Second Chance SEAL(58)

I threw my arms around him, crushing my body against his. I didn’t care that Tony was lying dead at our feet, the only thing I cared about was being close to Gates again.

“Good luck,” Matteo said. He snapped his fingers then turned and left. His men went with him.

I couldn’t believe it was over. Gates wrapped his arms around me and pressed me close to him. I breathed in his scent and felt shivers run down my spine. He really came back for me, really survived that fire. He managed to talk down a mafia boss and kill his guards. He saved my life again.

“I love you,” he said.

I blinked away the tears. “I love you too, Gates. I always have.”

“I thought about you every day out there,” he whispered. “Every fucking day. I’ll never lose you, never leave you again. I’m done with the military.”

“Okay,” I said.

He pulled me away and then kissed me hard. I kissed him back, losing myself in the moment.

This was what I really had been dreaming about. Maybe not the situation, but the man, the strength. Gates could do whatever he wanted with me and I’d always say yes because I was his. Gates came back for me, saved me, and I know he would do it again and again if I asked him to.

“Come on,” he said finally, taking my hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

We walked toward the door. I glanced back at Tony lying there on the floor.

“What about him?” I asked.

“Leave him. He’s not our problem anymore.”

I nodded and we headed out. We walked back through some hallways and ended up out front of the warehouse. There was nobody else in sight.

“Do you think it’s really over?” I asked him.

“Yes,” he said. “I do.”

“Why would they just let us go like that?”

“Because they know that the General’s murder is going to come under some serious scrutiny and they’re afraid.”

“Can you really make sure nothing happens to them?”

He nodded. “I’ll make damn sure they don’t find shit. I already avenged the General’s death. Now I just need to make sure you’ll stay safe.”

I squeezed his hand and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Gates.”

He took my hips and kissed me again. “Let’s go home.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

We walked together and I knew it was done. I felt a huge amount of stress lift off my shoulders. Everything that had happened felt like a fake movie, but now that was over and done with. We were going to be together and nothing was going to get in the way.

The night swallowed us, and for the first time I felt like I was really going home.



Epilogue: Piper



I could smell something burning in the other room. Ever since the events of three years ago, I was pretty jumpy when it came to fires. I wasn’t in the cabin when it started burning, but the image of Gates in there never left me.

I stood up and sighed. I hit pause on the show I was watching and walked around the corner.

“It’s okay!”

I looked into the kitchen. Gates grinned back at me bashfully.

“What happened?” I asked him.

“I was trying to make you some grilled cheese for lunch,” he said. “Tyler got in the way of that, though.”

I smiled. Tyler was strapped to Gates’s chest, hanging from his little baby Bjorn. He put his hands out toward me and made some noises. Sandy was sitting at the table, coloring furiously in her coloring book.

“What did he do?”

Gates shrugged. “Just the usual cute stuff. Wanted to play. I got a little distracted.” He motioned over at Sandy. “She was supposed to be watching the food, but she got distracted.”

“Give me that baby,” I said, smiling. “And don’t let Sandy near the stove, you big goof.”

“Take him. Please. I’m begging you.” He laughed.

I laughed too and went over to Gates. I kissed him quickly on the lips then unstrapped Tyler from the Bjorn. I hefted him into my arms and he giggled. Gates walked over and sat down next to Sandy, looking over her coloring.

Three years and we were safe. A lot happened in those three years, but I never forgot about that night at the warehouse, about what happened with Tony. Almost every night I thought about him, and I was happy he was dead.

The mob never bothered us. Gates managed to pull some strings and get himself involved with the investigation into General Maron, but they never found anything that implicated the mob. Gates told me that they assumed it was a terrorist attack in retribution for the General’s work, but nobody could confirm that, either.

Which was obvious, since it wasn’t true.

Gates meanwhile only had to keep an eye on everything and never actively discouraged their alternative theories. But through his work on Maron’s case, he realized something important. Well, two important things.