Ford Security
Page 74
I reach for the gun and grab it from her hands gently as to not upset her, and then I drop the gun to the ground so that I can embrace her as she stumbles forward into my arm, crying into my chest. The weight of the world, our emotions, and the scene all around us is almost too much for either of us too handle.
Plus the fact that she’s leaning right against my open wound. Yeah, that shit hurts.
The both of us crumble to the floor, with me cradling her in my lap as she sobs against me. Her hands move to my back and she grips me tightly, her fingers digging deep into my back as she holds onto me for dear life.
None of us have ever been very open or vulnerable in our lives but here on this floor, neither of us really have a choice. Just as she’s crying, I’m crying too, but I try to hide it over her shoulder. Victor sees me, though, even if Shelby can’t.
And when I look over my shoulder once more and see Shelby standing behind me with a half-smile on her face, I can’t help but to feel like this is just another one of the countless dreams I’ve had over the years.
But it’s not.
I know it’s not and yet, somehow, it doesn’t seem real. Maybe it’s because deep down, I’ve always considered myself somewhat of a villain for the things I’ve done—justified or not, I’ve hurt countless people all in the name of this moment right here. The scene playing out all around me is one I don’t feel like I deserve, but I got it anyway and I’ll be forever thankful to Katie for dragging me back into this world because my family is complete again.
Sort of. I wish the rest of my family could be here. I wish all the boys back at Ford Security and all of the other teammates could be here for this. I don’t know if I’ll ever see any of them again. I don’t even know if they’re going to ever forgive me or talk to me again, but trust me that I’m going to fight like hell to bring us all back together again.
Every day, I’ll fight.
For the rest of my life, I’ll fight.
Fight for my family and fight for my friends.
Fight for those in need and fight to atone for my sins.
EPILOGUE
KATIE
THREE MONTHS LATER
Today’s the day, the officially official day. Today’s the day I get my stripes, so to speak. Today’s the day I become one of the Ford Security team. There’s only one last man standing there—Dominic himself—as the other boys have yet to return. They’re angry with the man they considered their brother, the man they all looked up to.
Marcus greets Dominic, Shelby, Victor and I as we exit out of the elevator and into the underground compound. It’s the first time he’s actually let me come down here. From what I hear, he’s always been a stickler for the rules even while everyone else has run foul of the code.
The place is much larger than I had imagined, with ceilings that seem to stretch all the way to heaven and back. Okay, maybe that’s somewhat of a stretch, but they’re impossibly high with blue lights that hang from the raptors.
Marcus hands the three of us—Victor, Shelby, and I—our official badges and says that they will work to unlock the elevator until our retinas can be scanned into the system after a probationary period of two months. I still can’t figure out if he’s joking or not.
After we all left the house down in San Diego, and after Dominic’s wounds were tended to, we all jumped on a flight back to Los Angeles and agreed it was best if we went our separate ways while we worked things out and focused on ourselves and our respective families.
The only thing is that Dominic and I couldn’t exactly stay apart. If we weren’t calling each other, we were Skyping each other. We were both busy reacquainting ourselves with our siblings so it’s not like we had a lot of free time anyways. I spent so much time with Victor that my business eventually crumbled. I still live with the other two girls—for now—but I’m eying a particular house out in the suburbs.
I traded in my life as a mercenary for sale to the highest bidder for a more rewarding life helping those in need. That’s why Victor and I have joined Dominic at the Ford Security team, so that we can make sure nobody ever has to experience what we’ve experienced. To make sure that there is a force of good in this world to counter against people like Seth Grimm and Christopher Lawson.
They are both gone from this world—Thank God—but there will always be someone to fill their shoes. And we’ll take them down one-by-one, helping make this world a little bit safer each and every day. Shelby has also joined the team but not as a field agent. She’ll be working hand-in-hand with the team assistant, Anna—if she ever returns—to gather intel and console victims.
As Dominic shows the three of us around the compound, I take notice of the way his spirit seems to be dampened. I gather that it’s probably because this moment should be shared with those who’ve always been closest to him. He’s tried making amends, but he also realized that he needed to give the men the distance they needed.
I know exactly why they were so let down at the revelation that Dominic wasn’t the perfect man. I’ve seen how good of a man he truly is and I’m falling more and more in love with that man every day. I can easily see how he could be idealized by those around him. And I can equally see how tragic it must have been for them to come to terms with the fact that he was hiding secrets.
I have an inkling they’ll come around.
As for myself, I’ve learned so much in the process. I’ve learned how to trust myself but more importantly, how to trust those around me. I’ve learned that it’s okay to be vulnerable and that being vulnerable doesn’t make me weak. But most of all, I’ve learned that I’m capable of loving someone.
And I do, love him, I mean.
# # #
DOMINIC
There’s a weight that’s still heavy on my shoulders as I show the new members of the team around the facility. I drop a hand to the doorknob of the hallway that leads to the interrogation rooms and watch each of them step inside before I close the door behind them.
