“Are you sure?”
He grabbed her hands in his. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. I took every precaution to make sure that I remained completely lucid throughout that whole mind-fuck of an ordeal. Sometimes, I wanted to die. Most of the time, I just wanted to get back to you, and I kept waiting for my chance, but it never came. I’d rather have her kill me than be under her control.”
She sighed, her relief evident on her pretty face. “Okay. Good. The thought of that awful woman laying her hands on you …”
He chuckled. “She didn’t.”
They sat in silence for a moment as he recalled Selene telling him that one day, he would be hers, and his stomach twisted again.
He couldn’t imagine being with anyone in the future, except Sami. His heart skipped a beat as he thought of what he needed to say.
“Sami, I love you.”
Her eyes widened as she stared at him.
“I-I probably should have had a little build up to that, but I’ve wanted to say this for a long time, but the words wouldn’t come. On my way to Seattle, I thought about telling you when I got back to New Orleans, but then everything went south, and you came to me. You saved my life, Sami.”
“That’s because I love you, too.”
He wanted to kiss her, to get her naked, but he also realized he hadn’t had a shower or brushed his teeth in days. He wouldn’t unleash that on anyone.
“I want us to get married as soon as possible,” he continued, the words spilling from his lips as he saw his future take shape right before his eyes. “I want us to have a life together. Maybe a few kids. A nice house. I want to be normal for the first time in my life, and I want to do that with you.”
Her eyes twinkled as she laughed. “Connor, we won’t be normal, and I don’t think we ever could be. As much as I detest saying it right now, I’m part vampire. You have the special ability of being able to detect vampires walking among the human population. If we have children, they will most likely need to drink blood, even if they are like me and it’s only every now and then. That’s not normal in the human world.”
She had a point.
“It will be normal for me. I’ve never had a family. I’ve never been in love, Sami. I love you and all that comes with it.”
She glanced around the tent, then at their entwined hands. “Okay, Connor.”
“Okay, what? Does that mean that you’ll marry me?”
She stared at him for a few seconds, then leaned over and kissed him. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He suddenly had all the energy in the world and wanted nothing more than to get off this mountain and out of this damn state. Vowing to never step foot in Washington again, he got to his feet, his ankles screaming and sending him back down next to her on the sleeping bag.
“Maybe we should call in the cavalry now,” Sami said, lying down next to him.
He didn’t quite feel ready to see everyone, but if he wanted to get on with his life, they needed to move. They had a wedding to plan.
“Yeah, let’s call.”
Sami reached into the backpack and pulled out the phone. She put it on speaker as it rang, then Harper picked up.
“Hey, Vampy Vamp. How’s that sexy marine?”
“He’s okay.”
“Great! When will you be home?”
“Well, I think someone is going to have to come and get us, Harper.”
“Oh, no,” Harper said with a sigh. “Why?”
Sami glanced over at him and smiled. “It’s a long story, but Connor’s been hurt. It’s not life-threatening, but he’s not going to make it out of the forest on his own.”
He heard the familiar sound of Harper’s fingers tapping the computer keyboard.
“I’m triangulating where you are based on the GPS in the phone,” she muttered. “I’ve got you. So, how bad is he hurt? Are we talking a gurney?”
He rolled his eyes. The last thing he wanted was to be hauled out of the forest on a damn gurney. He was a marine, for God’s sake.
“Yes,” Sami answered. “He needs a gurney.”
The two women talked for a couple more minutes, and Harper promised to have someone get them within the next few of hours.
Sami set down the phone and laced her fingers through his. They both lay on their backs, staring up at the tent.
“I can’t believe the things I saw,” she whispered. “I just feel completely discombobulated. I don’t know whether to cry, to feel guilty that I killed a family member, happy that it’s over … I’m just so confused.”
“I know. It’s probably a little PTSD. We just have to keep talking about it, okay?”
She answered him after a long stretch of silence. “Then tell me what happened to you the past few days. Tell me everything.”
He had really meant for her to discuss things, but if he had to share what he’d been through to get her talking, then so be it.
About two hours later, they heard people calling their names. Sami got up and crawled out of the tent to go fetch their rescuers.
He sat up with a sigh and had to admit, it had felt good to share his experiences, no matter how horrible they had been.
28
Connor stood near the fire pit at Dedou’s, the flames warming his back while a full moon lit up the dark sky directly above them. Dedou stood next to him, Harper, and Mateo’s girlfriend, Melody Frank, circling the blaze behind him. He’d only just met the woman, but apparently, he wasn’t the only one who’d fallen in love during his mission. The FBI agent he’d met when first joining Operation Underworld had returned home after rescuing Melody from a deranged demon. While Connor would have wanted the guy here, he understood that Mateo had needed to retrieve his daughter, who he hadn’t seen in over a year.
Melody was a bit battered from her ordeal, and her head had been shaved, but it didn’t take away from her good looks. He could see the edge of a white bandage wrapped around one shoulder through the neckline of her shirt.
