Wulf flew to a seated position in bed beside Mary Jane. Her eyes had just adjusted to the light of morning when she noticed he was holding a gun. With a huff of relief, he lowered it. Her line of vision focused in on Agent Robertson, seated with a bag of Starbucks and a four-holder set of coffee.

Ariel stood at the edge of the bed, hands on her slender hips. “Good morning, Mrs. Portman-Grienke.”

“Mary. Jane. Doe,” she corrected, sitting up with the sheet around her.

“Did you enjoy your rest?” Ariel asked.

“The mattress could be asphalt, but I slept like a rock either way.”

“Very well,” Ariel said. “I was in the room right across. Robertson and I took turns so I would have to say the night wasn’t a bust. Now that we’ve had enough sleep, Miss…Doe, I need you to come with us.”

“Not over my dead body.” Wulf broke into the girls’ chat with a growl.

“The ladies are chatting,” Robertson quipped, taking a sip of his coffee. He held one out for Wulf.

“Where are the harem of abused women who made it away from Beasley? The last time I asked that question, the two of you looked guilty.”

“Oh, don’t act like this is a conspiracy.” Robertson stood up and dropped a plane ticket on the frazzled bed comforter. “And no need for threats. Not over your dead body, Dylan Wulf. There’ve been enough deaths. We want Mary Jane with the request that you go home. How about, we also give our word not to advise local authorities that you carjacked a 93’ Honda, nor your pending felony for—”

“I’ll go!” Mary Jane shouted. “Leave Dylan alone.”

Wulf looked at her. She cracked a smile. Robertson and Ariel didn’t have to know that she only called him by the first name unless angry or to manipulate. But in this case, Robertson had just provided Wulf his way out. The edge in his broad shoulders disappeared. She smiled, glancing away because in this case, the only person being manipulated was the man she loved.

“Get dressed.” Robertson dropped a bag of clothes on the bed. “Wulf, your plane leaves shortly so we have to get you to the airport.”

The agents stepped outside, allowing them a few minutes to dress.

Wulf spoke, “I take it you’re using my first name is a sign of a plan? You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes and yes.” She smiled. “But, I have a feeling Robertson will add all kinds of felonies and knickknacks to your name if I don’t assist them.”

“What’s your plan?”

She tugged into the new jeans. “Let’s just get to the airport.”

“But, what’s your plan?” he asked more insistently.

Mary Jane smiled up at him before shoving a touristy Mexico shirt over her head. “You’ll know it when we get to the airport.”

“MJ.” He shook his head.

She snatched off tags and dressed also in clothes that fit comfortably. If these FBI agents knew nothing at all, they knew her and Wulf’s sizes. She gave a thankful chuckle while tugging on a brand new pair of socks and boots. Then headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

“I don’t see anything comical,” Wulf retorted, taking the toiletries the agents had brought as well.

“Really? Have you forgotten how I feel about clean undergarments? Anyway, I see something cute.” She pulled him into a hug and kissed his lips.

After they both took a deep breath, Wulf looked her straight in the eyes and said, “They are going to give you to a maniac killer. I’m sure you remember Jake as helpful, but do you recall in the late 90s? Jakob Woods?”

Mary Jane glanced away. There was no deterring Wulf as to how dangerous this situation was, so she gave a half-smile. “No, I don’t remember him. I was just a kid.”

“This is no joke.”

“No. It’s not. I’ll just see what they have to offer,” she replied, combing her hair back with her fingers.

“You are what they have to offer.”

“They’ll let you tag along, okay? You will get to rescue me. Isn’t that what you want?” She winked.

“No, I want you to be safe and sound, so I don’t have to rescue you. It makes life easier.”

“For the sake of women who unfortunately have my name, will you compromise?” She held out her hand. He took it, and they walked out together.

