Epilogue

W hile Wes and his team conferred with Mitch Evans over a video call, Ellie, Julia and Lottie sat up at the bar and chatted. Once she heard a Navy SEAL team had gone in and retrieved both the plutonium pit and the warhead, she knew it was officially over. Tuning out of the men’s conversation, she felt lighter as she focused on the girl talk. Specifically, the very interesting chemistry she’d noticed between Chaz and Lottie.

“So, you aren’t seeing anyone?” Ellie asked Lottie, doing her best to sound as innocent as possible. Julia smirked and arched a russet-colored brow.

“Me? Oh, no, I don’t have time for that. Between working here and raising a two-year old, my schedule is pretty full.” Her soft laughter tinkled across the room and Ellie didn’t miss the side glance from Chaz. The man couldn’t even hide it if he tried. Every move the little bartender made, he noticed. The big, gruff former Delta guy clearly kept a close eye on her, and Ellie thought it was sweet.

“But if it were the right guy, maybe you’d be open to it?” Julia pressed, exchanging a conspiratorial look with Ellie.

“I’m never attracted to the right guys,” Lottie lamented, voice darkening. “I’m pretty sure I have an asshole magnet somewhere in my body.”

“We’re going to have to remove that,” Julia said, and Lottie chuckled.

“Good luck.” She reached down and grabbed a bag of trash waiting to go outside to the dumpster. “Be right back.”

Ellie and Julia watched Lottie slip out the back door. “What do you think?” Julia asked in a low voice.

Ellie sipped her iced tea and tilted her head. “I think our Disney Princess would rock Chaz’s world so hard. She’d rip those grumpy pants right off him.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure he’d take them off quite willingly,” Julia added, and they burst out laughing. When the men looked up from their meeting, the women waved.

“Sorry,” Julia mouthed to Brand, but he only smirked.

They were ending the call with their handler when the back door flew open, slamming into the opposite wall, and Lottie raced in like the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels. Her Caribbean blue eyes were wide and fearful, her curls in disarray.

It looked like the blonde had seen a ghost.

“Lottie?” Ellie frowned, alarm filling her.

Chaz popped up, his chair scraping backwards, nearly tipping over in his haste to get to her. He stalked over to the bar in three long strides. “What happened?” he demanded.

Instead of answering, tears sprang into Lottie’s blue eyes and she threw herself into his arms. Wrapping her in his protective embrace, he held her close while she softly cried. Over her head, he exchanged a concerned look with his teammates.

“Lottie, honey, what’s wrong?” Chaz asked gently. Ellie had never heard the man’s voice sound like that before. Normally, his words were edged in sarcasm. Now, however, they were laced in quiet concern, all the usual gruffness gone.

With a sniff, she lifted her head, swiped at her nose and abruptly stepped back, moving out of Chaz’s arms. When she wobbled, his hand shot out to steady her. “I’m sorry. It was nothing. I thought I saw something, but…” Her voice trailed off, sounding shaky. “I must have just imagined it.”

Her explanation sounded lame, and judging from the looks the others were exchanging, Ellie didn’t think she was the only one who thought so. But Lottie was done talking about whatever had happened outside. Chaz, however, wasn’t quite finished.

“Is someone out there?” He turned toward the back door, but Lottie caught his arm, halting him.

“No,” she answered far too quickly. “It’s fine. Everything is fine.”

Chaz’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t push it, and Lottie moved away from him, scurrying behind the safety of the bar. Ellie studied her new friend closely as she began to pull racks of clean glasses out of the dishwasher, and she didn’t miss the way Lottie’s hands shook.

Something was definitely going on, but, for whatever reason, Lottie didn’t want anyone to know what. After a minute, Chaz wandered back over to the guys and shrugged his shoulders. Maybe later, after things had cooled down, she would ask Lottie about whatever happened outside. But, right now, she didn’t want to push her.

◆◆◆

“Do you think Lottie is okay?” Ellie looked up at Wes. They had just walked out of Old Glory and were slowly making their way across the gravel parking lot to his SUV. He grabbed her hand, twining their fingers together.

“Something definitely spooked her. I have a feeling Chaz will pester her for answers.”

“He really likes her.”

“Yeah, I think he does,” Wes agreed. “If anything is wrong, we’ll all protect her.”

Ellie nodded. “You know, I’ve been thinking about things that need protecting...”

Wes knew that altruistic, Ellie-wants-to-save-the-world tone and braced himself for what was coming. Deep breaths, Murph. Deep fucking breaths.

“I read an article the other day and the sea turtles are in more danger now than ever before. I was thinking—”

“I hate them,” he gritted out.

“Wes, they need saving and I am a marine biologist.”

Although he couldn’t deny her anything, if she thought she was returning to the scene of the crime, she had another thing coming. He stopped walking and turned to face her. “Elizabeth Marie, there will be no more pirates, no more Indonesia and the sea turtles can go extinct for all I care!”

She frowned. “That was harsh. You even middle-named me.”

He allowed his shoulders to relax, letting some of the tension and frustration drain away. Softening his tone, he said, “I’m sorry, my love, but I’m never letting you go that far away from me again.”

Turning her hand over, he lifted it up and pressed a kiss to her open palm.

“Florida has sea turtles in need of saving, too,” she said softly.

Wes threw his head back and laughed. “Tenacious.”

Her sea-colored eyes glittered with determination. “I can’t help it. I love them.”

“More than me?”

She scoffed. “Don’t be silly. You, Weston James, are my everything.”

Every day since she’d returned to his life, a small part of him was terrified she might walk away. Now that she had her memory back, he wasn’t so much worried as curious. “Why?” he whispered, searching her amazing eyes. “Out of all the men in this world, why me?”

“So many reasons.” She stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his neck. “First off, you know how to be vulnerable, like you’re being right now, and that makes my heart emotional. We still have date nights, which I think is important. You never let us go to sleep mad. Even though you’ve caught me, you continue to chase me. We have amazing chemistry and a bond that can’t be broken. I love how you listen to me, protect me and fight for me. If ever I fall, you’re immediately there to catch me. And, maybe most of all, you treat me like I could never be replaced.”

Tears filled her eyes—hell, his, too—and he yanked her against him hard, pressing his lips to her ear. “You can’t be replaced, my love,” he whispered. “You’re my Ellie-Bean forever.”

“Thank you for finding me and bringing me home.”

“Always. You are my home.”

Pulling back, Wes cupped her beloved face then leaned down and kissed her so deeply they both felt it to the depths of their souls. That happened, though, when it came to true love. It connected them on every level—tethering their mind, body and soul into one. And, Wes knew nothing would ever have the power to break them apart again. Not time, distance, death or, God forbid, pirates.

He had no doubt their love would last through all eternity, utterly timeless, to infinity and beyond. And what could be better than a million forevers with his Ellie?

Absolutely nothing, he thought, kissing her into oblivion.

I hope you enjoyed Wes and Ellie’s love story! I’m returning to the Force Protection Delta world next and finishing the series up. Chaz and Lottie’s book is coming next year and it’s going to be full of danger, forcing Chaz to protect the woman he’s falling for, along with her little girl.