She’d been spending some time at Dedou’s, but lived at her own place in New Orleans. She and Sami had become friendly, and Sami often expressed her concern over the woman as she tried to get her life back together.
Beside her, Harper had decided to go with the white theme, as well, and had chosen to wear a white Lynard Skynard T-shirt, white jeans, and Converse sneakers so bright, he wondered if they were new.
Nerves tickled his stomach as he waited for Sami to make her appearance.
Dedou had gone online and become ordained the second they had mentioned the word ‘wedding.’ She’d suggested they both wear white. Apparently, the spirits would see it as a signal of new beginnings in their lives. After what he and Sami had been through, they definitely needed a fresh start, and they’d both agreed that they’d don white.
As he ran his hand down the front of his button down-shirt, he wondered what could be taking Sami so long. He hoped she wouldn’t back out. They’d just come off of a horrible ordeal that had been both painful and terrifying for all of them. Three days after being back in New Orleans, he still relied on his cane to get around.
Both had been exhausted, afraid, and nearly out of their minds with what had gone down in that cave when they’d agreed they needed to get married right away.
Logically, they probably should wait a while. They’d only known each other about six weeks, but after all they’d been through during that time, he knew he couldn’t imagine spending his life with anyone else. There may be things that he didn’t know about Sami, like her favorite flower or whether she liked to sleep in on Saturdays, but those things were trivial. He knew her heart, and he knew her soul. At her core, Sami’s loyalty and love for him took his breath away, the depths of it something that he’d never seen before and he knew he wouldn’t find ever again. He’d never imagined anyone could put themselves in danger for him, to fight until the death … for him.
He loved everything about her. Her inner and outer strength, her kind heart, her intelligence, h
er soft snores in his ear at night, the way her butt looked in a pair of jeans. He loved it all more than his own life, and he wanted her at his side until he stopped breathing, which would have been recently, if it hadn’t been for her.
He shifted his weight onto his other foot and moved the cane to the other hand.
No, she’d be here.
As if on cue, the back door opened, and Sami walked out in a simple white, sleeveless dress that skimmed her curves. She’d pulled her black hair on top of her head, a few tendrils framing her face. She grinned at him, and his heart melted. Just like the first time he’d seen her, she was the prettiest woman he’d ever laid eyes on.
She walked over to him and slipped her hand in his. Dedou stood before them facing the fire while they remained with their backs to it.
Dedou shut her eyes for a moment, her hands at her side. At least, it seemed like there wouldn’t be any knives involved in this ritual, which he appreciated.
After a few moments, she brought her gaze to the sky above, her arms outstretched at her sides.
“My beloved spirits, I have been asked to marry Connor and Sami tonight. They have made their promises to each other to love the best way they know how. You have protected them and given them strength to fight the Evil they’ve encountered. Without your safeguard, they may have perished.”
A chill went down Connor’s spine at the words. Yeah, they’d both almost bit the big one.
“Today, they wish to start anew. They wish for their lives to become one in matrimony. They wish for you to bless this union, this new life they would like to embark on together.”
The air became still, and just like during their separate Gad ceremonies when they had each received their Kos, the sounds around them vanished. No more cars, crickets, voices from nearby buildings … it was as if they’d been encased in their own cocoon.
Connor waited for something to happen, but he didn’t know what to expect. During the Gad ritual, it had been Dedou who had proclaimed him blessed, and even before they ate, it was Dedou who announced when the food had been sanctified. Maybe it would be the same thing at his wedding.
Suddenly, thunder crackled above, and a heavy breeze whipped through the courtyard. He looked up as bolts of lightning whizzed across the sky. In under thirty seconds, clouds moved over the full moon, sending them into complete darkness except for the lights from the house.
“This doesn’t look promising,” Sami whispered next to him, her fingers now gripping his hand like a vise.
He glanced over at Dedou, who stood with her arms outstretched to her sides, her head tilted back, and a small grin on her lips.
Although a brief rush of panic washed through him, he decided to take his cues from Dedou. She didn’t seem afraid of the strange weather. Besides, he had no idea what had caused it. The spirits, or a storm?
“I think we’ll be okay,” he murmured. “Dedou doesn’t seem concerned, so I’m just going to go with it.”
Sami gave his hand another squeeze, then relaxed her grasp. He turned around to look over the fire to see how everyone else was faring.
Harper looked up at the sky, her arms crossed over her chest as she tapped her left foot. Melody eyed the sky with obvious worry on her face as she glanced from the storm back to Dedou, as if she waited for the signal to get the hell out of dodge.
Connor turned back toward Dedou, who hadn’t moved. He’d wanted a normal life, but even that seemed to be filled with strangeness. Another loud crack of lightning had him almost jumping out of his skin.
“Maybe we should think about going back inside,” he commented, loud enough so that hopefully, Dedou would hear him. However, if she was in one of her trances, she may not.
“Do not be rude to the spirits, Connor,” Dedou said.
“Just trying to keep from getting fried alive,” he whispered as he pulled Sami closer, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
“If this keeps up, we’re going to end up getting soaked,” Sami muttered.
