne. Which was more important. Over the course of a few weeks, she’d become my reason for living. Walking out of the shadows had not been a hard decision.
Keeping her behind me, I ducked behind one of the counters. "Find me something to throw. See if there are any knives in here."
"Are you any good at throwing knives?"
I grinned at her as she took off my jacket and threw it behind us. "I guess we'll see."
All we could find were pots in the bottom cupboard though.
"Shit, these will have to do."
"Where do I aim?"
Daphne didn't have the best aim when I'd tried to teach her cricket at Abbott Manor, so I figured to keep the chef safe, just making noise and aiming for his feet would be a good idea. "Aim for his feet."
She frowned. "His feet? How is that going to hurt?"
"It won't. It's going to distract. So start lobbing. I'll go around."
Her eyes lit up with understanding. "Got it."
I kept my hand on her shoulder and kept talking to keep Gianni occupied and distracted. "Why don't you let the man go. It's me you want. We can go one-on-one. Hell, if it keeps these people safe, I'll even let you take me out back."
Daphne frowned as if she had full plans to go after him if he did that, but I held her in place.
"You've always been weak and afraid. You think I'm going to fall for that? You're not going to be left breathing when I'm done with you. I'm sure your pretty companion wouldn't mind warming my bed instead."
Daphne responded with a gagging face.
As he spoke I was already crawling along the cupboards. I turned back to her and gave her the signal.
She threw a pot in his general direction and to my shock and surprise, she managed to hit the arm he was using to point the gun at the chef.
With her compact open, I could see that he stumbled and the chef clambered away. Daphne threw another pot over her head with a wild swing, hitting Gianni's right in the skull.
With him momentarily distracted and firing a wild shot in Daphne's general direction, I jumped out from behind the counters and tackled him to the ground. I made sure to keep his gun arm away from Daphne as he tried to roll me off him, bucking wildly but I held on tight.
To my horror, Daphne came running around brandishing a pot. Gianni fired a shot and she screamed in alarm but she didn't back away. She didn't run, instead, she ran forward, raised the pot high above her head and brought it down hard on his arm. Over and over again until he let go of the gun, which she kicked away.
She raised the pot again, this time aiming for his head, but I stopped her. "Welll done, Kitten. I got it from here."
Grabbing a handful of his hair, I lifted his head up and slammed it back down onto the tiles, making him groan beneath me. I was able to pull one of his arms back and plant my knee on it to hold him in place just as Saffron walked in.
“Well, it looks like you two have this handled.”
I lifted my head to glower at her to find she was grinning. "Really, Saff?"
She and several of the junior agents reached down and secured Gianni. "Honestly, Drake, when I said some time off would be a good idea, I meant it. Do I have to send you to some remote island somewhere?"
I rolled my eyes. "That's exactly what I was trying to do, and then someone shot at us. So you'll forgive me if I had to swoop in and save the day."
"Look at you, being the hero. Why don't you go back and finish what you started so you and Daphne can pretend to be surprised at the surprise engagement party Tabitha's throwing for the two of you tomorrow."
Daphne, who'd gone to get my suit jacket, came back to us. "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you, you really should have let me bash him in the head honestly."
All I could do was stare at her, her dark eyes, the way her lips were always turned up in a hint of a smile, she'd been so brave tonight. Absolutely refusing to leave me. Even though that would have been better for her. I would punish her for that later, but right now all I wanted to do was hold her.
I took a deep breath and stood up, dusting off my suit jacket. "I'm fine, Kitten. We both are. Let's go finish our date."
She wrapped her arms around me. "Maybe we should finish this at home. It's dangerous on these streets."
With a nod to Saff and the other agents, I bent down and scooped her into my arms. "Let's get out of here."
"Oh my God, Drake, what are you doing?"
"I'm not going to let you get cut by glass, Kitten."
She fussed at me until we reached the elevator and I set her on her feet. I didn't let her go though, I held her by my side as I needed to make sure she was okay. That she was safe.
As we walked out of the restaurant, my heart was pounding. I couldn't believe how close we had come to disaster.
I turned to her and took her hand in mine. "You were amazing back there. I don't know what I would have done without you."
She smiled, her eyes glowing with pride. "I told you I could take care of myself."
"I know you did, and you proved it tonight. You have no idea how much it means to me to have you by my side."
Her smile softened and she leaned in to kiss me. "I'll always be by your side, Drake. No matter what."
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close.
I had a whole plan. The helicopter ride, the wine, but I didn't want to wait another moment.
I slowly dropped to one knee and watched as her eyes went comically wide. "Daphne Marie Winslow," I began.
A hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, my God. What are you..."
"I have never deserved you. But every single day for the rest of my life, and from beyond the grave, I will try to be worthy of you in some small way. You are the bravest, most capable, most stubborn pain in the arse I have ever met.”
"Hey!"
With a grin I added, "But you are almost always right. You keep me on my toes and I live for every one of your smiles. From the moment I first saw you, you captured a piece of my soul and I'll never give it back. Will you do me the great honor of agreeing to be my wife?" I pulled the ring box I'd been carrying around with me for the past week from my jacket pocket and opened the velvet lid.
Daphne's eyes gleamed. "It's too big."
Unable to help myself, I muttered, "So you've said."
She gave me a spluttering laugh as she nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. Absolutely yes."
I slipped the delicate pavé band topped with the three carat brilliant cut pink diamond onto her finger. Her hands trembled as I pushed it all the way, then leaned down to kiss her hand. Daphne cupped my cheeks and pulled me to my feet.
"I love you so much."
I held her close and kissed her lips softly. "I love you more."
"Doubtful, but maybe we can go home and you can try to convince me?"
I gave her a wolfish grin. "I warn you, Daphne, I can be very persuasive. I might even give you a head start."
* * *
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