"I'm okay. Just shaken up." She glanced down at where Skip was lying on the floor. His wife Lilly had joined Jack in trying to talk to him and get him to stand up. "I don't think he really would have hurt me."
"Let's just be glad we didn't have to find that out."
It was then that Ryan noticed that the entire party had come to a halt and everyone was standing around them in a circle...staring.
"Show's over, folks," Knox said, beginning to usher some of the guests out of the dining room. "If you could please exit, that would be helpful."
Ryan reached for his cell phone in his breast pocket. "We need to call–"
"Done it," Knox replied. "The police should be here any minute. I also told them that Seb Harrington was probably on a charter jet out of the country. They're going to try and see if they can stop the takeoff, but I guess there are several airstrips that he could be flying out of. I couldn't be more helpful about that."
Grimacing, Ryan's father also stood. "Call them back and tell them to try the Carlisle private airstrip. That's the one that Skip uses most often."
Knox's brows rose. "Will do. I'll call them now. Thank you."
Jack turned to Ryan and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did a good job, son."
Glancing toward Skip and Lilly, Ryan wasn't so damn sure. "Your best friend's son accidentally killed his brother, and that best friend is trying to cover it up. I'm not sure that I did such a great job."
"You did your job," Jack replied, his expression solemn. "You're not responsible for how this turned out."
That may have been true, but Ryan didn't feel the usual elation or the satisfaction of an investigation closed. The situation was messed up and a lot of lives had been ruined today.
"How did you know?" Mariah asked. "How did you know it was Seb?"
"I didn't," Ryan immediately answered. "I actually just wanted to talk to him because my research showed that Seb had gone into rehab a few months after Brad disappeared. The rehab center not only dealt in drug addictions but also gambling addictions. At that point, I realized that Brad must have been covering for his little brother and may have been killed in a case of mistaken identity. Seb and Brad looked a hell of a lot alike and it seemed plausible. I didn't realize Seb was the one until Skip mentioned him."
"I thought it was Skip," she said, placing her arm into his and leaning into him. He wrapped his arms around her, needing to feel her healthy and alive. For a moment, he'd had to face the thought of losing her. He never wanted to do that again. "When he grabbed me I just assumed it was him. I was shocked."
"I would never have let him hurt you. You know that, right?"
His gaze searched hers, wanting her to know the truth and what he saw almost brought him to his knees. His heart squeezed in his chest and he had to make himself breathe in and out because oxygen simply wasn't all that important at this moment.
"I know," she said, love and trust shining from her eyes. "I knew you'd figure it all out and you did."
"I love you."
The words came out choked but he couldn't have meant them more than if he'd hired a skywriter to write the words over the Greater Chicago area.
"I love you, too."
He didn't really give a shit that there were people watching and sirens in the background. He kissed her until he heard his dad clearing his throat over and over and his sister tugging on his jacket sleeve.
"Not here, big brother. Later."
"This is all your fault," Mariah said smugly to Liza. "If you hadn't convinced me to buy the apartment across from Ryan's..."
"I would have sought you out and found you," Ryan said. "Because I couldn't stay away from you. End of story."
He dropped a kiss on the tip of Mariah's nose. "I have to get back to work."
"I'll be here. Take your time."
The thought of coming home to Mariah every night after a long day of work was...
Perfect. Amazing. Fantastic.
He didn't have the adjectives to describe all that he was feeling, but he had a future with this woman, and suddenly that was all he wanted in his life.
She was everything and more. And she loved him back.
28
Six months later...
Mariah watched as Ryan and his friends carried in a stack of pizza boxes and several six packs of beer, water, and soda. The movers had just dropped off her boxes and they'd all offered to help pitch in and unpack for the measly compensation of pizza and a few cold beverages.
I'd take that deal any day.
She'd officially moved to the Seattle area. She and Ryan had gone back and forth about whether he would move to Chicago or she would move here, but the bottom-line was that his job was here and she could work anywhere. That he'd promised to buy her a home with an amazing studio space was the icing on the cake. He'd been true to his word, too. They'd closed on the house last week.
Now they were making plans to merge their two Chicago apartments into one big one for when they visited their families. They were going to need the space.
Mariah was pregnant. Twelve weeks along.
They probably should have waited longer but once they were together and making plans for their future, they couldn't really see a reason to delay. In their minds, they'd already waited twelve years. They hadn't been in a hurry, either, but they'd somehow managed it the first month they'd tried. She hoped it boded well for the future as they'd discussed having at least two and maybe three kids.
They'd told their families a few days ago and Ryan wanted to tell his friends today. He'd been bouncing around like a Labrador puppy all morning, grinning from ear to ear. His friends didn't know what was going on but they'd been teasing him about love making him giddy since they'd arrived.
They chatted while demolishing several large pizzas. Mariah had been lucky and hadn't experienced any morning sickness so she ate her share. When everyone was done eating, he gave her a wink and stood, holding up his glass.
"I'd like to make a toast," he said. "To my soon to be wife, Mariah. I love you more than anything in the world and I can't wait for our baby to be born in six months."
Pandemonium. Hugs, tears, and congratulations.
Mariah had grown close to Ryan's friends and their significant others, although Knox would always have a special place in her heart.
When a guy puts his body between you and a knife, you know he's a good person.
"We didn't even know you were trying," Ella said, her hand on her own baby bump. She was married to Ryan's co-worker Chris Marks and due in about a month. They already had a daughter from Chris's first marriage who was adorable and incredibly intelligent. Annalise was going to rule the world someday. "It's so exciting. Do you want a boy or a girl?"
"It doesn't matter to me," Mariah replied. "Ryan might want a boy, though."
He shook his head. "Doesn't matter to me either. I just want them to be healthy and happy."
Luke reached over and grabbed his fiancée Shaw's hand. "What do you say, babe? Should we start trying right away?"