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Finally, I gather my courage and do yet one more thing on this vacation I’ve never done before. Shoot a man with a big-cat tranquilizer and help haul him away on a tiny plane.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jax
Louie doesn’t have my father killed.
Not that he wouldn’t. But it turns out that my father, always the big talker, was able to convince him that he needs him around. Louie doesn’t know the first thing about producing records. My father might be terrible with money, but he knows how to build money-makers.
The kingpin and his thugs most definitely did take over my father’s music recording studio.
And I’m told that if I ever come back to the States, Louie will find a way to pay me back for the embarrassment of leaving him at the altar. Believe me when I say I moved all of my assets to the island with a quickness.
I may never see my father again, but he made his bed. He decided where his loyalties lay long ago.
As for me, I’m standing on the edge of a cliff, about to jump.
I look down and experience slight vertigo as I see my toes curl at the edge of the rock. Below me is startling blue water, smooth and calm, a little jewel set apart from the crashing waves on the other side of the inlet.
I’m not afraid. I’ve done everything there is to do on this island, except this one thing.
I’m not afraid of anything anymore.
A man’s hand slips into mine.
I look next to me, and Brooks is there. I have a good feeling he’ll always be there. “Ready?”
“You’re going to do this with me?”
“I’m going to do everything with you. I’ll hold your hand when you jump off a cliff, whatever kind of cliff.”
“I love you,” I breathe.
He smiles. “I know.”
“That’s Han Solo, not Dr. Jones,” I tease.
“Dr. Jones never settled down. Han Solo is a more loyal character.”
I shake my head. “I love you, nerd. Let’s go.”
I suck in my breath and bend my knees, getting ready to fling myself off the rock.
“I love you too, my dragonfly.”
Epilogue
One year later
Jax
The Nature Nerds is not something I ever thought I would hear used about me.
My and Brooks’s social media following has exploded with a shared channel devoted to exploration and environmental awareness.
Brooks and I still work together at Cerulean Resort, but we travel around the world together in the off-season, giving talks and filming our adventures.
Sierra teases me about turning into a bug nerd. Honestly, I’m still squeamish around bugs and wildlife, but as long as Brooks is with me, I’m in good hands.
