Epilogue

Rogue

R ogue paced the terrace impatiently. Five minutes to eight. He wanted this meeting done and over with, so he could find Bea again.

The next day she’d be starting classes at the university, but today, she was all his. Or would be, as soon as this meeting was over. Ash joined him outside.

“Ah, here you are,” he said. His eyes twinkled. “I thought you’d still be upstairs with Bea.”

“You’re one to speak,” Rogue snorted. “Nobody has seen you or Reka since we got back.”

“We had a lot to catch up on,” Ash said quietly.

Slate, Griffin and Dark walked out together, shielding their eyes from the sun. Thorne, who’d called the meeting, was the last one to join them. It was clear, by the way he moved, that his broken ribs still bothered him, but when he spoke, his voice was strong and steady.

“Thank you all for meeting me here on a day off,” Thorne began in his clipped British accent. That was new. Thank you wasn’t part of Thorne’s everyday vocabulary, unless he was talking to one of the women.

“How are you feeling, Thorne?” Slate asked. Thorne waved the question away. Rogue felt a pang inside him.

“I need to ask a favor of you,” Thorne continued in his clipped British accent.

Five heads looked up at once, but Dark was the first to speak. “What do you need from us, Thorne?”

“A long time ago, I acquired an obligation. It’s something I must do—that I haven’t yet been able to accomplish. The last weeks have made me realize that, if something were to happen to me, the task would die with me.”

Though his voice was calm, Rogue could smell the despair rolling off Thorne in thick waves. Fuck. He owed this man. He owed him more than he could ever repay. “Tell us,” Rogue said. “Whatever it is, we will see it through.” At least, he would. No matter what.

Four other heads nodded quickly. “You can trust us.”

Thorne inclined his head. “I do trust you. I trust you with my life. But this is more important than my life.” Thorne’s dark eyes went glassy. His hand curled around the wooden terrace railing as if to steady himself, in an uncharacteristic display of weakness. The man wasn’t used to asking for help. Dark moved one step closer but stopped just shy of touching Thorne.

Thorne’s voice was softer than they’d ever heard it before. “A long time ago, I was involved in a mission that resulted in an innocent woman’s death. She died in my arms, but just before she did, I promised her I would never stop looking for her son.”

Fuck.

Griffin was the first to react. “Where was this?”

A valid question, but Rogue had a more pressing one. “How long have you been looking for him?” he asked.

“The child was little more than a baby. Which would make him … eleven years old now.”

“Where, Thorne?” Griffin pressed. “Was this when you were with Interpol?”

Rogue knew why Griffin was asking. Interpol was considered a politically neutral agency—they didn’t usually get involved in issues that were military in nature.

Thorne shook his head. “Before that,” he said on a soft exhale. “When I was with the SIS.”

The Secret Intelligence Service. Also known as MI6. Well, that explains a lot.

Their handler had conducted overseas operations, providing intelligence to the UK government. Which went a long way towards explaining why he’d always been so careful not to speak of his past.

“If you want our help,” Dark said easily, “you’re going to have to give us some details.” Thorne released his hold on the balcony railing and took a deep breath.

“I know. My team and I were working in Somalia in 2013. Maryam was an aid worker at a camp for internally displaced persons in Mogadishu.”

“A refugee camp?” The question came from Slate. Thorne nodded.

“Maryam and I became close … no, not like that. But we were friends. She and her son had been granted refugee status. They were just waiting for their trip to be organized. Then one night, the covert paramilitary team we’d been training raided the camp. The children were taken. Even the young ones, the ones who could hardly walk.” Thorne’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “I arrived too late to protect Maryam, but I promised her I would look for Modi.”

Shit. That was one fucked up situation.

“He’s still in Somalia?” Griffin asked.

“As far as I know, he never left the country. For years, I followed every single lead. There were so many lost children. Some, I was able to reunite with their families. But not Modi.”

“Ten years is a long time, Thorne. Even if you find him—” Dark didn’t need to finish that sentence.

“I know,” Thorne said. His eyes darkened. “I know. But I have to keep trying. His name is Modi Noor.”

Rogue’s mind was going a mile a minute. Thorne was well-connected in the international intelligence community. If he hadn’t been able to find the boy, doing so now, so many years later, wasn’t going to be easy. And the last thing he wanted was to get Thorne’s hopes up.

But Rogue wasn’t going to let it lie. He had to help Thorne. He owed this man more than his life. He owed him his happiness. And technology had evolved—there were things that maybe hadn’t been possible ten years earlier, but that might be possible now. There were things he had to check, and people he had to speak with.

“Give us some time to look into it, Thorne,” Rogue said carefully.

Thorne nodded, looking embarrassed now. “This is my problem. I shouldn’t?—”

“You’re the one who said we’re a team, Thorne,” Slate said, and though his tone was light, his blue eyes shone fiercely. “Have you changed your mind?”

Thorne’s hands curled into a fist. “No.”

“Then let us look into it,” Rogue said. Thorne stiffened as the door to the terrace opened and Bea walked outside. She was wearing dark blue jeans with an off-the-shoulder red top that highlighted her slim curves. She looked radiant, like someone who’d come into herself in the last few weeks. Like someone who can finally breathe freely.

“Hi,” Bea said.

Rogue walked over and put his arms around her. “Good morning, honey. How are you feeling?”

Bea stiffened for a moment, still not fully comfortable with public displays of affection, though she was going to have to get used to it—it was hard for Rogue to keep his hands off her.

“Good. I can’t believe I slept this long.” She stopped and looked around, as if only just realizing none of the women were there. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Not at all,” Rogue said, quickly going to her.

“We were just about done here,” Thorne said. “I know you have to get going.”

Bea’s eyebrows arched up. “Get going? Where are we going?”

“I have plans for today. I’m taking a day off. There’s something I want to show you. Lots of things, actually. All my favorite places in Zurich.”

His friends laughed, and Rogue realized how corny he sounded, but he couldn’t care less. He wanted Bea to have a wonderful day. He knew she’d be worried about starting school the next day, and he wanted her relaxed and happy.

Bea blushed a pretty shade of pink. “Really?”

“Really,” Rogue said, taking her by the hand. As he walked her back into the building, he leaned into her side, whispering softly in her ear so no one else could hear them. “I want to show you the world, Bea. Starting with Zurich, today. But one day I’ll bring you to Australia, to the town I grew up in.”

Bea smiled, squeezing his hand. “I’d love to see where you grew up, Rogue. But everything I need is right here.”

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