Page 50 of Rescuing Erin

“Marry me?” I nearly inhaled all the oxygen in the room and didn’t exhale until I started getting dizzy.

“Can you give us a minute?” he asked Zane. When the door shut behind him, Colin turned back to me and took my unbandaged left hand in his and toyed with my bare ring finger. “Yes, sunshine, marry you. This is not how I’d envisioned this going, but I can’t wait. One day soon, when I can get down on my knee without feeling like a rib is going to puncture a lung, I’ll do this again. I want you to be my wife. I want you by my side. I need you by my side. When I thought I was going to die, you were the last thought I had. The only regret I had before my eyes closed was that I’d never gotten to tell you how much I loved you. How I wanted more time, more days, more minutes, hell, even more seconds with you. You made me believe in love, the kind that burrows deep and courses through your veins. The kind that never ends. I’m not the easiest man to get along with, but, sunshine, I promise you, I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy for the rest of your life. I’ll support you every way I can. I’ll cheer you on. I’ll pick you up. I’ll celebrate and mourn with you. Anything you want. All I need is you.”

The giggles that bubbled up were not what he’d expected. But once they started, I couldn’t stop them, not even when he looked at me like I’d grown three heads. Thankfully, they finally subsided, but tears took over, still preventing me from answering. If I didn’t get myself under control soon, I was afraid he’d take back his proposal.

“Yes,” I finally sobbed. “Sorry. I don’t know if I want to cry from joy or laugh because I’m ridiculously happy, which seems like it should be impossible after everything that has happened. I don’t know what I should be doing, but my answer is yes. Yes! I want to be your wife. Yes, I want you by my side for all of those things. A hundred yeses. But, I get to be all of those things to you, too. I love you, Colin. I think I’ve loved you from the first time your bossy ass stepped into the White House residence and told me you were taking over as my personal detail.”

“Bossy ass, huh?” Colin smiled.

“Well, you did admit you’re hard to get along with.”

“I love you, sunshine.”

“I love you, Colin. What did my dad say?”

“He told me I had his blessing. He’s not a stupid man, Erin. Thinking back to the last conversation I had with him, he knew what he was doing.”

“And what was he doing?”

“He could’ve sent you anywhere in the world, hid you anyplace, but it was his call sending us to Texas together. My guess, he knew the more I was around you, the easier it would be for you to wear me down.”

“Wear you down?”

“Yeah, you know, get me to give into your wiles,” he teased.

“Colin!”

“I’m kidding, sunshine. I suppose I hadn’t hidden my feelings as well as I thought I had.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I stayed silent and thought about how over the top happy I was. The knock on the door broke the spell and Zane, my dad, and the rest of Colin’s team walked in.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I was thankful Colin wouldn’t leave the room. I wasn’t ready to be alone yet.

Chapter 18

“Hacked?” I asked Tex as I glared at the cell phone on the roller table at Erin’s bedside.

The room was filled to capacity. Zane, Leo, Jaxon, Linc, the president, and Declan all crammed into the small space.

“Yes,” he ground out. “I’ve warned the others to discard all tracking devices.”

“So that’s how they found us. Through Erin’s jewelry,” I surmised. “Motherfucker! How is that even possible?”

“I’m good—goddamn great, actually,” Tex started. “The person who got into my system did not get through the layers of protection I have. They cracked my passcodes. Do you have any idea how difficult that is? Damn near impossible. Whoever got into my computer isn’t better than me, they had help.”

“Like the NSA,” Jaxon surmised.

“Correct.” I don’t think I’d ever heard Tex so angry in all the years I’d known him.

“Are you secure now?” Zane inquired. “What about Beth?”

“Beth seems to be unaffected. She’s under radar. Me? Not so much. If by secure you mean, have I changed passcodes, rerouted, and added more protection, then yes. If you’re asking if it can’t be done again, no.”

“Well, isn’t that fucking special.” Zane looked to the ceiling and spoke again. “How the fuck could this happen?”

“Angel,” the president spoke for the first time.

“Are you ready to explain exactly what this program is and why the hell the NSA is so hell-bent on it being up and running? Not to mention, we still need to figure out how that fuckstick Warren is tied in.” Only Zane Lewis could get away with taking that kind of tone with the President of the United States.