A beat passed, then he heard more groans.
“He didn’t even register that this was a prank,” Jakob lamented.
“Good for you, Raiden.” Rafael laughed. “You turned the tables on them without even meaning to.”
“Should have known there was no pranking a love zombie,” Ivan sniggered.
“God, that love malady is horrific.” He could hear the disgusted shudder in Jakob’s voice. “Bones, have you invented a vaccine for it yet? I’m willing to be your test subject.”
“There is a finishing touch,” Numair spoke up, ending his brothers’ to and fro. “And it was put in place before we gave you the go-ahead earlier today. The Yakuza would now kill themselves and their families before they came near your wife and child.”
After that, he could no longer hear anything. He didn’t even know when the conversation came to an end.
All he knew was that he could finally be reunited with Scarlett. And that Numair had said your wife and child.
His wife and child.
Scarlett and their miracle.
His, at last. As he’d always be theirs.
* * *
Fifteen hours later, he stood on Scarlett’s doorstep.
He’d spent hours of that time with her on the phone, telling her everything, now that it had all worked out. When he’d sent her away initially, he’d told her only that he was involved in a very delicate situation that he had to resolve with her out of the way. Finding out the details and magnitude of the averted danger had made her break down again.
She’d had frequent crises during the past two weeks. Though she no longer had any doubt that he was hers, she’d had so much terrible misfortune in her life, she believed something, anything, would happen, and prevent them from being together. No matter how he swore nothing would, the fear, their separation and pregnancy hormones played havoc with her moods and nerves.
Then she opened the door.