Canary by Tijan
Epilogue after the Epilogue
THE CANARY
“I’m pregnant.”
Good God, how did this happen?
Well, all the sex. That’s how it happened, but I collapsed on our bed.
Raize was being sent out on a mission for Roman, but this happened often over the last couple years. I wasn’t too worried. Roman never sent him on anything too harrying. He was always back within a day and over the last couple years, regarding our world, there wasn’t much I could complain about.
Roman Marakov was true to his word.
He didn’t traffic women.
And if there was killing, I wasn’t in on those talks.
I’d been called in on mostly legit business meetings, but for Raize, we didn’t talk about what Roman sent him off to do. I thought it was a good balance for us. I was still in the world. He was, too. We were together, but it wasn’t how it was when we first got together.
In a way, life was almost normal...almost.
Except for my surprise, which showed up a few days ago, and after I lost it, called Tracey and lost it to her, and then she talked me into getting a doctor test done. I did that, and he called with the results and what was I doing?
“What?”
Raize had paused, packing his guns into his bag.
I said it again, whispering this time, “I’m pregnant.”
I wanted to cry because who raised a child in this life?
Raize didn’t have the same mentality.
He straightened abruptly and a wide smile came over his face. He took two steps, scooped me up from the bed, and then he sat back down with me on his lap. “You serious?” His hand came over my stomach, gently, so tenderly. He was looking down, a mystified and almost wondrous look coming over him. “There’s a little me and you in there?”
My throat swelled up with so much emotion. I was fast blinking back all the tears.
My guy, I loved my guy so much.
I could only hold on tighter because my tears were starting to blind me.
I said, in a low voice, “You’re not mad?”
His hand pressed tighter and his voice came out rough. “Fuck no.” He couldn’t keep talking. He choked off and he pressed his forehead into my neck and shoulder. We were both holding on to each other, emotion completely taking over both of us.
And damn, it was a lot.
I felt completely wiped out, from good and bad and nerves and happiness and everything in between. I was exhausted and wanting to run a marathon all at the same time. And terrified. I was definitely and completely trying to keep myself from doing a full body tremble in Raize’s arms.
I just clasped on tighter, but then he was lifting his head and his eyes had their own sheen of unshed tears. “I never thought I’d have a woman I loved, a team behind you and me, a boss who’s not that bad in terms of what a typical boss is like in our world, and now this? A kid? You kidding me?”
Oh man.
I couldn’t hold back my tears.
They were slipping down my face, and some happiness was unfolding in my chest. It was like a flower that grew and rose up and was now ready to open. It needed sunlight and we’d been giving it so much sunlight.
“We’re having a kid?”
The tears were just free falling by now. I could do nothing against his whispered wonder.
I nodded. “We’re having a kid.”
He touched his lips to mine, then murmured against them, “No matter what, you and the baby are safe. You got me?”
Not a normal endearment a significant other would want to hear on this announcement, but for us and this world, it just made me cry even harder. The good tears.
“I love you.”
He rested his forehead to mine, his hand sweeping over my stomach. “I love you, too. Both of you.” He moved down, pushing my shirt up, and I felt his lips touching my stomach.
I lay there, almost gasping in disbelief because I never would’ve suspected this would be our ending, but there it was.
This was our happily ever after.
Raize lifted his head, his eyes finding mine, and he paused, pushing some hair from my forehead. “You’re happy?” He was asking about everything, and I nodded.
I said, “I am.” And I would be because I knew Raize meant it when he said my safety and our baby’s safety above anyone else.
Over the last few years, I enjoyed working for Roman Marakov.
I shouldn’t, but I did.
He cared about his employees, and while he had to run a mafia, he seemed to give a fuck. I enjoyed being the one to tell him when someone was lying or cheating or wanted to hurt him. I enjoyed when he made it his mission to find out who his rivals were that were trafficking women and when he’d send Raize to go and ‘deal with them.’ Everyone knew what that was code for. I mean, we returned to Texas and I was able to blow Oscar’s building up, finally and only after I was reassured it was empty, so yeah, I knew what the code meant.
Fighting that shit in my way, and now this? A kid? With Raize?
I was happy.
I was happier than I ever thought I could’ve been, so I’d take it.
This was my happily ever after.
Everything else? We’d deal because that’s what you did when you found your place, right? You just handled it.
Jacob Cavers Raize was born almost nine months later.
A year later, we had Veronique Ashley Raize.
Ashley was there when both were born. So was her family.
Shit happened.
That was going to happen in this lifestyle, but like I knew, we handled it.
In the meantime, we were happy and we remained being happy.
And I officially became Ash Canary Raize a year after we had Veronique.
I kept my blonde hair.
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