"Sorry." Cage smiled.

Why was he standing there? Had he heard her talking to herself about the "gorgeous guy?" She stood tall and swallowed her pride, which was easy to do because there wasn't much left if he had heard her.

"Better see if your boyfriend is back."

"Boyfriend? Oh, no. No, no, no." She shook her head. "Luke is my brother. Seriously, we look identical, except I have long hair, b.o.o.bs, and a prosthetic leg." Closing her eyes, she bit her lips together. Someone needed to tape her mouth shut. "I'm sorry. We met like two seconds ago and I can't stop reminding you that I have a fake leg, and to humiliate myself even more I actually mentioned my b.o.o.bs. I'm just going to go. Even if he's not here, I'll just wait outside."

Cage smirked. Hands crossed over his chest, he seemed to enjoy the Lake is an Idiot show. Her plans to ease him into talking about his father and Jillian derailed the second she stepped into the house. There wasn't enough time to back up and steer the conversation in a different direction.

"You live around here?"

Lake shook her head. The less she said the better.

"Are you from New York too?"

Another place she'd never been.

"Yes. Have you been there?" Telepathically she willed him to say no. The last thing she needed was someone wanting to compare favorite places and things to do in New York.

"Yes, but only in transit with the team."

"The team?"

"I play football."

"Oh, that's cool. Which team?"

"Cornhuskers."

Lake nodded. "What position?"

"Quarterback."

She tried not to react to the gorgeous guy confessing he played quarterback for a major college football team, but her eyes widened a bit anyway.

"Are you good?"

Cage shrugged. "I don't know. Some people think so."

"I ran cross country and played volleyball in high school. My mom thinks I should do something with the Special Olympics." She twisted her lips for a moment. "But I don't know. It's been a crazy year since the accident. Some days I still struggle to climb stairs."

He gave her a slight nod.

"Well, I'd better see if Luke's here and let you get back to ... your stuff."

He looked down, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, my dad wasn't a collector or any sort of packrat, but my parents were divorced. I'm his only child and my grandparents live in Portland, so I guess it's my responsibility to decide what to do with everything. It's all mine now, including the house. The funny part? I don't want any of it."

"My brother's fiancee died a year ago. Her stuff still hangs in his closet. It's just stuff, but there has to be a finality to get rid of it. I bet you'll feel it when the last thing is removed from here and someone else buys the place. The astuff' is the epilogue. The story is over, but part of it lives on like a ghost for just a few more pages. What's left at the end of the epilogue?"

"Nothing."

Lake c.o.c.ked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. "Depends on how you look at it."

"And how would you look at it?"

"I'm not sure yet. My boyfriend died in the accident that took my leg. When I came out of my coma the funeral was over, his parents had cleaned out his apartment, and some other person lived there. I turned the page after the final chapter only to find no epilogue. The author of my life sucker punched me."

"Some would say the author of your life is G.o.d."

"And I'd agree. But no amount of faith can truly comfort a grieving heart that can't make sense of such tragedy. I didn't lose my faith, but I did feel like G.o.d sucker punched me. No epilogue. But he's G.o.d so I'll probably forgive him some day."

Cage chuckled. "I'm sure he'll be grateful."

She tore her eyes away from his smile and those dimples. "I'm sure he's waiting." She pulled on her boots. "Sorry to have disturbed you. We were just looking for Jillian. Her brother doesn't know where she is and thought you might have heard from her. But we'll find her."

Lake opened the door.

"What's your name?"

She turned. "Oh, sorry. I guess after fifteen minutes of talking about my disability, my b.o.o.bs, and my anger at G.o.d, it might be nice to have a name to use when you tell your friends about the crazy chick that stopped to use your bathroom. It's Lake."

"Nice to meet you, Lake. I'm sorry. I have no idea where Jillian is or might be. And for the record, this has been the best fifteen minutes I've had in a long time, so I think when I tell my friends it will be about this hot girl that stopped by and how much I hated to see her walk out the door because really ... the best fifteen minutes."

Luke honked the horn. She cursed him behind her smile. Gorgeous quarterback guy just called her ahot girl.' Her destiny stood before her and she had to leave. Maybe he would never forget their fifteen minutes together and come search for her in New York.

Dammit, Jones! Her mind quoted Jessica.

"The feeling is mutual." She began to shut the door then poked her head inside. "Cage?"

He turned. "Yes?"

"You want to know what comes after the epilogue?"

