EPILOGUE.

"Do you, Kyrie Abigail St. Claire, take this man, Valentine Roth, to be your husband, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do."

"And do you, Valentine Albert Roth, take this woman, Kyrie St. Claire, to be your wife, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do." Roth had a tear in his eye when he said those two words, which was almost as surprising to me as learning his totally, ridiculously pedestrian middle name.

Albert. Heh. I'd have to tease him for both the crying and the middle name.

Sure, I was crying, watching my best friend get married, but I was a girl, and I was allowed.

I started when a hand touched my thigh. I glanced to my left, and my tears gushed freely.

Harris, looking sh.e.l.l-shocked at the sight of me in my kicka.s.s dress.

He was in a wheelchair, an oxygen canister strapped to the back of the chair, tubes wrapping under his arm and connected to a cannula in his nose. He was in a tux, a red rose in his lapel. He hadn't shaved, so he had the beginnings of a beard. Yum.

"Nick?" I lunged for him, wrapping my arm around his neck. "You're here!"

"Barely made it for the I-do's." He pulled me down so I was forced to land on his lap, and then glanced up at Roth and Kyrie. "Congratulations, you two. Sorry to crash like this."

Kyrie wrapped her arms around both of us. "Don't apologize, Harris. I'm just glad you're here. We're done anyway, so now we can start the fun part."

"Actually," the minister interjected, "I haven't officially made the p.r.o.nouncement yet. So..."

"Oh!" Kyrie straightened, and rushed back to stand facing Roth, taking both of his hands in hers and schooling her features to something resembling seriousness.

Roth cracked a grin, shaking his head minutely.

"In the sight of G.o.d and all these witnesses, I now p.r.o.nounce you man and wife. You may-ahem." He stopped, a smirk on his face. Roth already had Kyrie bent backward over his arm and was kissing the ever-loving s.h.i.t out of her. Like, full on tongue-s.e.x. "Well. It seems you've got that part down."

When they straightened and broke the kiss, finally, the minister took their joined hands in both of his and lifted them high. "I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Valentine Roth."

There was a platform laid over the sand that formed the aisle Kyrie had walked down and the area in front where the actual ceremony had taken place, and now Kyrie and Roth walked hand in hand back down the aisle and up to the thatch-roofed area where the "reception" would take place. Cal had served as Valentine's only groomsman, I was Kyrie's bridesmaid, and we both followed behind.

The reception itself was a tiny affair. Just a single bartender, a catered dinner brought out by a single server. No guests, no nonsense. The cake was appropriately sized, a simple black and white two-tier confection. The beach was less than twenty yards away, and Valentine's estate just up the hill.

Alexei, Sasha, Andrei, and Thresh were in attendance as the security detail. They wore matching tuxedos, but each of them was also carrying an a.s.sault rifle as they patrolled the perimeter. It was equal parts s.e.xy and comical and scary, seeing men in fancy tuxedos with roses in their lapels and bowties at their throats, looking fancy and gorgeous...and carrying big a.s.s machine guns.

The security was slight overkill, since Thresh had done some hunting and discovered that with Vitaly's demise, his a.s.sets had been seized and redistributed, and the underground crime world was too busy trying to fill the power vacuum left by his sudden death to worry about a non-factor like Valentine.

In other words, the danger was past.

But h.e.l.l, s.e.xy men in sharp tuxedos with scary guns? Really brings a wedding together, if you ask me.

"How'd you get here?" I asked Nick.

"I didn't leave them much choice. I took out my IV and cannula and walked out of the room still in my hospital gown. I told them I was going, and they could either help me or get out of my way. Also, I bribed them with a huge donation to the hospital. Roth's money, of course. They got me this stupid contraption," he smacked the wheelchair and tugged at the oxygen tube, "and I booked a flight. Checked in with the hospital here to refill the canister, got a taxi, and here I am."

"I can't believe you're here." I wrapped my arms around his neck and inhaled his scent. "It's only been three days, but I feel like I've been away from you for a f.u.c.king year. It's been h.e.l.l. Never leave me again, okay?"

"I'll do my best."

I palmed his cheeks. "Wrong answer, buddy. You go somewhere, I go with you."

"What if it's a dangerous rescue mission?"

"You've seen me handle a gun. You've taught me to fly a plane. I think I can handle anything you can handle."

"Alpha One Security does have an opening for an informational a.s.sessment a.s.set."

"A what?"

"Someone to sort through reams of intel and pick out the useful stuff."

I nodded. "Oh. That I can do."

"I know. I may have just invented the position just for you. You could also be my personal a.s.sistant."

"Does either position include s.e.xual benefits? I've got a thing for the boss, you know."

"It certainly does. All the c.o.c.k you can handle."

"I can handle a lot of c.o.c.k." I touched my lips to his ear. "Remember the promise I made back in the hospital?"

"How could I forget?" He bit my earlobe.

"Think you're up for it yet?"

"You want it right now?"

"Maybe we have some drinks with Kyrie and Roth first?"

He faked a disappointed growl. "Fine. I'll wait. But I plan to be in your a.s.s by midnight."

Kyrie appeared at that moment, just in time to hear Harris. Her eyes widened. "Holy h.e.l.l. Sorry. Wrong place to come in to the convo, I guess." She took my hand. "Can I borrow Layla for a second, Harris?"

"Just have her back to me by midnight," he said, winking at me.

She pulled me across the sand to the water's edge, where the waves lapped at my bare feet and the edges of Kyrie's incredible, custom-made dress. It was a strapless lace corset bodice, with a lace panel under her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, smooth, flawless satin hugging her incredible figure to pool at her feet. Beautiful, flattering, yet informal enough for a tiny beach wedding. "I just wanted to talk to you real quick," she said. "I have something to tell you."

