EPILOGUE

One Year Later

CAL

The salty sea water lapped up on the beach shoreline, leaving behind the trace of foam. I sat just far back enough that the water splashed my feet and collected inside the small wells I'd made in the sand.

It was our honeymoon. We got married last month in a big ceremony that both of our families attended. We didn't think many people would attend, but the venue packed out, and watched as I told Frankie that I loved him, and people saw him say he loved me back.

We'd been in this villa by the beach on a nice little island somewhere. You needed to get two boats just to get to us. But the people on the island were nice. The sun was always out, and the people we always singing, dancing, and offering me up the most delicious fruits I'd never even heard of before.

There was a main resort on the island, and our villa was connected. It helped because we were on our honeymoon and the last thing either of us wanted to do was laundry and make food.

Frankie came out of the water like he was doing his best James Bond impression. He had his tight blue Speedo trunks on. And usually, I'd have taken an issue with the fact that his package was on display, but now we both had rings on, and those were commitments to each other.

"The water is nice," he shouted. "If I have to drag you in here, I will." He placed a thumb into the waistband of his Speedos, almost highlighting himself off.

"I'm tired," I said, letting out a big yawn.

All we seemed to do was fuck, eat, sleep, and then repeat. Frankie hadn't done any work in over a year. I could tell it was getting to him. Almost eating him up as we explored some rougher sex. Not like we didn't already explore that.

"I'll show you tired!" he waded through the rest of the water, trying to run.

I jumped up and raced back up the steps toward the villa. "You have to get dry before you come in," I called back to him. That was technically a rule the resort set to stop people from slipping around on the tiles.

As I headed into the house, I noticed someone in the doorway. Not our usual server. He smiled at me and then walked off.

Watching from the door as Frankie caught him going down the steps. He asked if everything was ok.

"Get dry," I shouted, opening the villa door. On the table by the door, there was a fruit basket. I grabbed at a strawberry. So luscious and juicy. I ate two of them before Frankie came in and wrapped his wet body around me.

"What are you gonna do about it?" he asked.

I grabbed another strawberry and as Frankie stuck his tongue out, I shoved it in his mouth. "There you go," I chuckled.

With his mouth full, he tried speaking. "What's that?"

"What's what?"

"That." He grabbed at something buried deep inside the fruit basket.

I tried to look at it. It was a pink card, probably another gift from the villa for our honeymoon. "Who's it from?"

"Uh—um—"

I snatched the pink card out of his hands. "I think it's time for you to come out of retirement," I read aloud. "The Zodiak Agency. Who are they?" I flipped it over to see a twelve-pointed star in a holographic pigment shimmer on it. "Frankie?"

"It can't be real," he said, a big smile beaming on his face. "It's impossible. It has to be impossible."

"What's impossible?"

"This. Them. It all."

"Tell me then," I said. "Who are they?"

"The Zodiak Agency are a group, they work doing what I do, at what I'm good at."

It wasn't making any sense to me. But that might have had something to do with the fact that I'd been sitting out in the sun all day. "Giving head?" I asked.

"Another type of wet work," he snickered. "I think this is the sign."

After traveling all year, and trying to find our peace, we knew there was something missing. Neither of us had goals anymore. My goal was just to make Frankie happy, and his goal was to make me happy. When two people had goals like that, everything was content, but life had no real purpose.

"Are you gonna take it?" I asked.

After a long pause, he tore the card in two. "If they want me, then so do other people," he said. "And I guess now I know what I want to do when we get back."

"Oh?" I grumbled, grabbing another strawberry. "What?"

"I'm gonna get set up with Sutton, he told me he'd help me with the dark web," he said.

"After everything Sutton went through last year with the Russians, I don't think that offer still stands," I told him.

"He's the one who booked this place for us," he said, reminding us that Sutton had probably gifted us the best honeymoon gift. I only hoped we could gift him one better when he decided to get married.

"So, what did happen between Sutton and that mafia guy?"

I shrugged. "I guess we'll find out when we go back, and you throw work his direction."

I didn't mind that Frankie wanted to get back into killing people. It wasn't my jam. But I was getting used to him not having scratches or scrapes all over his body. It was nice to see him without black eyes or bruises he couldn't explain.

"And what will I do?" I asked, nervously grabbing at the grapes this time. "You can't expect me to just sit in an empty apartment jacking off all day."

"I thought about it," he said.

I tugged a grape from the stem and smushed it into his mouth. "You haven't told me any of this."

"Because it's just been thoughts."

"So?"

"You're my comms," he said. "You're my eyes in the sky and my ears on the ground."

I stuck my tongue out. "I'm your sidekick."

"You're also my husband, who I would really love to protect at all costs." He took a grape and placed it in his mouth and then went in and kissed me, pushing the grape with his tongue from his mouth to mine. "So, yeah, my sidekick."

"You could also say I'm your protector too." I got all giddy being involved in his plans.

"Don't push it, baby," he kissed me on the forehead. "Now, are you gonna get Daddy dry, or does he have to drip water all through the house?"

I wrapped my arms around him, just enough so that I could feed myself grapes with the hand behind him, and my head at the side of his chest. "All dry."

He squeezed me against him. "I'm all better now."

THE END