"What?"

"A new book filled with endless possibilities."

He grinned. Yup, the guy would definitely come look for her. In. New. York.

Dammit, Jones!

Luke drummed the top of the steering wheel with his hands. He was tired of driving around the block.

"You didn't need to honk the horn." Lake slipped in the seat and slammed the door shut.

"So what did you find out?"

"He's gorgeous. He plays quarterback for the Cornhuskers. Oh ... and I think he loves me and my prosthetic leg."

Luke pulled out and stopped before shifting into drive, giving her the hairy eyeball.

Lake's smile morphed into a frown. "He said he doesn't know where she is or even could be."

Another dead end. Luke hoped Jackson would find out more helpful information from Knox. The most unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach kept his mind on Jessica and the belief that she was in some kind of trouble or sending out an SOS that only he could detect.

All they could do at that point was wait, so he headed back to the hotel. Lake rubbed the top of her leg, staring out the window.

"Your leg bothering you today?"

"No." She stilled her hand. "It's just habit. That's all"

He detected disappointment in her voice. "I have no doubt that you're right."

Lake glanced at him. "What? That it's a habit?"

"No. I have no doubt that you're right about Cage. I'm sure he does love you and your leg. Any guy would be a fool not to."

She smiled and moved her hand to his leg. "We're going to find her, Luke."

He nodded. They would find Jessica. He just wasn't sure what shape she would be in when that time came, or if she'd still be Jessica at all.

Chapter Twenty-Four.

Knight Jackson finished drying the last pan while watching Luke and Lake drive out of the development. The Days were no longer dead. Their past had caught up to them. Their past could put everyone involved in danger. It was time to go.

"I have to leave." His eyes stayed focused on the slushy street. "I want you to come with me."

"Sure. Where are we going?" Ryn took the pan from him, hanging it from the S-hook above the stove. "I hope to get a Christmas tree for this place. You could use some holiday cheer around here."

Her comment, although oblivious to the true meaning behind his words, was just one more reason he had to take her with him. The last time Jackson lived in a home with a Christmas tree was his senior year of high school. The beginning of the end of his life as he knew it. He wanted a home, a wife, and a slew of holiday cheer. Jude wanted it too.

They could start over. He would run forever and take on a hundred new ident.i.ties if they could be together. Jackson's home would be his wife, and as long as they were together ... he would always be home.

"We'll take Gunner and Maddie too."

She laughed, sliding her arms under his and hugging his back. "Gunner won't love tree shopping and it's too cold to leave him in the car. And Maddie? Pfft ... feel free to call her, but I'm certain she will laugh in your face."

He laced his hands with hers. "She can finish school someplace else."

Ryn eased around his body to face him. Confusion lined her brow. "What are you talking about?"

"Marry me."

"I feel like ... we've had this conversation before."

"We did. But most proposals mean alet's be engaged and eventually get married.' Like putting something on layaway. I don't want to be engaged. I want to marry you-now."

"Now?"

"Well, it's Sat.u.r.day. We'll have to wait until Monday. Marry me Monday."

Ryn squinted. "Are you pregnant?"

He smiled, just barely. She didn't understand the seriousness of the situation. How could she?

"If I say yes, will you make an honest man of me?"

"Maybe. Are you sure it's mine?"

Threading his fingers through her hair, he bent down and whispered over her lips, "I'm sure I'm yours. Just ... say yes."

"Jackson-"

He kissed her. It was unfair. s.e.xual coercion.

"Say yes." He bit her lip, dragging it through his teeth. If he had to strip her down and use his tongue to make her agree to his request, he'd do it. A yes was a yes. He'd take it and run-run with her and never look back.

Her eyes answered him first. He loved her eyes. They were innocent. In spite of the h.e.l.l her body endured, her soul had the innocence of a child. Ryn spoke in kindness, loved with a bared heart, and lived with a spirit that not even Preston Iverson could break.

She nodded, pulling her lip from his grip.

She said yes.

"I'll marry you Monday."

Step One: Confess the mercy killing first.

Done.

Step Two: Wait for Ryn to acclimate to Jackson's ability to take another's life.

Done.

Step Three: Make her fall so deep in love with him that not even the a.s.sa.s.sin confession could drive her away.

Pretty d.a.m.n close.

Step Four: Be prepared to gently hold her in captivity until she snaps out of her inevitable conniption fit because realistically there is no way Step Three would ever fly.