EPILOGUE
Three months later…
The dark covered everything. Shadows loomed across the jungle. Noah stopped to listen. He spotted the fire as men sat around it, drinking and laughing.
He shrugged. Might as well go out a happy mother fucker, I always say. Glancing up, he spotted Tanner on the other side of the clearing. The man gave him a gleaming smile. Yes, his buddy was thinking the same thing.
Let’s have a party.
They both moved forward.
Silent shots pierced the air, as men slumped over, bottles clinking as they broke or rolled across the hard ground.
All clear out here. Noah grinned. Dammit, it was almost too easy.
Both men in armor turned toward the thatched hut.
Tanner whirled his hand around as they approached, telling him he would take the back. He took out a very large machete and disappeared silently around the hut.
Moving forward on silent feet, Noah peeked one eye through the hole in the door.
Two people were asleep sitting up, gagged and bound. His eyes swung over and downward. A guard sat with a drink in one hand and a rifle in the other up against the door.
Noah gauged where he was sitting, drew out his long knife and squinted his eyes to see if he could catch sight of Tanner.
There, he couldn’t miss the sparkling blue eye that met his eye. No need for signal or speaking, they both knew what would happen next.
Noah shoved the knife through the weak straw thatch, catching the man through his back and straight through his heart. He slumped over as Noah removed his knife.
At the same instant, Tanner used his matched and slashed a hole straight down the wall.
The two bound hostages grunted and screamed through their gags, terror in their eyes.
Each man picked up a hostage, tossed them over a large shoulder, and took off through the jungle.
“Fire in the hole,” Noah spoke into his comm as the other men from the camp yelled from behind them and started to follow.
“Oh goody! I get to blow stuff up,” came Ridge’s reply as the jungle exploded behind them. “Annnd they are toast!” she cheered.
“You need to get another line, Sis,” Tanner grunted into the comm.
They made it up to the road as a green camouflaged truck came barreling down the road at them.
They both stopped and stared.
“Coming in hot!” Ridge said over the com.
“Of course you are.” Noah chuckled into his mic.
“Cut that flirting shit out.” Tanner ran toward the stopped truck.
Noah was right beside him as they jumped in the back and set the poor victims of fright down on the truck bed.
The truck lurched badly as it took off.
“Dammit, sis. Learn how to drive!” Tanner grumbled as he tried to keep his victim from slumping over.
“Oh, shut it. You are just jealous that I can drive better than you!” she replied.
Noah chuckled at their usual arguing and reached out to take the gag off the woman who huddled in the corner.
Tanner spoke to the pair in the local language, telling them they were safe and going home to their families.
The poor victims cried in relief and hung onto each other.
After a bumpy ride where Tanner bitched the entire time at Ridge about her hitting every pothole on purpose, they arrived in a small town. Dropping off the two happy civilians and making sure they got safely inside the city hall, Noah and Tanner headed to the truck.
Noah opened the driver door and scooted Ridge over to the middle.
Tanner got in on the other side. “So now, you got your story, kiddo.”
Ridge beamed. “The first one we did was a hit out of the park. Underground reporter with all this inside info, reporting on two specters who come out of the dark and rescue the innocent.”
Tanner rolled his eyes. “Yeah, the drama factor.”
“No,” she argued. “The truth factor. You two are my heroes.” She snuggled up to Noah as he drove. “But…”
The two men swung their gazes over to her.
“But what?” Noah asked.
“I’m going to have to quit.”
Both men looked at each other over her head in confusion.
“Why sweet cheeks? I thought you loved doing this?” Noah questioned entirely shocked by this as she’d insisted at the start to be a part of his soldier of fortune rescuing idea.
“Oh wow, have I loved it!” She smiled. “The best adventures of my life…” she paused and gazed lovingly up at Noah. “…except for climbing a certain mountain.”
He glanced at her sweet expression then grinned and watched the road again.
“So, why do you wanna quit now?” Tanner asked.
“Well…” She sighed. “It just wouldn’t be safe.”
Both men again glanced at each other.
“Safe?” Tanner exclaimed as he laughed. “Since when did you care about that?”
“Since, well…”
“Come on, just spill it!” her brother yelled.
Her eyes got beady as she glared at her brother. “I’m not like you. All crass and just announcing shit with no—”
“What is it?” he cut her off in frustration.
“Okay, okay.” She laughed at his animated expression “I don’t think it will be safe for little Harris.”
Both men blinked.
Tanner started to laugh. “Talk about embarrassing. Little, eh, Harris? You think a man with your build would be—”
“Shut the hell up!” Noah laughed with him.
“Oh, no.” Ridge rolled her eyes. “You and your dirty mind, Walker. GEESH! I mean the baby.”
Both men froze.
Noah stared over at her.
“Harris, watch the road,” she yelled.
He gripped the wheel and pulled over. Turning in his seat, he grabbed her face. “You’re going to have…”
Nodding, she smiled. “We are going to have.”
“Dammit!” Tanner yelled. “An uncle?” He gasped like this was all about him.
Noah looked into those baby blue eyes of hers. “A family?”
Nodding, she kissed his lips gently and said, “Your family, Noah. Yours.”
Hauling her into his lap, he kissed her deeply.
“Come on, not here!” Tanner sighed as he got out. “I’ll drive, since you are both fucking crazy!”
The couple moved over in the seat but they didn’t release each other. Noah held her tight and kissed the top of her head. “I can’t believe it. But Ridge sweetie. We cannot name it Harris, really.”
“Why not?”
“Sweetness. seriously?”
She pouted. “Well, not if it’s a girl. But I am sticking with Harris Henry Spencer.”
Tanner beamed at his middle name fitting in there as he drove.
“Okay, well let’s go home, then,” Noah said his voice choked up.
“Listen,” Tanner spoke up. “I know I’m just an uncle here, but you can’t raise the kid in the jungle.”
“I don’t intend to,” Noah replied. “I meant let’s go home to the mountain.”
Looking excited, Ridge hugged him around the waist. “I can’t wait.”
Holding her tightly to him, Noah felt whole, complete. Real finally—and no longer a ghost.