She fell back into a deep, healing sleep, content in the knowledge that the man she loved was there. And that he’d somehow make sure they could be together, forever.
Epilogue
It had been two weeks since Elodie had been fished out of the ocean. She’d spent three days in the hospital and had been recuperating in Scott’s apartment since, spending a lot of time in their comfy chair in his bedroom. Scott had been going to work, but when he wasn’t at her side, one of his teammates was. Kai’s mother had also brought him by the day after he’d gotten out of the hospital so they could visit.
Elodie knew she’d been very lucky, and she was having a hard time even thinking about leaving Scott’s apartment. She was scared. Terrified, actually. She knew Paul Columbus wouldn’t give up until she was well and truly dead.
But today, Scott had cajoled, begged, and finally just picked her up and carried her to his truck. He told her it was time to get back out into the world.
She didn’t agree. But she didn’t want to argue with him. She was still feeling off-kilter, and she desperately wanted to believe him when he said she was safe. That she’d always be safe from here on out.
He’d brought her to Aleck’s condo, and now that Elodie was there, she was glad Scott had forced the issue. She loved these men like brothers, and after she’d heard the story about how they’d all banded together the second they knew she was missing, her heart had melted for them even more.
They were rough around the edges. Many times they said the wrong thing, they swore too much, and it was obvious what they did for a living had affected them all in some way. But she loved them exactly how they were.
She was sitting on Aleck’s couch, and they were all laughing and joking about nothing in particular when a knock sounded on the door. Elodie was surprised. She had no idea who it could be. Maybe someone ordered takeout?
Slate headed for the door and opened it. Elodie couldn’t see the door from where she was sitting, but she heard a deep voice she didn’t recognize. When Slate reentered the room, there was a man walking next to him.
Elodie had never seen the man before, but she couldn’t help but take a second glance.
He was gorgeous.
He looked older, possibly in his mid-forties to mid-fifties. But men always seemed to age more gracefully than women, so she could be way off. He had black hair that was liberally peppered with silver. It was longer on top and, even as she stared, he ran a hand through it, making it stick up even wilder. His neatly trimmed short beard was more gray than black, and she definitely approved. He had on a pair of black jeans with a black T-shirt. His skin was darkly tanned and she could see the edges of a tattoo peeking out of the right sleeve.
But it was his eyes that pinned her in place. They were a dark green, almost jade, and seemed to see way too much. She knew without having to be told, this man had dark secrets.
She shivered and broke eye contact with the newcomer as Scott covered her shoulders with a throw blanket.
That was another thing, ever since her time in the ocean, she had difficulty staying warm. Her body temperature had gotten so low, her organs had been on the verge of shutting down. It seemed as if her fingers and toes were always cold now. The doctors told her that would disappear with time.
The stranger greeted each member of Scott’s team with a handshake or a chin lift and then stood a respectable distance from her.
“Elodie, this is Baker Rawlins. He’s a retired Navy SEAL who lives on the island,” Scott told her.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Elodie said. “Thank you for your service.” She wasn’t sure why she was meeting this man, but she had no problem being polite and welcoming to anyone who Scott and his team seemed to like.
And they definitely liked and respected this man. It was easy to see in the way they interacted with him. Their behavior was almost deferential.
Baker pulled Aleck’s fancy coffee table over in front of the couch, then sat on it and studied her.
Elodie shifted uncomfortably at his proximity, but he didn’t make her wait to let her know what he was doing there—and why he was so focused on her.
“I heard you’ve been having some problems with the Columbus family out of New York.”
She blinked at the way he didn’t beat around the bush. She glanced at the others, and they all nodded at her with encouragement. Scott squeezed her hand. Mentally shrugging—if the guys trusted this man, she supposed she had absolutely no reason not to either—she told him, “Yeah, you could say that.”
“Well, you don’t anymore.”
“Um…what?”
“You don’t have to worry about Paul Columbus or any of his capos coming after you anymore.”
“I’m not sure it’s that easy,” she protested. She wanted to believe him, but she knew firsthand how ruthless the man was.
“It is when he’s dead,” Baker replied.
Elodie frowned. “He’s dead?”
“Yeah. Happened a week ago. New York’s a dangerous place. Carjacking. He and the man he was with were both shot in the head, their bodies dumped, and his Mercedes was stolen.”
Elodie wanted to believe this man. Needed to. But she was afraid to hope. “I’m sure whoever took his place will take up where he left off,” she whispered.
Baker shook his head. “Nope. Here’s the thing…Paul was an asshole. Most mob bosses are, but he’d gotten so bad, his own family hated him. His second-in-command, his son Jerry, is now in charge, and he didn’t know anything about Paul’s vendetta against you.”
Elodie couldn’t take her gaze from Baker’s green one. “How do you know all this?”
“I asked him.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. I know people who know people, and I took a trip to the mainland when my friend Tex asked me to step in.”
“Tex?”
Baker looked over at Scott. “She doesn’t know who Tex is?”
Scott shook his head. “No.”
Baker met her gaze once more. “Tex is a legend. He was a Navy SEAL who lost his leg and was medically retired. He’s a computer genius who knows everyone. And I mean that literally. He has connections upon connections. Slate gave him a call, and he promised to take care of this. It should’ve been done before you got hurt.”
Elodie saw him give Scott a look, and she bristled.
“Don’t blame him,” she said adamantly. “This isn’t his fault.”
“It’s okay,” Scott said, squeezing her hand once more. “He’s right. I should’ve taken the entire situation more seriously. Called Tex from the start. Just because neither of us sensed any danger didn’t mean it wasn’t there. Obviously.”
“Anyway, I met up with a team from Indiana and got the details about Paul’s unfortunate accident. Then I met with Jerry Columbus. We had lunch.”
Elodie was having a hard time wrapping her mind around what Baker was telling her. He met up with a team? Had lunch with a mob boss? Who was this guy? But she didn’t get to ask any of her questions as Baker continued.
“I raised the subject of Paul’s obsession with you, and Jerry said he had no idea what I was talking about. That as far as he knew, you were a chef who’d quit abruptly. He’s very happy with the new guy they hired to take your place.”