Page 142 of Allegiance

She reassured him.

“I am safe. You’re going to protect us. I have faith in you as the man I love, and the father of our child.”

Good God.

This sucked.

“Eve.”

She just stared into his eyes.

Dakota was going to have to face his fears. If they were going to work as a couple, as parents, he was going to need to trust her and her him.

That’s the only way it would work.

“Please. Our child…”

She took his hand and placed it over her belly. It was covered by Kevlar. Because she was petite, normal Kevlar on say, Jinx, didn’t cover all of her abdomen. On her, it did.

“We’re safe. I’m going to need you to trust me and protect us.”

His heart was racing.

He said one word, and it explained it.

“Sarah.”

She touched his cheek.

“Dakota, I’m not Sarah. I’m a killing machine, and I’ve been trained to survive. When I’m too big to do this, I won’t, but right now, I miss having a mission. I miss being near you guys. For the first time in my life, I realized that I didn’t have to be a solo creature. I could be with a family and feel useful. Please don’t ask me not to.”

He took her face in his hands.

“If I lose you or that baby…”

It was crazy that in six hours, he’d gone from not giving a fuck about anything to having everything to lose. It boggled his mind how someone he swore he didn’t need or want now became his whole world.

Eve and that baby were his future, and he wanted nothing less than her, the baby, and Violet.

He had piano lessons to give.

She stared up into his eyes.

“If we’re going to make it, you’re going to have to trust me, and protect me.”

He got it.

He’d let fear rule, and now, he was going into protective mode.

“And you won’t get angry if I’m overprotective? I’ve never done this before.”

She shook her head.

“I’ve never been protected. It kinda feels nice to be able to relax a bit and just be me. Unless you get caveman-y, I’m not going to get bitchy.”

He got it.

“Okay, then, let’s do this. Stay by me,” he said. “No one is touching you or my child,” he admitted.