Epilogue

Six months later…

I t hadn't been easy.

But Marshal figured the difficulty with earning Ryker's forgiveness had been his penance for deceiving the man for years.

He stood on the stage with Bishop and Tristan at his side. Marshal stared a hole in the church doors at the end, willing it to open.

He gazed past the people crowded in pews and white and red roses littering the floor.

Cohen and Aspen sat in the front row and Aspen waggled his fingers. Marshal wasn't sure if it was to him, or more than likely to Tristan, who snorted under his breath. Aspen and Tristan were attached at the hip and being so close in age, it made sense.

Thankfully, Cohen's father wasn't mixed up in Winchester Armani's business, so Cohen still had his millions. Although Aspen had chosen to live with them, Cohen still gave his cousin a monthly allowance.

Marshal stared at the closed double doors. Those doors were set to open and Ryker was to walk through them, down the aisle toward him, and be ready to live the rest of his life by his side.

They'd come a long way over the past six months.

Ryker had regained his spark for living and Marshal had learned a new level of patience he had never had before.

Time now ticked by.

The doors remained closed.

If by chance those doors never opened, they were not over by a long shot.

He would continue to stay by Ryker's side, loving and supporting him until the day he died.

They had spent the past six months on the ranch—walking, talking, and just being together with the two of them and his family. As trust returned, Ryker had turned to him one night, taking him in his arms and to his bed, and Marshal had gone to heaven on earth.

He never took Ryker or anything the man did for granted.

And their relationship began to repair, increment by increment, through love and patience.

Marshal remembered clearly the day about a month ago. It was beneath the hot summer sun and a wide oak tree where he had dropped to one knee and opened the ring box.

"Will you marry me?" His voice shook from fear, but he took the risk.

When Ryker had nodded and held out his hand, Marshal had fumbled and finally managed to slide it on Ryker's ring finger.

They'd planned their wedding day together so there shouldn't be any reason why Ryker wouldn't come through those doors.

Unless he had planned for revenge.

It was a possibility.

After all, he'd lied to Ryker for more than a decade.

If this was the price he had to pay for his deceit, then so be it.

Bishop elbowed him slightly and that was when Marshal realized that the doors had opened.

Ryker stepped through them with the sun glinting at his back, creating a halo around the bright, curly red hair that had grown several inches.

The surgery five months ago had been a success and the scars on Ryker's face were not noticeable beneath Ryker's master hand at makeup.

Not that the scars had ever bothered him. He loved Ryker, body and soul, and scars would never change that.

Ryker held his gaze across the distance and walked toward him, looking so fucking hot in a slim-fitting black tux that matched his own.

When Ryker reached him, Marshal reached out and took the man's slender hand.

The gold bracelet on Ryker's wrist winked richly in the light. Marshal had replaced the tracker one with a white gold one. Their initials were carved on the inside.

Ryker smiled at him and drew him closer and together, they turned toward the minister.

A hush dropped over the crowd in the building.

And there before their family, friends, and higher power, Marshal pledged his life forever to Ryker.

The reception was packed and Ryker smiled and shook hands until his face hurt.

"So, still mad at me?"

Ryker tossed Syn a smirk and rolled his eyes. "I stopped being mad months ago."

Syn snorted and sipped at the glass of champagne. "I just couldn't let you marry Hailey."

"I'm glad." Ryker took a swallow of his drink. Marrying into the Baldwin family would have been a disaster waiting to happen and he would definitely be divorced by now.

Syn gazed across the room at where Bishop and Marshal were talking to Brick and Fighter.

"Have you forgiven him?" he whispered to his friend.

"I have. At first, he was doing his job. He fell in love with me and quit rather than betray me."

"And what about when he came back?"

"He came back to protect me. I found out that his former boss arranged the note with my blood on it and another agent had devised the invasion of my home."

He had found out via a phone call from Donald Bass that Marshal had only taken the flash drive so Anthony would not send in someone else.

"Why are you telling me this?" Ryker had asked Donald.

"Because I was the one who initiated your home invasion."

Donald told him that he'd used what happened to Aspen to contact Winchester Armani. Together, the two men had hatched a plan to get into his home. One was to get Aspen and the other was to take him so his father would cave and open the safe.

Donald had confessed that he had never meant for Chad to be killed or anyone for that matter, but apologies were way too late. Donald had been double-crossed by Armani, who had gone in with the mindset of killing anyone in his way. And regardless of Armani's relationship with Robert Langston, Armani had come into his home ready to shed blood.

And while Donald had sounded regretful over the phone, the man was not off the hook.

Donald had answered for his crimes. The man had been fired from the CIA and was serving ten years behind bars.

"So, it was Anthony who had created the kidnapping attempt years ago, and Donald was in cahoots with Armani to invade your home," Syn said, shaking his head with disgust.

"Yes," Ryker answered.

"Have you heard from Hailey?" Syn asked.

"She's dating a rocket scientist," Ryker smirked. Hailey was doing very well and Ryker wished her nothing but the best. Her brother he didn't know about or care.

Syn cleared his throat. "And your dad?"

"He's a lost cause," Ryker stated.

He'd gone to visit his father in prison once, but the half an hour had been fraught with tension. He'd been so uncomfortable at his father's guiltless attitude that he had not returned. Robert Langston had shown no remorse for his crimes.

Ryker smiled when his mother blew him a kiss on her way past with Marshal's mother in tow. The two women had become fast friends after his mom's arrival a few months ago. She told him that Marshal had cared for her better than anyone other than himself.

"I bet you're glad Marshal is no longer in that life," Syn said, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Very glad." Ryker gazed across the room at Marshal.

Over the past several months, the harsh lines that bracketed Marshal's mouth and the corner of his eyes had lessened. The tightness of strain had eased in the man's face and body. Rather than a bunch of coiled muscles, Marshal now strode with a sexy swagger that sent his pulse humming.

It had taken him a long time to forgive Marshal, but he had. And in forgiving, he found a new strength. A strength that bonded them together tighter than before.

And from that bond came trust.

Their sex life was through the roof and now they truly communicated.

Oh, they still had their fights, but making up was icing on the cake. He told Marshal he didn't need a yes man and what he had now was so far from that and so much more.

His possessive bodyguard was back.

Feeling his gaze, Marshal's head lifted. Today, the man had forgone his cowboy hat and that thick rich head of hair was swept away from his forehead. Perfectly groomed hair covered the man's face and blue eyes were alive as they met and held his gaze across the distance.

Possessiveness filled Marshal's gaze.

Some might find the man intense.

But honestly?

Ryker wouldn't have Marshal any other way.

They'd been through so much and had come so far.

And he knew without a doubt that he would love Marshal for the rest of his life without fail.

THE END