Sasha watched from her corner of the room, not interfering. They were the injured party after all. If anyone deserved a settlement, it was them. But she knew money had a funny way of turning people into minions. She didn’t want that for Trey and Catalina because, while they should be compensated for their awful experience, she didn’t want Zack to slip through the cracks of accountability once again. He shouldn’t be able to hurt people and escape all consequences, because whatever amount Trey and Catalina received, Zack wouldn’t be fazed by it. Nor would he stop to consider whether or not his actions were rash and if, next time, there should be more thought put into decisions.
As she listened, watching as Trey and Catalina gazed at each other, both appearing to be absolutely in love through unspoken communication, she realized there wasn’t much danger in them becoming minions. They were more concerned about getting money for the organization Catalina worked for than for themselves. It seemed like a cause they both cared about. The lawyer was quick to agree to these demands since it also put Mankind2Mars in a positivelight when they could use some good PR. It was a win-win for everyone.
While Sasha harbored some disappointment at possibly not being able to use the evidence Trey was in possession of, it did make the wheels in her brain turn. She may no longer have access to her work and email… But she had opened things, like the security footage, both for the laser room and in the control room, on her phone. She would have downloaded it, and it was likely backed up on her cloud account. In fact, she may have other work documents downloaded on the cloud because she’d used her personal devices while working on location at the resort.
Zack was wrong.
She had something, and she wasn’t no one.
Sasha slipped from the room while everyone was distracted. She wasn’t taking any chances of the lawyer seeking her out next.
This time she couldn’t be bought.
Epilogue
Catalina
One year later
Catalina was in the bathroom, straightening out the lines of her new bathing suit. It was a black bikini with gold-accented trim. She looked good and her hair was on point today. She put in a clip to hold some of it back.
“Ha!” Trey said from the other room. “Looks like our friend, Buddy, got the urban legend treatment. This pamphlet talks about the mysterious El Mono del Diablo that is sometimes spotted inside the resort. There’s even a fuzzy picture as their evidence, but it just looks like a piece of black lint on a table. He’s like the antithesis cousin of Sasquatch. Small-squatch? But you’ll never convince me he actually exists. People only see what they want to see.”
“Poor Buddy,” she said, emerging from the bathroom and leaning against the doorframe.
Her husband, bare-chested and in blue swim trunks, reclined on the single king-sized bed, looking like a beautiful, tanned god. He was reading thepamphlet in his hand, but when he glanced up, it turned into a double take. Trey jumped from the bed like a shot, striding to her, his hands taking immediate possession of her waist as he leaned into her. “Yeah, poor Buddy. He has no chimp friends to get into trouble with.”
His fingers spread across her hips as he pressed heated kisses into her neck.
Catalina smiled and sighed from his attention. “I don’t feel too sorry for him. Not after he did this to you.” She traced the scars tracking across the top of his shoulder. They weren’t too bad, and she still considered Trey to be absolutely perfect, but it pained her nonetheless that he had to go through that. It had taken months to recover, and he didn’t have one hundred percent movement without some discomfort. But Trey was so happy to be alive and with her. This was enough to carry him through with a positive attitude. Plus, he’d completed the requirements to get his full-fledged teaching license and found a position at a middle grade school, and he loved it.
As for Catalina, she was also quite content with how life was currently treating them. Sure, anyone could see what had happened to them a year ago as some fluky bad luck that was mostly terrifying and she’d never want to experience again. But, also, a lot of good things came from it. Mostly it gave her a new courage when facing the world. After being flung through the air, running away from hungry seabirds, and having to defend against a crab attack—all the other stuff she used to worry about didn’t seem quiteas bad. Even flying on a plane was now a fairly tame experience.
She returned to work like she had come home after being in combat—a little battered and bruised and not in the mood to deal with any bullshit. Trey had been absolutely right. She couldn’t help people if she was having trouble herself. She loved the organization’s mission, but if they were going to survive, it was time for everyone to get their act together. After announcing she had landed Mankind2Mars as their new top donor, who would be giving a very generous amount, she told them it was contingent on them using part of the money to once again fill out the departments that had become bare-bones so there were enough people to do the work that needed to be done.
With Mankind2Mars on board, other celebrities around Hollywood took more notice, putting their weight behind the cause as well. This was a good thing because no one knew how long Mankind2Mars would continue to be around after financial and legal troubles began springing up around them. Not only did her company do as she asked, but they also officially promoted Catalina to VP of the marketing department. She could finally do what she wanted to do all along, which was focus on helping the organization grow so they could help as many people as possible. In fact, they were looking to expand the organization to other areas in the country.
Her work was still very demanding, as far as her time was concerned, but she always did her best to make time for Trey. One of the things the shrinkingexperience taught her was that what she had with him was her most valued prize. He was always willing to attend dinners, galas, and events with her, helping out whenever she needed it, and she loved him for it. He was her rock, and she was his. When this vacation was suggested, she had no problem getting something on the calendar because having time together to recharge was important.
Plus, this vacation was nearly free, and who’s going to turn down a free vacation? She just made sure there weren’t any underlying conditions or weird presentations they had to attend.
“Nope,” Trey had assured her when he had brought the free vacation to her attention a few months prior. “The resort just wants to make up for our last visit.”
“Why? It wasn’t their fault.”
The resort had originally contacted them about their luggage, the items stuck in lost-and-found limbo. But once their story was made public, the resort offered them a free week, treating them as though they were celebrities and wanting to make sure their impression of the place was in good standing. Catalina was eager to test her Spanish in Cancun and talk to the locals and people at the resort, feeling she’d improved and gotten more confident at communicating both in Mexico and with families she interacted with in the course of her work. When she approached the resort manager, Ricky, he was so kind and patient with her, giving her an extra boost of confidence.
Although their identities were not revealedwhen Sasha Acosta first went to the press, the story blew up, and everyone wanted to know every detail. It also caught congressional attention, and Sasha became an official whistleblower regarding Mankind2Mars’s business standards and practices, the whole thing becoming controversial overnight. With the company in hot water over the incident and Zack increasingly becoming a business pariah, journalists and internet sleuths took the unrelenting task of finding their identity as a challenge. It didn’t take long.
Though the couple did receive a personal financial settlement on top of the donation made to Catalina’s work, it wasn’t as though they were flashing around their new money like out-of-control lottery winners. She would rather squirrel the money away unless they really needed something. They were too used to scrimping to blow it all and find themselves right back in the same position. Especially since they started talking about getting their own place and possibly having kids in the future. They would definitely need money for that.
The only frivolous exception she’d made lately was this bathing suit, and it was one hundred percent worth it based on the way Trey was gazing at her. He kissed her deeply now, grabbing her thighs and dragging her up until she could lock her legs around his waist while he pressed into her.
“Reason number seventy-seven on why you should love me,” she said between kisses. She had long ago decided it wasn’t fair if he was the only one giving reasons, and she had begun returning the favor. “I’veasked Rickyto find the best empanada place he knows in the area and have a bunch delivered to our room.”
Trey groaned in deep satisfaction. “I love you so much. And Ricky really is the best. This trip is already a lot better than the last time.”
He’d never been more right in his life. This time they had one of the newly remodeled luxury suites with a view of the ocean and a single giant bed they definitely planned to utilize as often as they could. In fact, he carried her there now, peeling off her new bathing suit on the way as his fingers trailed along the different parts of her. He wasted no time plucking the hair clip from her head.