They traveled in the navy blue unmarked SUV to the airport. The moment they entered the terminals, Mary Jane complained of a parched throat. They stopped inside of a shop with Robertson muttering all the way. While the two Feds headed toward the checkout line, she slipped away from Wulf. Pretending to glance through a few gossip magazines, Mary Jane snuck over to the medicine aisle. She took a quick sweep of the shop as she grabbed a pregnancy test, stuffed it in her pocket, and pulled down her shirt.

“What are you doing?” Robertson questioned in a sharp voice.

“Can I have a headache in peace?” She snatched up a bottle of aspirin and tossed it to him, then stepped toward the exit where Wulf and Ariel seemed to be having a heated conversation. The chatter ended as she appeared.

“I need to use the restroom,” she said.

“No stalling,” Juárez warned. “If you’re not out in three minutes, Robertson will escort Officer Wulf to the terminal,” she said, staring at Robertson through the glass partition of the store as he finished making her purchase.

“All right, I get it. I’ll hurry,” Mary Jane replied.

She rushed into the bathroom and tried hard to pee, anxiety making it difficult to do so. This was the defining moment. If she were pregnant, then she’d beg and plead the agents to allow Wulf to stick around as they dangled her before Jake like a piece of Kobe beef.

If she weren’t pregnant…

“Keegan,” Mallory called, leaning against the granite counter in the en-suite bathroom. She could see him sitting on her bed in the apartment she shared with Megan.

“Are you pregnant?” He hopped up.

“No, I can’t.” Mal bit her lip. Dad was going to kill her.

“You just drank a gallon of water.” He folded his arms and leaned against the wall, but she could feel his elation shot down by a good dose of terror.

Her USC doctoral program flashed through her mind. The internship at Grienke’s would be lost to her, pending the pregnancy news. She whimpered, “Help me.”

“Do you want me to hold your hand while you do the deed or something?”

His light laughter made her smile. “Ha, ha. I’m thinking more along the lines of help me figure out how to get out of this—”

“If you’re pregnant, the baby is a blessing, Mal.”

A few minutes later, Mallory washed her hands. They stood over the marble countertop, glancing at the test, waiting for a sign. Her lips tipped upward into a smile as Keegan’s hand sought hers. The seconds ticked by a little faster with him being her teammate.

“Uh oh,” Mallory murmured as a blue ‘plus sign’ bled into the small white screen.

Keegan’s hands went behind his head, kneading his neck. “Your father is going to kill me, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to be harping about his army accolades as he chokes me to death.”

“Man up.” She kissed his mouth.

“You’re having my baby.” He pulled her into a hug. “A wedding and a baby.”

This shouldn’t have been a ritual that she completed on her own, not while she had a willing partner. While waiting for the sign to appear, Mary Jane had a vision of herself with Keegan. Although she hadn’t been ready for a child, there was a raw goodness to that moment. It overshadowed by her despair while in Peter Grienke’s basement when he’d gotten rid of her baby. She’d bled and he’d been disgusted about it. Though her memory seemed to be grabbing fragments and not in any sort of chronological time, Mary Jane knew that much time probably didn’t elapse from her spontaneous abortion and her marriage to the wrong man.

Mary Jane bit her lip, scanning the pregnancy test results. She opened the stall door and chucked it into the trashcan, washed her hands, and then stepped out.

Robertson handed her a brown paper bag with the useless Tylenol. Wulf came up to her and placed a hand in her hair, pulling her to him. He kissed her. “MJ, we don’t have much time left,” he whispered against her lips.

She smiled, staring straight through him. Licking the kiss from her lips, Mary Jane regarded Ariel. There was no time to catch her bearings. She shoved a hand through her hair and said, “Um, I need a few things in writing before we leave.”

“What now?” Robertson commanded.

“Stipulations of sorts. Wulf gets his job at the LAPD.”

“I don’t want my job back,” Wulf cut in.

She continued over his voice, “Maybe not head of the Gang Unit but somewhere up the totem pole.”

“You’re not in the business of making commands, Ms. Doe.” Ariel smirked.

Mary Jane smirked. “Yes, I am.”

