We came apart and back together as one. Afterward, we returned to holding each other, and there was no place or time in the world I’d rather be.
***
I wish I could say that Elliott and I went on to live happily ever after we returned home. But the agency for kidnapping and human trafficking case came with us. Most of the criminal cases against the men were sealed. Partly to protect the women survivors, but also to protect the powerful men of influence involved. Many of the men chose to enter a guilty plea, and quietly awaited their sentences. Others, like Patrick, chose to take their chances in court.
As for the women survivors, some refused to participate in the case. While others, like Angel, wanted to speak, but had been robbed of their voices. Then there were those like me, not only willing to speak, but keen to add their voices with my own. That was what I decided to do. Because no longer did I feel embarrassed or ashamed, about having a sexual relationship with Elliott and Dane. I was alive and still here. I would stand in public as the face of the survivors for change.
Once again, I was in the social spotlight. To say the media coverage had been bad would be an understatement. However, I was ready. Thanks to Stuart, and his foresight to hire Attorney Joshua Stone. He became my warrior, slaying anyone who dared to speak or write anything except the truth about what happened to me.
And what was the truth?
For me, it was that I was not different than most woman post-divorce. I sought to restart my personal life, and try new experiences. I, like the rest of the woman targeted, didn’t deserve the horrors that had befallen us.
Whatever was to come, I believe I won, and the best part was I wasn’t alone. I had the love of my life, Elliott Carmichael, family, and friends. I was eternally grateful.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Epilogue -Two Years Later
It was close to Christmas, and I was at the annual Perfetto Christmas party. Though we were celebrating a record quarter with the rest of our staff, I spent most of the time hanging out with Astrid in my old office. We were working on a pamper product line for expectant mothers, like me. I had the new sugar scrub lotion on my sore feet on the other side of the desk where Astrid had unpacked the makeup samples and lined up her notes on her sticky pads. She had her own way about structuring her work.
“How about ‘Silky Sweet Scrub?’” she scrunched up her face at the name.
I smiled. “You’ll find the one that fits.”
I’d been busy too. I had my new institute of empowerment. A place for women and men to learn to protect themselves. The classes included self-defense, abuse counseling, mentoring on money management, and how to handle accounting, along with a list of reputable accounts in our area to avoid devious ones. Our old accountant, Dalton Pierce, for Perfetto went to prison for fraud and embezzlement, and he had company. Thanks to Dimitri, who died before his trial, the members couldn’t deny the evidence or hide. Not even Walter, Dane’s father. He went to prison too. And as Dane told me, he didn’t lose any sleep over it. He was busy raising his beautiful sister, Melinda, with Angel. The three of them didn’t spend as much time in Seattle at Dane’s home here in Washington, but when they did, we all enjoyed each other’s company. They were at Elation Bistro waiting for us to join them. I wanted to wait a few more minutes for Elliott, who was finishing up on an investigation with Tove and was on his way back.
Astrid dramatically tapped the watch on her wrist. “We should go. I know Tim is struggling with Jacob.”
I laughed. Jacob was going through the bratty phase—birth through eighteen? I joked, though to be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to his tantrums of late, then again, we had help today. “The child whisperer is there. He’ll be all right.”
Child Whisperer. That was our nickname for Angel. She was great with children. She said she felt more comfortable with children than with adults. And to think she’d been denied spending time with Melinda was heart-breaking, but that was all in the past. They were inseparable now, and a joy to watch together.
I started packing up and winced. My aching fingers had me twisting my wedding ring around my finger. Elliott chose an antique eternity ring. Our wedding seemed intimate and perfect.
There were still times when I thought about my time in captivity. Mostly the time with Dimitri at Loren and Thomas Olson’s. That time stood out because it made me appreciate my life and the life of those I cared about. It also taught me to never linger in showing them how much I loved them. Indeed, the life I am leading now was completely different than it had been before I went to The Agency. Work doesn’t always come first now. Elliott and I wasted no time in passing this outlook on to Trish whenever she wasn’t working and decided to stop by our home in Redmond for a visit, which she rarely did. Justly, The Agency and their revenge business were over. We finally had peace.
