“From now on, no more separation,” he said, his gaze fierce and determined and warm.
“But what about Noah? He needs…”
“Youin his life,” he told her, cupping her face. “We both do.”
She blinked through a blurry gaze and smiled. “Then you have me, because I’m in, too, Dante. I’m all in, too.”
Epilogue
Today was a special day for a special lady. It was the end of Amanda’s first full week of teaching Kindergarten in the local school district. Dante was so damn proud of her. And so damn blessed to have the amazing woman in his life, and in Noah’s.
That day at the barn over five months ago had almost cost him more than he could give, but instead, it had turned out to give him more than he deserved.
Everything.
Thanks to her quick thinking, she had taken herself and Lyle out of the line of fire in that barn. But he’d barely gotten to her in time out back. Between the rock she’d thrown and Lyle’s shielding, he and Mac had come through the hole in the busted barn in time to take out the shooter, who was doubled over in pain and about to fire again.
He was damn lucky and grateful she had emerged from the danger unharmed.
After Lyle had been discharged from the hospital ER, Mac had brought the guy to ESI, and he told them about the flash drive he’d created that listed all the connections in the meth trade seeping onto the private schoolgrounds. When his buddy couldn’t coerce him into it, Lyle had slipped the drive into a small cat statue souvenir she’d bought on their picnic, then he went into hiding. He kept tabs on Amanda through an app he’d secretly installed on her phone. And when she’d moved back home, he’d followed—using a disguise and well-made fake passport.
The flash drive was safely in DI Bristol’s hands now. Apparently, Amanda had taken the statue out of her purse andshoved it into her laptop case, which had never been left in her London apartment or at her home in Harland during Lyle’s searches.
Lyle was now back at his school as the headmaster, along with Dante’s aviator sunglasses. The guy had admired them, so he happily gifted them to the Brit as a thank you for taking a bullet for his woman.
He could get another pair of aviators. He couldn’t get another Amanda. The woman was one of a kind.
Inhaling, he brought his mind back to the present and focused on making today memorable. He walked through his house filled with all his friends and their families, as well as Amanda’s parents and two sisters.
“How are you feeling, man?” Holden asked, with Braddock sitting by his feet as Dante approached the guys kicking back in his living room while the women were taking care of last-minute touches in the kitchen and outside.
“Good,” he replied.
“Well, you look happy and it’s nice to see you happy again. You deserve it, man.” Holden slapped him on the back and Braddock let out a low woof.
“Thanks,” he said, then bent and patted the dog before he turned to Carter. “Do you have fresh batteries in your camera?”
Carter snorted. “Do you know who I am? Of course, I do. You just do your thing, and you won’t even know I’m there.”
Of that, Dante had no doubt because whenever Amanda was around, the rest of the world faded to just the two of them and Noah.
After that day at the barn, she’d stayed here and never left. He’d been slightly worried about Noah, but it turned out Dante having sleepovers with Amanda in his bed had made his son extremely happy.
“Here, we’ve been waiting for you.” Mac shoved a drink in his hand and motioned for the other nine guys to lift theirs. “To all of you for putting your faith in me and helping to make ESI a success. You too, Gabe.”
“Hey.” Gabe frowned. “Holden doesn’t work for you, either.”
“Yeah, but I did.” Holden winked. “Which is more than we can say about you.”
Gabe nodded. “True. A’aight. Continue.” He nodded to Mac.
“To your families and your future families,” Mac said. “May we all live the life that we fought and bled for.”
Hooahs,Hooyahs,and a distinctwoofechoed around the room before drinks were downed and backs were slapped.
Dante glanced at his watch and set down his glass. “I’d better round up my son and get him in place. Hope the ladies were able to keep him from getting dirty.”
“He looks as dapper as you.” Cooper gave him a thumbs up.
