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I see the clear silhouette of Mack moving stealthily, ducked down and coming closer. Relief floods through me.
He's here. Mack's here and safe.
Flashes of blue and red strobe in the distance. Seeing that the police are on the way cranks Kenny into overdrive.
"Oh good, which one of you bitches called the cops?"
He waves his gun back and forth, first pointing at me then at Aunt Trudy. "It doesn't even matter because by the end of tonight I'm going to be six feet under."
The sliding glass door in the dining room silently and slowly opens. Mack appears and presses a finger to his lips.
Kenny starts laughing, then crying. He raises his gun, pointing directly at me. I press my forehead to the floor, afraid to look, too scared to watch what's going to happen.
"But here's the thing—I'm not going alone. I'm taking as many as you fuckers with me as I can, and I'm going to start with you."
I feel Aunt Trudy's small hand squeeze mine.
There's a scuffle and a gurgling sound. I hear the thud of the pistol hitting the wooden floor. I snap my head up, and my stomach clenches painfully.
There's Mack, behind Kenny with one hand gripping Kenny's wrist and the other at his throat, where Mack has just sunk a knife into the side of it.
“Everything’s okay, I got you.” At the sound of Mack’s voice, I exhale. My stomach heaves, and I let out a shuddering breath before everything goes dark.
EPILOGUE-MACK
I can’t believe how lucky I am. After ten years of trying to shut down my heart, not feel any emotions, I am now the most touchy-feely guy on the planet, and my new team is never going to let me hear the end of it.
I take a box out of Aunt Trudy’s hands and carry it into the manager’s cottage. She and Brooke are officially re-moving in today after a few necessary renovations were made after the horrific night with Kenny Brown.
Even though we’ve told Trudy a million times to sit down and relax, that my guys and I will do all the heavy lifting, she keeps shuffling out and trying to help, only managing to get in everybody’s way.
The lots are all starting to sell now, since the body of Sherry Fritz was found buried near the pond—on lot 13, the one that Kenny Brown pretended to want. I don’t think he ever planned on buying it; he just wanted to tie it up to give himself time to figure out what to do about the body and the car.
Since he was dead, after having confessed to killing her, there was no need for an investigation. Good riddance, asshole. I hope he enjoys an afterlife in hell where he belongs. It only took a few days to tie everything up, allowing Owen and Brooke to get back to the business of development.
I’ve built the team I want for the fire station, a group of bad asses like Ryker, Tyson, and I. Everything is coming along to my satisfaction. There’s only one more thing that I need to take care of, and even though I’ve been trying to plan the perfect way to do it, there’s a small black box burning a hole in my pocket, and I don’t think I can wait any more. At least it might distract Trudy from wandering around trying to direct the guys taking in her possessions and unpack before we’ve even gotten half of it inside.
So I wait until Brooke and Colby have followed Trudy out to the porch, and I intercept them all before they can wander off again.
“Trudy, stay right there for a second,” I command in my deepest, most authoritative voice. “Have a seat; you’re going to want to see this.”
She gives me a confused look, then her eyes turn shrewd, and she takes a seat on the rocking chair that I had delivered especially for her and placed on the porch.
“Brookie-bru,” she calls, waving Brooke over so she’s in the perfect spot for Trudy to observe. Then she nods imperiously at me. “You may proceed.”
I smother a laugh and turn to Brooke. As I get down on one knee, I hear Colby stifle a scream and go over to watch next to Trudy.
Brooke’s eyes get huge as she stares down at me. I pull out the box and open it, tilting it first so that Trudy and Colby can get a good view. Trudy smiles and nods in approval, and Brooke lets out a laugh.
“Brooke, I knew from the moment I saw you that one day you would be my wife,” I say, pushing down the memory of how this went the last time. “You may have tried to run from me once”—she gives me a playful glare, but I push on determinedly—“but I think you’ve learned that it’s impossible. You belong to me, and I belong to you, and we belong together. That’s all there is to it, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it. Will you accept your fate and finally make me the happiest man in the world by marrying me already?”
Brooke is holding a hand over her mouth, and I’m hoping to God that she’s not going to scream and start punching me, but when she removes it, I see that she’s laughing hysterically.
“Yes!” she screams, yanking me up by my shirt and throwing herself into my arms. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you, you silly man! I thought you’d never ask again!”
Colby and Trudy are laughing and clapping, and all of the guys, who have put down their boxes to watch, are clapping now too.
Brooke pulls away and sticks out her finger so I can put the ring on it. Her eyes are shining like the brightest stars, and her smile could light up a ball room.
