“Very much so,” he breathes, and then he kisses me as the buzz of agents in black tactical gear swarms around us and at both ends of the tunnel.
I don’t want the kiss to end. But eventually, an agent taps me on the shoulder. “I’m guessing the kiss means you’re both okay, yes?”
I turn to him, a little sheepish. “Yes. Sorry.”
Looking a bit amused, he says, “Do you think we could trouble you to go up for a debrief, then?”
As we head up into The Shadowridge, I realize Idon’t feel so “fire at work, flooding at home” anymore. I am only fire. I mean, I’m not exactly field operative material, and I don’t ever plan to be. But I do know that my instincts are strong and reliable, and I know I can trust them. Especially because we get out to the auditorium just in time to see Giovanni taken out in handcuffs.
By the time we’ve finished talking to the agent in charge, Blake is just walking in from the side door, holding my little three-year-old niece’s hand, and I can see that Emerson is rushing in from the front doors, looking a bit stressed but very relieved to see us. Blake and Heidi reach us first, so I tell him, “Thank you. We couldn’t have done this without you.”
“Seriously,” Owen says. “Thank you.”
Heidi, still holding Blake’s hand, starts jumping, posing with each jump, as she says, “We helped catch the bad guys!”
“You sure did,” I say, just as Emerson joins us. Then I turn to Blake. “Look at you, doing spy work for the CSA.”
He narrows his eyes at me. But what are sisters for, if not to poke the bear every once in a while?
Heidi looks up at Blake. “Daddy, you should let me stay up this late and catch bad guys all the time.”
I chuckle at the horrified look on Blake’s face and turn to Emerson. “And thank you. Seriously, we couldn’t have made it withoutyou both.”
“Eh. We barely did anything. This was all the two of you.”
Owen turns fully to me. “Do you realize how huge tonight is? The girl who was afraid to read her essay was in the spotlight. Exposed and vulnerable to abductors. Yet she didn’t hide.”
I smile. “Or pass out.”
He nods. “Or pass out.”
“Instead, I tackled it like a boss.”
He chuckles and wraps his arms around me. “That you did. I’m proud of you.”
“I’m proud of myself, too—but I’m just as proud of you. I mean, after everything I dumped on you tonight—my real job, the whole childhood kidnapping thing—you still jumped right in and stalled Giovanni like a pro, with no hesitation. This mission wouldn’t have been a success without you.”
Owen grins at me. “We are pretty great when we’re together, aren’t we?”
I grin right back. “Yes, we are.”
EPILOGUE ONE
HIGH-VALUE TARGET ACQUIRED
Owen
I made the two and a half hour drive from Philadelphia earlier today, and I’ve been at The Shadowridge ever since, getting everything ready for opening night. We’ve got a sold-out crowd, a brand new staff, plenty of new systems, a traveling theater company performing, and we’re even doing a ribbon cutting. So plenty of things have kept me busy since I arrived. The Shadowridge is the star tonight, and she’s ready to shine.
I glance at my watch. Charlie should be here in about twenty minutes, and my family will not be far behind her, so I’d better hurry and go get ready. Once we got the offices in the side hall restored, I moved my office there to free up the balcony boxes for theirrestoration. I’m just about ready to move the last of my stuff out, though, so the people running the day-to-day of this theater can use it for other things.
But for right now, it’s my changing room. I could’ve worn my dark suit for opening night—it would’ve been totally appropriate for it. Instead, I decide to wear the suit that Charlie picked just over a year ago when I had knocked on the wall frame separating our townhomes to get her advice on what I should wear. The vintage-inspired one that reminds me of cedar and old books. The one that made Charlie’s words come out a bit choked when she told me the suit said, “You can trust me with your beloved building.” It feels even more appropriate for the occasion.
That moment seems like a lifetime ago. So much has happened since then.
I step in front of the full-length mirror and make sure my hair looks good, my tie and vest are straight, and my sports coat is smooth and looking good. I put the index cards containing my speech notes in a pocket, take a deep breath, and leave to go start the evening that I’ve been dreaming about for ages.
I head out to the front of the building. We’ve got people directing cars to the parking lots on both sides of the building, and Cipher Springs has closed off the road directly in front of the theater for the ribbon cutting.