“You are not.” Robertson stepped closer to her and not a moment later, Wulf stepped forward and stared him down.

“I’ve got this.” Mary Jane softly patted Wulf’s shoulder and continued. “If we’re measuring balls, Robertson, mine are bigger than yours, baby. I’ve literally taken a pair, and I’ve been through so much that your demeanor nor Ariel’s demands will persuade me. You will let Wulf return home safely with a damn title parallel to his previous position. Or I refuse to help you take down Jake.”

“Listen, you little shit,” Robertson commanded. “We can erase Wulf’s LAPD pension in the snap of a finger. Oh, and not only that, I’m thinking about pinning all kinds of cases on Dylan Wulf.”

“Fuck you!” Wulf said.

“No, a bunch of Mexicans will take that honor when your ass lands in jail for murdering a cartel king!” Robertson assured. “I’m sure the local authorities don’t take kind to tourists committing crimes.”

“Let’s just take it down a notch,” Ariel said in a calming voice, watching travelers pass by. “Look around you, Wulf. I’m sure your extensive vacation has you believing that we’re incompetent. The little game you pulled while returning home the other day, that was amusing. We’re over the entertainment.”

“Oh, trust me.” Wulf’s fiery gaze turned from Robertson to her. “I know there are agents surrounding this place. Black suit left corner, sipping a drink at the coffee station. Please don’t fucking insult me. Side right corner standing near the second terminal with no luggage in a business suit and no briefcase. Kiss my ass, Juarez. If that idiot’s not the Feds, then by all means you win. Shall I continue?”

“No, that won’t be necessary,” Ariel retorted. “Your plane is scheduled to leave the terminal in five minutes.”

“And he’ll be on that plane,” Mary Jane assured. “Let’s just walk Wulf toward it, leave all the bullshit here.”

Robertson and Ariel nodded.

She took Wulf’s hand as they proceeded toward his departure area.

“I didn’t think this was your master plan, Mary Jane,” Wulf growled.

Mary Jane gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “I’ve been told that I’m a selfish one.”

“Then be selfish, MJ. Your safety is key.”

“No. It’s time that I stop putting myself first. We spent a year in Mexico because reality and life scared me. This plan works for you. Okay?”

“I don’t need it to work for me,” he replied through gritted teeth.

“Remember the man you were. Rules and regulations. You’ve broken a lot of them since we’ve met. Go home.”

“I will not leave you.” He stopped walking and stood in front of her.

“But I’m letting you,” Mary Jane replied. Her eyes brimmed with tears searched Wulf’s hard ones for agreement. Tears trickled down her cheeks. Throat clogged, Mary Jane felt the words ready to leap from her mouth. She loved him.

Ariel and Robertson stepped back when Mary Jane’s hand went up, though Robertson pointed to his watch.

“Go home. Live your life. Get your job back. Clean the streets of LA.”

“You’re not that optimistic, MJ.”

Her hand went to the stubble on his jaw. “Nah, never. But I have faith in you.”

“What about our baby? And your family? I won’t allow it.”

Gently, she pushed away from his caresses and embraced her womb. The vocal cords in her throat tremored as she spoke, “I just took a test, okay? So, no worries about putting our child at risk, because I’m not pregnant.”

Those gorgeous eyes of his roamed over her. He wasn’t letting go. “What about your sister, your mother? You haven’t seen your mom in—”

“God, Wulf, you’re making my cry,” she said, placing her head against his chest. “Stop the madness. Or just tell…my…family I’ll be home shortly.” Sensing his defiance, she kissed him softly on the lips. Mary Jane recalled Amy’s words while they were seated on the beach after dinner. Amy knew Wulf loved Mary Jane when she hadn’t the slightest clue. As soon as her lips parted from him, she murmured against his chest, “I love you. I love you too, Dylan Wulf.”

She cupped his jaw and told him again. “I love you, but you’re gonna have a good life. No drama. No bullshit.”