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They hurried, reaching the boat. The second Mustang spotted Mimic, she let out a celebratory howl and jumped off the boat, running straight for Mimic and jumping into her arms. Mimic grabbed her and twirled them around, the two of them kissing and laughing. It was one of the sweetest reunions Roman had ever seen, beating out any sappy film or TV show he had watched in the past. These emotions were electric, real, raw. It sparked through all of them, the entire group finding their way into their lovers’ arms. Bang Bang with Doc and Phantom with Theo, all eight of them paired up and unable to keep from smiling, even if they tried.
“You did great in there, Salt.”
Roman looked down into Wyatt’s eyes. The sky was painted in swaths of rich purple and fiery orange as the sun started to disappear from its seat.
“I wasn’t sure if flooding the place was a great idea, but I’m glad it worked out.”
“It was a genius idea. We wouldn’t have gotten out of there otherwise. Leonidas had us outnumbered.”
“Do you think he died down there?”
Roman nodded, an arm around Wyatt’s shoulders. The palm trees swayed around them as the breeze whipped through, carrying with it the refreshing scent of the ocean.
Refreshing now that it wasn’t hell-bent on drowning them, of course.
“He wasn’t behind us when we made it out. I can’t imagine he could hold his breath for that long.”
“What if there was another way out? An escape hatch or something?” Wyatt shook his head, looking down at the thick book in his hands. “I don’t know. I won’t trust it until we see a body… but at least we’ve got this.”
“And with this,” Roman said, grabbing the book and holding it in his hands, “we’re all millionaires. And I mean millionaires.” He repeated the word, stressing it, letting it linger on his tongue. Holding the tome nearly made him have an out-of-body experience. He felt about ready to float up into the darkening sky, no longer one with this world. He had it all—his soul mate, his friends, and now his money.
“Come on, baby. Let’s go buy ourselves an island.”
“Let’s,” Wyatt said, turning with Roman to jump on the boat.
“I think that’s my book you’re taking.”
Roman didn’t have to turn around to know whose voice that was. Wyatt was right. He shouldn’t have believed Leonidas was dead without seeing a body. That man was like a cockroach, able to survive a nuclear disaster with his head chopped off. Roman heard the click of a gun and knew he had to act. There wasn’t time to second-guess a damn thing.
He rammed his shoulder into Wyatt, crashing their bodies together and throwing him to the floor just as the bang of a pistol went off. His ears rang, and his heart beat to the point of bursting. Roman fell to the floor, collapsing on top of Wyatt, using his body to shield him from any more shots. Adrenaline covered the pain from the fall and anything else that might have happened to him. He couldn’t be sure if he’d been hit or not.
Another gunshot rang out, this one directly above them. And then another and another. They were coming from the boat.
Roman looked up, seeing Leonidas stumble backward, hand moving up to his chest. His clothes were drenched, the water running off them turning red with blood. He sputtered something before his knees gave way, and he crumpled like a broken accordion.
Mustang stood on the edge of the boat, gun raised. Mimic came to her side, wrapping her in a hug as Bang Bang jumped off the boat.
“Shit, brokis, are you two hurt?”
Bang Bang helped them both onto their feet. Roman patted his chest, his stomach, his legs. Nothing had been hit. He wasn’t bleeding, he wasn’t in pain. He’d survived.
“Look at that,” a slightly shaky Wyatt said, pointing at the bullet hole in the boat. “Right where I was standing. You saved my life.”
“And you kept your promise,” Mustang said, offering them a hand onto the boat. “You let me take out Leonidas.”
“Just like I planned,” Roman said with a wink. Mustang chuckled, moving over to the driver’s chair and starting the engine, the boat coming to life underneath them. The sound of sirens grew louder, and with Leonidas’ dead body only feet away from them, Roman could see how it would be bad optics if the police were to find them like this.
“Come on, Rainbow’s Eight. Let’s get the hell out of here, and let’s get our money.”
The boat broke out into cheers, Wyatt grabbing Roman into a side hug and kissing his neck. The mood was beyond celebratory. It was euphoric, ecstatic. Bang Bang found a bottle of champagne in the boat’s minifridge and made it shower on the crew, keeping enough to pour into a stack of red Solo cups. Mustang drove away from the dock and back out into the open ocean, leaving the pastel-colored Key West homes behind them, the sunset directly ahead of them.
