“I take it there’s no news on Paxton yet?” Peter asked with his face set seriously. Normally he was all smiles.
Tinsley shook her head.
“There is news on the case. Do you want to hear it?” Peter asked as everyone quieted down.
Tinsley nodded, still not knowing if she could find the voice to talk.
“Paxton led the largest drug and weapons bust in history. We’ve found enough evidence both here and in Atlanta—at least in the places Cy didn’t blow up—to connect the Myriad to the Argentinian mafia. Arrests have already been made as we captured ten associates trying to board a plane to Buenos Aires from Atlanta. The CIA is working with the Argentinian government to bring the rest to justice.”
“The paintings,” Tinsley said finally. “We need the whole collection together. I have to find the owners.”
“You’ll have the full support of the federal government at your disposal to do so,” Peter assured her.
Tinsley nodded but then stopped as a tired doctor came out from the double doors. Ridge and Ryker both took her hands in theirs as everyone else stood. Peter stepped to the side as the doctor made his way to her.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name. I’m Dr. Evans.”
“Tinsley Faulkner,” Tinsley stammered out. “How is Paxton?”
“You’re fiancé is a fighter. We almost lost him, but we managed to get the artery repaired. He’s had blood transfusions to replace the blood he’s lost, and he’s stable now. He’ll stay in the hospital for a couple of days for us to keep an eye on him. Would you like to see him?”
Tinsley could only nod as her knees gave out and she collapsed against her brother. “He’s going to live,” she said, finally breathing for the first time all day.
“Can we all see him?” Ridge asked.
The doctor looked around the packed waiting room. “Um, a limit of two visitors is our policy.”
“How’s this for policy?” Peter held up his badge as Granger and Kord followed suit.
“His room is very small. I don’t think you will fit,” the doctor stammered, trying to figure out where the hospital policy fell on this situation.
Tinsley felt Ryker stiffen. “I’m Ryker Faulkner and that man is about to become my family. Get him a bigger room.”
“Ryker Faulkner?” the poor doctor stammered. Ryker simply nodded. “We’ll move Agent Kendry to a suite right away and then I’ll send a nurse to escort you all to him.”
The doctor practically ran off and Granger shook his head. “How did you do that? I thought we had him with the badge. That usually works.”
“I’m the hospital’s largest donor. There’s a whole new Faulkner wing,” Ryker said with a shrug as if it weren’t a big deal.
“Thank you. I would have never pushed,” Tinsley told her cousin.
“I know. Even if you are now a dagger-throwing badass, you’re still the nice one.” Ryker winked at her and went to sit back down.
Energy Tinsley never imagined she had in reserve flowed through her and she began to pace. She just needed to see Paxton. She had to tell him she loved him and she needed to have him in her arms. Then she’d know it would all be all right in the end.
Paxton felt as if he were floating. That was the first thing he processed as being real instead of the dreams he’d been having. The second thing he processed was the small hand holding his. Paxton knew instinctively that it was Tinsley. The third thing was that he heard talking all around him.
Paxton blinked his eyes open and the talking immediately stopped. Tinsley’s face appeared in front of his and he gave a small smile. “There’s my fiancée.” Paxton paused then and looked around the room. “I did propose, right? Or was that a dream?”
Tinsley smiled as unshed tears shone in her eyes. “You did and I accepted.”
“Oh thank goodness,” Paxton sighed and Tinsley laughed happily. He looked down at their joined hands and saw the engagement ring. His dreams had come true. Then he looked around the room and saw what might be his nightmares come to life. “Tinsley,” he whispered.
Tinsley leaned forward so she could hear him. “Yes?”
“Is the knitting club sitting in the corner or are the drugs making me see things?”
“We’re here,” Dare said, looking up from his knitting needles.
“We made you something,” Miss Ruby said.
“Give us one more second to finish it off,” Miss Winnie told him.
Paxton looked around and saw groups of people all around the largest hospital room he’d ever seen. The Davies and Faulkner families were in one area. The law enforcement people were in another. Then the knitting club had laid claim to the couch area.
“This doesn’t look like any hospital room I’ve ever been in,” Paxton said, looking around.
“It’s a conference room,” Ryker answered. “I can’t have my new cousin in some small room where his family couldn’t gather.”
“Thanks, Ryker. You had my back during the bust. I didn’t imagine you as anything but a businessman but I was wrong.”
“I’ll do anything for my family. I’ve learned that doesn’t make me weak, but stronger. Now you’re going to be part of this family. But if you hurt my cousin,” Ryker said and leaned down so his face was inches from Paxton, “I’ll kill you.”
“And then we’d bring you back to life to kill you again,” Cy called out from their corner. Ridge nodded in agreement along with his cousins and uncles.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. I might ask to go on some of these guy trips in the future,” Paxton said with a chuckle.
“I’m in,” Dare said, shooting up his hand.
“We’ll be sure to invite the wives on our spa trips,” Annie said with a grin.
The guys groaned and the youngest Davies brother, Pierce, looked nervous. “You all know we were never here, right? Like, our wives can’t know what we’re doing or they’d kill us.”
Cy, Miles, and