I waited, but she didn't immediately continue speaking. "Well? Out with it, hooker!"

"Roth and I, now that Vitaly is gone, we're staying here. At this estate, I mean. More or less permanently. And I just wanted you to know that you're welcome-"

I cut in. "Kyrie. Baby. Honey. Darling. You couldn't pay me enough to live with you and Roth another day. Listening to you two f.u.c.k like bunnies all the d.a.m.n time? I've had enough." I b.u.mped her with my shoulder. "Besides, I'm with Nick, now. I'm going to work for him at his security company, and will probably end up living with him."

She eyed me. "Really?"

I nodded. "I really love him."

"I'm happy for you," she said, hugging me. "So happy I won't even say 'I told you so.'"

"You just did."

A shrug and an innocent smirk. "Well, I did tell you so." She took my hand. "Anyway, that's not really the reason I wanted to talk to you."

"What else?"

She laid a palm on her stomach, looking nervous, suddenly. "I...Roth and I-um. I'm...pregnant."

I stopped walking abruptly. "You what?"

She shrugged. "While you were gone, I lapsed on my pills."

"Does Roth know?" I asked.

She stared at me. "Does he know? He's already building a nursery. He's painted it pink. He's absolutely convinced it's a girl. I've tried telling him we won't know for sure for another ten weeks at least, but he's...just positive it's a girl." She had a dreamy grin on her face. "We'd been talking about it a little anyway, so it's just...a little sooner than we were thinking, that's all."

"You're having a baby." I blinked hard, trying to wrap my head around a mini version of Kyrie and Roth. "d.a.m.n, girl."

"That's all you have to say?"

"I'm the G.o.dmother, right? And the honorary aunt?"

She blinked away a tear. "Of course."

"Congratulations has always seemed like a weird thing to say when someone is pregnant. Like, all you did was have s.e.x. Biology did the rest." I wrapped my arm around her and kissed her cheek. "I'm happy for you, Kyrie. That's so cool."

"What about you and Harris?"

I shuddered. "Honey, I'm still working on letting him love me without me freaking out. Ain't no babies or wedding bells happening any time soon. You'll be the first-well, the second-to know when there is. I promise."

We walked up the beach for a while, Alexei trailing behind us at a distance. When we returned, Nick was talking to Roth, and both of them had tumblers of scotch. Nick slapped Roth on the back, which led me to suspect Roth had just broken the baby news to him.

We partied late into the night. Kyrie didn't drink, of course, so I drank enough for both of us. Harris even let loose a little. Responsibly, I insisted, since he was still wounded.

All the while, though, I was ruminating on Kyrie's question.

And Harris and I?

Marriage? Kids?

I never thought it would happen to me. I never thought I'd even want it. I always a.s.sumed I'd be arranging f.u.c.k-buddies when I was in a nursing home, visiting my various geriatric booty calls. Apparently, fate or something had a different life in mind for me.

Somehow, sitting on Harris's lap, sharing a gla.s.s of scotch with him, the idea of saying "I do" didn't seem so scary or impossible. I wasn't convinced I'd be that great a mother, since the only example I had was pretty s.h.i.tty. But if anyone could make an honest woman out of me, it was Nicholas Harris.

And I was willing to try.

He pulled my ear to his lips as Roth carried Kyrie up to their room. "Just so you know, I'm gonna knock you up someday."

"Someday far from now?"

"Not yet, no. You're not ready for that. But you will be."

"I'm not so sure, Nick."

He pulled back so he could meet my eyes. "I am sure. You'll be a great mother, some day."

"Can we worry about teaching me how to be a great girlfriend, first?"

He laughed. "Sure. I'm in no hurry. We've got time."

I tugged his wrist to me, pulling his suit coat sleeve back to bare his watch. "It's 2:02, Nick."

He grinned lazily at me. "Is it, now?"

I let out a breath. "Sure is. That's a good two hours past midnight."

"I have a promise to keep, don't I?" He grinned at me, a smile full of promise.

THE END.

AUTHOR NOTE.

Okay, so by now you're probably familiar with the outrageousness that is the ALPHA series playlists. And this one...? It's the most outrageous of all. It's full of some seriously incredible music spanning genres from indie folk to instrumental metal to cla.s.sical. All the good stuff, in other words. I hope I turn you on to a new favorite band, or to an amazing song that helps you through a rough time. Or just a good tune you can blast with the windows down and do some serious steering wheel drumming. Music is my life-blood, and the pulsing heart of every book I write.

Support art. Buy music-or pay for upgraded streaming services-share good finds.

As always, thank you to the artists listed below for creating sonic inspiration.

PLAYLIST..

"Mute Departure" by Cult of Luna "Hungry Face" by Mogwai.

"The Omega Suite pt.ii" by Maroon TEN- alb.u.m by Break of Reality A String Tribute to Skillet-alb.u.m by Cellofourte Evolution-alb.u.m by Primitivity.

"Blood" by Algiers Symphony of Shadows-alb.u.m by Cello Fury COVERS-alb.u.m by Break of Reality Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun-alb.u.m by Red Sparowes Transcend-alb.u.m by Philip Wesley.

"Storm" by G.o.dspeed You Black Emperor "Part.i.ta No. 2 in D Minor BWV 1004: V. Chaconne" by Hillary Hahn "He Films the Clouds Pt. 2" by Maybeshewill "Making Love on the Mountain" by The Woodlands "Work Song" by Hozier "Mojo Pin" by Jeff Buckley.