Epilogue

 

Owen was up with the sun simply because he couldn’t be anywhere else. He slipped from the bed, though it was tempting to linger over Hope. Feeling healthy and whole was more addictive than the UI drug or enhancements.

Showered and dressed, his pack ready, he stood on the back porch of the new bunkhouse with the first cup of coffee. He couldn’t stop staring at the mountains and the expanse of the sky. He was coming to appreciate his enhanced senses, especially when he thought of helping Hope rather than hunting men.

He understood Scott’s plea and Noble’s logic, but he wasn’t ready for another confrontation that would surely end in violence and bloodshed. How had Amelia phrased it? “Let us find justice for you.”

Yeah, that still felt like the right move. He’d given them what he could about the UI locations where he’d been held and how they’d dosed him. He’d given them plenty of blood as well, samples that were likely to break a microscope or two.

He heard her footsteps long before Hope came up beside him and slipped her smaller hand into his. “Ready?”

Nodding, he gave her hand a squeeze. “For you? Always.”

“Such a charmer.” Her smile bloomed, as sweet and warm as the sunrise, making him feel like the hero he someday hoped to be. For the foreseeable future, they would hike and camp, get the pictures she needed and wanted, give him time to embrace this new, lasting freedom. It helped knowing they were welcome to return here, a safe haven in a world he didn’t precisely trust anymore.

“I owe them,” he said quietly as they started out. Scott had found him. Ben and John had shown him it was possible to fully recover from the hellacious UI training and the enhancements that appeared to be permanent.

“We both do.” She pressed up on her toes and kissed him. “And you’ll help them. After you help yourself.”

“I won’t argue with that.”

They walked on toward the mountains that framed the Noble property, a lightness in his mind and spirit that only this woman could bring. He brought her hand to his lips. “I love you, Hope.”

“Careful what you say,” she warned him again. “I’ll believe you.”

“You should believe me.” He wanted to run, but not to get away, only to celebrate that he could go any direction he chose. Instead he gave her a quick spin as they crossed the grassy pasture. “Your turn,” he prompted.

“Hmm. If I say I love you, I might try and capture the moment on camera.”

Grinning down at her, he jogged ahead, though he’d never try to outrun her. “I bet you’ll be too busy being loved to think of your cameras.”

“As if.” She dashed after him and when he caught her she giggled. “I love you, Owen.”

He gave her a spin and she raised her new cell phone to frame them. The selfie was a perfect record of two people in love, happy beyond measure under a wide open sky.

*

John drew Amelia close as they watched the dwindling figures of Hope and Owen hike out toward the mountains.

“You did a good thing,” Amelia said, resting her head on his shoulder. “He needs the time.”

“We did a good thing,” John said. “This place was a brilliant idea.”

“Score one for nesting instinct.” She patted her belly. “Now, about names…”

“In a second,” he said. “Hank called me yesterday and he’s asked us for help.”

“Good,” she said immediately. “What can we do for him?”

“Sounds like a SEAL he worked with a few years back died during a deployment. The body wasn’t recovered. Though they all regretted the loss, the death seemed above board to him at the time.”

“But after meeting us, hearing your story, he has new questions,” Amelia finished for him.

John nodded. “We don’t have to dig into it.”

“Yes we do.” She gestured for him to tell her more.

John relayed the highlights of the information Hank had shared. “He gave me a thumb drive as well.”

“Good. What was the man’s name?”

“Daniel Connolly.” John replied. “They called him Irish. He was originally from Chicago.”

“And Hank thinks he’s tangled in the UI web because?”

“Circumstances, I suppose.”

“Then or now?”

“Likely both. I haven’t touched the thumb drive yet and Hank didn’t say it outright, but my guess is someone noticed him or his methods recently.”

“How long ago did he supposedly die?”

“Four years.”

“John.” She scolded him with a tip of her head and the arch of one elegant auburn eyebrow.

“I know the trail is cold and that we’ve been through the operations database with a fine-toothed comb, but we have resources he doesn’t and can’t access.” He went on to list a few more details.

“Hey, are you listening?” He rubbed her shoulders.

“Yes of course.” She leaned into the touch and he half expected her to purr. “Hank has been a good friend and neighbor. I’ll start running things down tomorrow.”

He knew that vague tone, she was distracted but he couldn’t tell if it was the baby or Hank’s dilemma. “Amelia?”

“Hmm? Daniel is a good, strong name. I like the sound of it.”

“No.” He wasn’t naming his kid after a SEAL whose fate might be tied to the experimental agency Messenger operated. “Let’s think on the name thing.” He turned her into his arms for a heated kiss.

“I think you’re actively avoiding this exercise,” she said, laughing as he nuzzled her neck.

“It’s too soon to decide on names,” he protested.

“It’s not.” Still, she let her head drop back, granting him better access to her throat.

Feeling her tremble, he scooped her into his arms and carried her inside and up to the bedroom. Her sultry laughter surrounded them as she tossed out one ridiculous name option after another.

At least he knew what their son would not be named, he thought, lavishing his amazing wife with love and affection. Once she was satisfied and drowsy, he’d make a few suggestions of his own.

They were having a son and he was determined to bring that new life into a safer world.

 

* * *

 

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Curious about John and Amelia and how they teamed up against UI? You can read their full adventure in .