Connor chuckled, thinking that nothing was ever simple in Operation Underworld. “You’re right, but it will be fun peeling that dress off your wet body.”
She smacked him in the chest, but chuckled.
“Silence!” Dedou yelled.
Everyone obeyed and stood peacefully as the wind tore through the courtyard and the thunder and lightning railed on above.
His right wrist began to pulse, and he glanced at his Ko. It didn’t glow, as it had when he’d fought vampires, but it seemed to throb, almost as if it had developed its own heartbeat.
Sami rubbed her right wrist, as well, a confused looked coming over her face. He wanted to ask if she felt the same thing he did, but he didn’t dare go against Dedou’s demand for quiet.
After a few moments, the storm cleared as quickly as it had arrived. The full moon made its appearance again, yet, one cloud remained directly above them and began spewing little droplets of rain.
Dedou lowered her arms and gazed at him and Sami with a huge smile on her face.
The rain picked up, and at this rate, he would be peeling a wet dress off of Sami if they didn’t get inside.
“The spirits have blessed your union, Connor and Sami,” Dedou announced. “The rain signifies the cleansing of your past, allowing you to let go of any negativity and move forward with light and love. Go forth into your life together with kindness and respect for each other. Love each other well, and know that you will always be welcome at Operation Underworld.”
The rain stopped, and the cloud seemed to evaporate from above them.
“So, that’s it?” Connor asked. “We’re married?”
Dedou nodded.
It didn’t sound like any ceremony he’d ever heard. “Legally?”
Dedou grinned. “Yes, legally, and more importantly, spiritually.”
He looked at Sami as she gazed up at him, a smile on her pretty face. They’d made it official in all the ways that mattered.
“Woohoo!” Harper whooped from behind them. “For a minute, I thought we were all going to be torched by the spirits. Glad to see they took mercy on us.”
He and Sami turned their backs to Dedou.
“Yeah, congratulations,” Melody said, stepping forward to shake Connor’s hand, then enfold Sami into a hug.
Connor chuckled. “I’m with you on that one.”
Dedou and Harper disappeared into the house, and emerged a moment later with a tray of plastic champagne glasses and a bottle of the bubbly, as well as a platter of appetizers, napkins, and plates.
“Let me do that,” Melody said, taking the plates and napkins from Harper.
A moment later, the cork popped with just a little bit of fizz that Harper aimed directly at Connor’s face.
Everyone laughed, and Sami stepped up to him and began to lap it off his skin, but then handed him a napkin.
As he wiped his face, his heart swelled with happiness, and excitement railed through him at the thought of starting anew with Sami and just having a ‘normal’ life without hunting any sadistic vampires.
He pulled her close to him and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. As he listened to the conversation, he wondered if they could really be a normal couple who got up every day and went to work, came home, had dinner, did laundry, and sat down in front of the television.
And what about kids? They hadn’t even discussed it, except for their time in the tent.
In the heat of the moment as they’d both escaped death, they had decided that they wanted a future together, but they hadn’t talked about the finer details.
They’d get it figured out, eventually.
“To Connor and Sami!” Dedou said, raising her glass.
“Yes, to Connor and Sami!” Harper yelled. “May your future be so bright, you have to wear shades!”
Everyone groaned at the joke.
“Sorry,” she said. “I don’t get out much, and I never drink, so tonight’s going to be interesting.”
Connor laughed,
more joyous than he’d ever thought possible. With his wife and his Operation Underworld family, yes, his future did look downright blinding.
Epilogue
6 Months Later
Connor parked his car in the driveway and shut off the engine. The shift had been uneventful, but he had to admit, he loved being a cop in Los Angeles. There never seemed to be a dull moment.
Dedou had provided him with new identification so that he could get the job. The government was looking for him, just as they searched for all the men in his old unit who’d also emerged from the explosion in Guatemala with a supernatural ability.
His new name was Connor Smith, which was fine with him. Harper had also built him a history that included a little bit of military service, but nothing like he’d really had. She’d also given him a few years of college and some police procedural classes. After he’d applied, the police department had been very happy to take him on with those qualifications.
He got out of the car and walked up the pathway to the front door, slipping his keys from his pocket and opening it.
“Sami?” he called as he shut the panel and locked it. “You home?”
She emerged from the kitchen, her swollen belly sticking out in front of her. They’d found out shortly after the wedding that she was pregnant, a surprise that neither had expected. After the initial shock had worn off, he’d become terribly excited, and now counted the days until he’d meet their twin boys.
“Hi,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and planting a kiss on his lips. “How was your day?”
“Good. Busy, but nothing dangerous,” he answered as placed his hands on her belly. “How are my boys?”
She rolled her eyes. “Very active. I think we have a couple of soccer stars.”
He chuckled, then kissed her again.
“I have dinner ready,” she said, taking his hand and leading him into the kitchen.
After their wedding, they’d decided they were done hunting vampires for a while. Both wanted to settle down and enjoy their lives together without being under the threat of death at any given moment.
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