My second kidnapping made the public even more empathetic to my plight. It stripped Patrick from his governorship. His fall from grace had been in several montages on television, but I never bothered to tune in. In fact, I never spoke with him again. Even after he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for his involvement in my kidnapping.
One time I received a letter from Loren, asking for forgiveness. I wrote back telling her that I had forgiven her and had no hatred in my heart toward her for what she did. In fact, I didn’t hate Liz either. Liz was doing time at the same women’s correctional facility for her involvement. We didn’t speak, but I did provide statements to the court on both their behalf. They were captives as much as I was. The only difference between us was that the fear of losing all they had and cared for compelled them to cooperate. Elliott still believed they had a choice, like me, to do what was right. I supposed both of us were right. I made my choice, both times, and I’d been fortunate. I survived. Well, all that was my past.
The door opened with Elliott. He and our coming baby were to be my future. Elliott was going to be a loving father. We were having a girl and chose to name her after his late mother, Lucinda, which means “beautiful light.” Genuinely, she was already the light of our lives. We were already ecstatic at her arrival, which is in just four months.
“My sister will be meeting us in Palm Springs,” he announced. “We need to get moving on this dinner so we can get on the road. That means move your butts.”
Astrid and I laughed at him. “I’ve been trying to get your wife out of here for a while.”
Elliott went to me and ran his hands over my stomach and kissed it. I kissed the top of his head and then his lips when he lifted his head up. “I’m ready.”
He helped me on my coat, and Astrid carried our bags. We headed out the door and into Elation Bistro, which was a few doors down from Perfetto’s office. I was starving.
Over at the bar, Tim was doing that politician thing of schmoozing, and Astrid fell right in place next to him. I stared at them. A past life. I was happy with the new one. I marveled at how much I was looking forward to motherhood and our little family.
Angel went over and took Jacob from Tim. “Come here and tell me what you want for Christmas.” That got Jacob’s attention. He took her hand and started rattling off a long list. Angel nodded enthusiastically. Tim stopped what he was doing to thank her for relieving him. Dane had said she was getting stronger by the day.
I looked over at Dane chatting away with Melinda who was animated, her hands waving around excited about one thing or another. He looked at me and we smiled at each other. I marveled at how he, Elliott, and I never experienced an awkward moment. I sometimes looked back on the intimate times Elliott and I shared with Dane. He’d become one of our closest friends. I was ecstatically happy.
The Agency had brought me my perfect match, albeit if it wasn’t the usual way a match-making service worked. And our path to love wasn’t always smooth, but we didn’t need it to be. We made it together. We had our ever after, and that was worth everything.
THANK YOU READERS!
If you enjoyed the DAUNTLESS: The Agency Da
rk Affairs Duet Book Two. I hope you had fun reading this story as much as I had writing it.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to my dear husband and best friend Alan. I love you so much.
Thank you to a wonderful group of people that helped me with DAUNTLESS. I greatly appreciate all your hard work.
Thank you, Amy, Silvia, Lisa, Roxy, and Cynthia, for their beta critiques. Thank you all for your kindness, support, and patience.
Thank you, Daramson Editorial Service, for copy editing.
Thank you, Roxana Coumans, for final proofreading.
Thank you, Sommer Stein of Perfect Pear Creative, for cover design.
Thank you, Tl Mason for formatting.
Thank you to my friends, bloggers and reviewers for all your kindness and support in the promotion.
Thank you, readers, for reading this story. I most sincerely hope you enjoyed it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amélie S. Duncan writes contemporary, erotic romances with a dark edge. Her inspiration comes from many sources including her life experiences and travels. She lives on the West Coast of the United States with her husband and Rosco.
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Dauntless (The Agency Dark Affairs Duet Book 2) Page 22