“This is where you’ll be doing a lot of your work with Anna,” I say to Shelby, pointing to the two-way glass mirror of the interrogation room. “If she ever comes back, that is.”
She turns to me with a half-smile and places a comforting palm on my shoulder. “They’re going to come back,” she says with an absolute surety that I wish I possessed.
It’s not like I could blame them for not coming back. They saw that deep down I was a dangerous man, and no matter why I did the things I did, I still did them. I wake up every day with the mission of forgiving myself, not only for what I did to Victor but for what I did to everyone else. And every day, I fall short on forgiving myself but I’m a step closer every time I close my eyes at night.
When I’m done touring the interrogation rooms for them, I lead them back outside but they all shuffle in front of me, each of them racing outside and into the main floor ahead of me, leaving me behind to hold the door open for them. Just as I’m about to exit back out into the main floor, the lights flicker off and we’re all left in pitch-black darkness.
“Dominic…” Shelby says lowly from beside me and I can feel her hands reaching out to hold onto me. “What’s going on?” There’s fear in her voice, but to answer her question…
“I don’t know.” I step forward, waiting for my eyes to adjust enough so that I can at least see where I’m going. “Everyone stay close.”
The lights power back on, blinding me in a sea of white light. I throw one hand over my eyes to try and soften the abrupt brightness against my eyes, but it’s not enough. My eyes slowly begin to adjust on their own until I can see the scene in front of me.
My heart sinks, races, beats incredibly fast.
With happiness, with joy. With love circulating through my bones.
They’re all here, every single one of them. They’re all standing in the center of the training area and they’re all looking at me with smiles on their faces. Shelby breaks away from my grip and paces backwards until she’s joining the crowd of the
rest of them.
“Surprise,” she screams as she throws her arms into the air, and then everyone else follows in unison.
When the chorus of voices dies down, I shake my head and chuckle lightly. “You know, you’re all breaking protocol, right? Bringing all your girlfriends down here?”
“Well, technically…” Anna shrugs in front of me. “I work here so Zane’s not breaking any rules.”
It’s a moment of levity that reminds me how much I truly care about each and every single one of them. It’s not just the ones I work with either. I’m beyond happy that all these boys have turned into men.
And as I look out at the sea of familiar faces, I can’t help but to feel a little emotional. This is the family I’ve created for myself and I’d die for any one of them. I look each and every one of them in the eye, going in order from left to right.
There’s Luke on the far left and standing in front of him is Ella Gold—the very woman I had sent threatening letters to under the guise of it being a practical joke, and it ended as anything but. There’s Zane beside them with Anna at his side. They were coworkers first and now they’re so in love. Zane’s twin Zach and his girlfriend, the notorious Lola Grimm stand in the middle. I thought it’d be a cold day in hell before I welcomed the daughter of Seth Grimm into what’s basically my second home, but if he’s in love with her then she can’t be that bad. She certainly can’t be anything like her father.
Shelby stands in the exact middle but shifts out of the way as I approach the line of men. Finally, on the far right side is Chase with his girl, Summer, cradled in his arms in front of him. I played a part in her sister’s kidnapping and that’s one of the many sins I’ve yet to atone for.
“I know you’ve been trying to come up with ways to make things right,” Chase says with a sly smile as I approach. “Well, I think I’ve finally come up with a solution.” He drops his head to gaze at his fiancée and then locks his eyes with mine. “We want you to officiate the wedding.”
I swallow a gulp in my throat, not because I’m honored but because it’d feel so wrong. Taylor, the sister of the soon-to-be bride and a kidnap victim, would most definitely be the maid of honor and I can’t quite picture that being something she’d want to be privy too, having me there at the wedding.
“Stop looking like that.” Summer steps forward and punches me squarely in the chest. She’s learned a thing or two from Chase, it would seem. “I’ve already talked to my sister and everything is good to go. Everything but you saying yes. So, what do you say, Dad?”
I shake my head and chuckle, point at her squarely. “I’m only a few years older than your boyfriend here so don’t call me dad.” She rolls her eyes before I continue, “But sure, why the hell not?”
I finally make my way to the last person in the lineup, Katie. And when I reach her, I push her hair out of her face and do nothing more than kiss her. Kiss her hard. Kiss her passionately. Kiss her deep. There’s no way I’ll ever be able to fully repay her for the gift she’s given to me.
It’s because of her that I’ve got my ideal, picture-perfect family back again, and there’s no way I’m ever going to let her go. I want to stay in this embrace forever, but who knows, maybe sometime down the road, the two of us will get hitched too. Maybe someday we can have kids to pass the baton to so that Ford Security never has to wither and die.
I break away from her kiss to take one last look at this beautiful, dysfunctional family of mine. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Fight me on that.
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