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“We’ll find out what’s going on, son.” I hold him close.
“I suggest you and your son come with me.” The man tries to get us into a car, but I hold fast.
“I will go with my friends only.” The fear that I’ve lost Briar is causing me to shake, and I squeeze my son harder.
“Daddy.” He looks at me, and I stop. I hand him to Chase and turn back to the guy in the suit, who must be a detective.
“Tell me.”
“We are clearing the building now. The gunmen in the lobby were neutralized by security before we got there. They haven’t located Ms. Bennington yet.”
My heart thumps so hard in my chest that I clutch at it.
“She could be hiding.” Remi tries to calm me, but all I can think about is the devastation I saw on her face as I walked away from her after she told me she loved me.
“I fucked up.” I start to collapse, but Remi holds me up. “I didn’t tell her I love her back.” The tears start and I can’t stop them.
Somehow, I find myself back in Chase’s Bronco, and we are speeding toward BUTEE headquarters with police surrounding us. When we pull up, I get out to see people standing everywhere. The building was evacuated.
“Thornton.” I turn to see Elora rushing up to me. “I hadn’t gotten into work yet. She’d set up a meeting with your office to disclose the people on your staff who had been working with her. She wanted to end it completely.” She explains what the meeting was all about.
“Where is she?” I grab her by the shoulders and shake her.
“I don’t know,” she cries, and I pull her into me for a hug.
Just then, radios around us start chirping. “We need emergency personnel. We have two bodies. One alive. One deceased.” Blood rushes into my head, and my ears start pounding as they relay what level they’re on and their exact location.
Please, God, don’t take her from me, I beg for the first time. Praying that my life won’t be over.
Minutes tick by and it feels like hours. Chase is standing back with Orion while both Elora and I are trying to get access to the building. Remi is pacing behind us.
“We have Ms. Bennington,” a voice says through the radios.
All eyes go to the building as the doors open and a gurney is being pushed out. Briar has blood all over her, and she’s looking around in panic. When her eyes land on me, they calm for a moment until she sees Chase holding Orion. She collapses against the pillow, and I run up to her.
“I love you.” I grab her, and she cringes. I look down and see gauze wrapped around her forearm.
“I love you too. I didn’t mean to do it. It was an accident. She wouldn’t stop.” Each sentence comes out faster and full of panic.
“It’s okay, beautiful.” I climb into the ambulance with her, knowing everyone else will follow us to the hospital.
Epilogue One
Briar
Six Months Later
The surf washes over my ankles, and the photographer stands off to the side, clicking away. I look over his shoulder to my husband. Thor had insisted we get married two days after the attack on BUTEE and Orion’s school. It helped his cause when we found out I was pregnant at the hospital. I’m all healed physically, but I have nightmares all the time about killing Louise. I wake up screaming and dripping in sweat. I’ve been seeing a counselor to help, but I know I’ll always struggle with the fact I took someone’s life. That I almost died too.
“Can you hold out the skirt a bit? And with your other hand, hold your belly?” the photographer asks.
I softly smile as I hear my husband growl. The dress I’m wearing is sheer and see-through. The bodysuit beneath covers my breasts, very pregnant belly, wrists, and pubis, and is appliqued with flowers that are almost see-through. Thor hated it, but I told him it would be a private shooting and he would be present. I needed it to help me feel beautiful. Not only because of how big I am this time around with another son but because I bear scars now from the attack. One on my forearm and another on my side that could have killed our baby if I had been further along. The dress has sheer off-the-shoulder sleeves with cuffs in the same appliqued lace as the bodysuit built into the dress. Holding open the split shows my naked legs and the crotch area too.
“Okay, we are done,” Thor says through gritted teeth, and the clicking stops. The photographer, who is quite aware of how protective and jealous my husband is because he took our family pictures and wedding announcement photos months ago, moves off and leaves us to ourselves.
“I love you.” I smile up at Thor as he wades into the water where I’m standing.
He leans down to kiss my lips softly. He’s so gentle with me, but I need him hard and deep. These pregnancy hormones are almost unbearable. It’s been a couple hours since we made love. I shift my legs, and he swings me up in his arms.
