Page 62 of Decker

Epilogue

“Here, let me straighten your tie.”

Savannah reached over to her handsome husband and straightened the already perfect tie. She smiled up at him as he smirked before wrapping his free hand around her hip and pulling her close for a kiss. Five years and still her need for this man flared with just a kiss or look.

A chubby hand landed on her cheek followed by a giggle, and she pulled away from Mark to look at her small son, sitting comfortably in his father’s arms. Sebastian was the image of his father, from his dark hair to his brown eyes that were filled with mischief.

“Hey, Mister, why can’t I kiss Mommy?” Mark tickled his son’s belly making him giggle, causing Alex to turn around and grin at Sebastian and Mark.

“My Mommy.”

“Yeah, well, she was mine first, buddy,” Mark said with a wry grin.

A tug on her leg made her look down at Liza, their three-year-old daughter who was another one who looked like her dad, except she had her eyes. Where Seb was mischief, Liza was serious. Curious from the word go, she’d captured their hearts and moulded them, so she held them in her tiny hands.

It had been a beautiful thing to watch her heal Mark in ways she knew she’d never have been able to. Not that he needed it, he was all-in for their family since the day she’d let him back into her life. They’d married quickly and he’d followed her to Germany, stating he’d work remotely or travel, but he wanted her to have her dream.

She’d told him she had her dream in him, but he’d insisted he didn’t want her to miss out and she’d loved her time at the Gesundheit Institute. But when she got pregnant with Liza, she knew it was time to come home. She now ran the Gromadski Neuroscience Foundation set up in Percy’s name, along with his husband.

It was a crazy busy life and with another baby on the way in six months, it was only going to get more so but she loved her life. If she could’ve planned it, she’d never have dreamed it would end up so perfect.

Mark kissed her cheek as the rest of the people in the room began to fall silent. The room was filled with everyone from the Eidolon team and their partners, and the many children they now had between them, as well as the Fortis and Zenobi teams and their families, it was a day of celebration. Today they’d watch as Jack and Will Granger were appointed the Knights of the Garter for their service to the Queen and Country.

The private chapel at Windsor Castle was stunning. Ornate stained-glass windows, carved arches, and scones in the roof, and black and white tile flooring. Magnificently carved oak choir stalls ran parallel to the aisle for the knights of the Order of the Garter, the highest order of Knighthood in Britain. Above the pews hung the banners of its members, along with the coats of arms of over 700 former members.

Savannah gripped Mark’s hand tightly as the Queen and her husband, the Duke, walked down the aisle, with the Duke always one step behind his Queen. After hearing the many stories about these two from Astrid it was astonishing to see them again up close.

Decked out in feathers and ceremonial dress, Queen Lydia bestowed the highest honour imaginable on Jack and Will by commending them to this very select group. The history of the two families went back hundreds of years and was as strong now as it would always be. As Jack glanced back at a heavily pregnant Astrid, the Queen said something which made Jack laugh before smiling at his true queen, his wife.

Liza pointed up at the banners. “Daddy, what are those?”

Mark crouched to his daughter and lifted her into his other arm. “Each knight displays a banner or arms, a helmet, a crest, a sword, and an enamelled stall plate in St. George’s Chapel. That’s the banner of a brave Knight from hundreds of years ago.”

“Will Uncle Jack and Uncle Will have that?”

“Yes, sweetheart, they will.”

“Oh. Okay, Daddy.”

Savannah smiled at Mark; her heart full of love before she faced the front again to watch Will take a knee beside Jack.

‘Honi soit qui mal y pense’ meaning, ‘Shame on him who thinks this evil’ rang loud and true throughout the hushed chapel as the Queen committed them to the order. Goosebumps ran through her at the majesty of the moment and more than one woman had tears in their eyes.

A man in full robes stepped forward and unrolled a beautiful scroll before he began to read from it.

“Alex Martinez, Calvin Blake, Kirk Reid, Liam Hayes, Mitchell Quinn, Gunner Ramberg, Aiden Wagner, Javier Lopez, and Mark Decker, please step forward.”

Savannah smiled at her husband as he kissed her quickly and then made his way with the other men of Eidolon to the front alter where the Queen was seated on her throne.

Savannah watched as her husband was awarded a Knighthood, different to what Jack and Will had just received but no less worthy in her book. Mark looked dashing in a bespoke three-piece suit, which he only wore for special occasions now. The other men either wore suits or their military uniform.

Addie reached for her hand, the two friends looking on with pride as their husbands bent their knee and the sword was tapped to each shoulder. This private ceremony was unlike any other, as the secrecy of the team who protected the Monarch and her family and the connections they shared was still very much a privileged knowledge.

As Mark stood, his eyes coming to her, Savannah wiped a tear from her eye. He’d come a long way from the man who was determined never to love again. He now took every opportunity to show his love and affection, and not for one second did she regret her decision to forgive him. Loving him was never a choice but if it had been, it would’ve been the right one. He was the love of her life, and she was the luckiest woman alive to be loved by him and have the family they shared.