Page 87 of Colombian Chemistry

“Oh, hell yeah!” Knox laughed. “Big screen TV. Cold drinks. Watching the cartels tear each other apart. I’m in!”

“Same,” Piper said. “Who’s taking bets? I’ve got fifty that says the Jungle Kings give up in under five minutes.”

“I say ten,” Knox countered.

“As long as they are gone and not bothering us again, I’m a happy woman,” I answered, then turned my attention to my dad and lifted a brow. “And we’re never taking funding from shady men again, right, Dad?”

He sucked the air through his teeth. “No. Never again. Lesson learned. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

I sighed and pulled him in for one last hug. “You’re forgiven. It was an honest mistake. And in reality, I should be thanking you. Without your whoopsie daisy, I never would have met Marcus.”

“Well, then. At least something good came out of this debacle. I’m very happy for you, darling. Any man who would risk his life for my daughter is a man worth keeping.”

“Yeah. He is.” I looked up at Marcus, and the way his eyes flickered when they locked with mine sent my stomach flipping like I was going over a waterfall again.

“Now. If we can get out of this Godforsaken jungle, I need a shower and a cheeseburger and to leave this country and never come back!”

I scrunched up my nose. “Eew. No cheeseburgers. I don’t kill animals.”

The moment I said it, I realized how strange that sounded, considering I’d just killed a man if you could even call Pedro that. Marcus struggled to suppress his smile.

I lifted my hand. “I see the irony here, but it’s different. Animals are innocent. Pedro was a raping, drug dealing murderer who was going to kill you.”

“Okay, Sweetcheeks. Save the animals, kill the bad guys. I can get behind that.”

I chuckled and kissed Marcus on the cheek before following my dad into the van. A cheeseburger sounded horrific, but that shower sounded like heaven. Especially if Marcus joined me in it.

Before I climbed in, Marcus caught me by the hand and pulled me up against him. “I know I probably don’t deserve someone as good as you, but I just want you to know that now that all of this is over, I’m going to devote every second of my life to making you as happy as you make me. I’ll always keep you safe. I love you, Irene.”

I couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across my face. “I love you too, Marcus. I have no idea where we’re going in this life, and for the first time in my existence, I have no plan, but all I know is that wherever life takes us, I want to be at your side. Always.”

His grin matched my own, then he pulled me into his arms and kissed me so hard it hurt, but it was the best pain I’d ever felt.

EPILOGUE

Marcus

Twelve Months Later...

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The warm Brazilian sun soaked my skin as I kicked back in my lounge chair. Soft ocean waves crashed along the shore of the fifty-acre spread I got to call home. It was even better than the property I’d wanted to buy in Colombia. This place came complete with a beautiful house, a swimming pool, and a beach that was protected by sharp rocks on either side.

In other words? No fucking tourists.

Instead, I got this little piece of heaven free from all the people in the world.

“You out there, love?” Irene called.

Well, except her. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Hey, Sweetcheeks! You’re home!” I set down my drink on the wicker table and hopped up to greet her.

Irene walked toward me wearing an oversized sunhat, a pink wrap dress, matching pink sunglasses, and a huge smile.

“Damn, I missed that view,” she said as she came toward me.

“Yeah. I’ll never get sick of this beach being our backyard.”