The Mercenary and the Mortician (The Silent Hollow #1)

Epilogue 2

Alexa, play: Us - James Bay

“ S o, what are you going to do with an English major?” I asked Naomi as Vox drove the two of us back to Fairview.

We’d been at the gun range, as was our new Sunday morning tradition. Theo called it ‘ going to church,’ which Cal found fucking hilarious.

Naomi huffed in the back seat, crossing her arms over her chest. She was in another elegant black turtleneck and oversized black jeans.

I was worried her recent change in style had something to do with what happened in that room at Apex, but every time I asked her about it, she brushed me off.

I’d tried multiple times to bring it up with Vox, but he was a fucking vault. He barely even responded to my texts with emojis anymore. Half the time, he just left me on read.

“I don’t know, Ry-guy. Anything I want, I guess. Maybe I’ll be an author or go into journalism.”

Vox glanced at her in the rearview, his silver eyes burning.

“I’m just disappointed you didn’t end up going into mortuary science,” I joked, and she smirked at me, rolling her eyes.

Vox pulled up to Fairview, and I got out of the car, pulling up the front seat to let Naomi out. She surprised me by crawling into the passenger seat next to Vox instead of coming inside.

“I’ll catch you later, Ryan. Vox is taking me to Stephanie’s house.”

“Oh, alright. Later, Gnomes. Text me if you need a ride home after.”

“Will do, Ry-guy!” She gave me a mischievous grin. I frowned at her.

Why was she looking at me like that?

I glanced at Vox, and even he had a small smirk on his face.

He gave me a lazy, backward peace sign and drove off, leaving me feeling confused and suspicious.

Why did I feel like they were in on something and I was about to get punked?

Shaking my head, I jogged up the front steps and scooped up an Amazon package on my way inside.

“Angel, you’ve gotta stop ordering so much shit, you don’t make murder money any?—”

The words died in my mouth as I entered the foyer.

There were lilies… everywhere.

They were in hundreds of vases on the floor and spilling over every possible surface.

There were bouquets in armchairs, on the desk, and end tables.

They were wrapped in a garland that lined the banister of the grand staircase…

They were just… everywhere.

The whole space smelled like lilies, and for a moment, I was transported back in time to the day my father and I had made bouquet after bouquet together.

In the middle of all the flowers stood Cal.

He was in the suit he wore when we worked services together, with his hands in his pockets and a soft smile on his face.

“Hey, ginger snap,” he said, his voice low and husky.

My throat closed up, and I dropped the Amazon package, pressing the heels of my palms into my eyes to try to keep myself from crying.

“Wh-what… what’s all this?” I asked, sniffing.

“Come over here, baby.”

I carefully walked through a path on the floor of lilies toward Cal, wiping a tear away as I went.

“Why did you… how? Cal, this is…” I didn’t have words.

How had he done this?

Why had he done this?

My gaze darted into the viewing room to find that the lilies continued in there as well. I wondered if he’d filled the entire house with them.

Knowing him, probably.

Cal didn’t do anything halfway.

I jumped as he slid his warm, tattooed hands into mine, grabbing my attention.

“Ryan…”

I looked up at him, and my heart stopped.

He was gorgeous… so fucking beautiful, and the way he was looking at me…

I choked again, and he cupped my face tenderly.

“Don’t cry, baby.” He swiped his thumb over my cheek and dropped a soft kiss on my lips.

“Why did you do all this?” I asked.

He smiled, and to my absolute fucking astonishment, he got down on one knee.

My hand flew to my mouth, and a wave of emotion rolled through me. I was literally trembling when Cal reached into his pocket and pulled out a black velvet box.

“Because your father is no longer with us, I couldn’t ask him for his blessing,” Cal said, opening the box to show me a simple gold band.

“So I figured this was the closest we could get to having him here with us while I asked you this.”

“Cal…” I was fucking sobbing. I couldn’t help it; my shoulders shook as I tried to keep it together, not wanting to interrupt him when he clearly had something so important to say.

“Ryan, there are a lot of things I regret doing in my life… Before I met you, I was lost.”

His chocolate eyes were swimming with tears as he looked up at me. His pained expression cut me to my core, and it took everything in me not to launch myself into his arms so I could try to kiss his pain away.

“There’s one thing I’ll never regret, though, and that’s forcing my way into your life. Ryan, you make me a better man. You’ve shown me that there’s good in this world and that I have a place here that doesn’t revolve around violence.

“I spent most of my life believing that I was a devil. Some sort of evil demon cursed to bring nothing but pain to this world… And maybe I am, in some ways.” He chuckled at the frantic way I began shaking my head at his words. Making a gentle ‘ shhh’ sound, he stopped me from interrupting him.

“But you taught me that even the devil is just an angel that fell to the ground.” Tears were streaming down both his cheeks as he fought to get his words out. “You picked me back up and reminded me how to fly, baby.”

He was staring up at me with his heart on his sleeve and stars in his eyes, and I could barely see him through all the tears in mine.

“I escaped that basement when I was ten years old, but I never knew the sun could shine so bright until I met you,” he whispered.

“Callum…” I choked, and he smiled at me, his own eyes swimming. His voice cracked as he continued.

“I regret a lot of things, Ryan, but the thing I regret the most is how long it took me to get to you.” He took my hand and squeezed. “You’ve been waiting for your dark angel, and now that I’m finally here, I never want to leave your side again. I can’t imagine living another day of my life without you, baby. So Ryan Fairview… will you marry me?’

I dropped to my knees, nodding my head frantically before the words even left my mouth.

“Yes.” I sobbed. “Of course, I’ll marry you. Cal, I love you so much it hurts.”

He smirked at me, chuckling softly as he took the ring out of its box.

“Good thing you like pain, baby.” He winked, and I choked on a wet laugh.

“Do you have a ring too?” I asked, and he nodded, showing me the engraving on the inside of mine.

In an elegant script, he’d had the word ‘together’ carved into the gold.

He slid it onto my finger, and I admired it briefly as he slipped a hand into his pocket to produce his matching band.

“I want to do it!” I demanded, and he chuckled, handing me the ring. I examined the inside, feeling a thrill of elation rush through me to find that his ring said ‘forever’ in the same script.

“Together forever,” I whispered.

He swallowed and cleared his throat as he watched me slide his ring onto his finger.

“Together forever,” he repeated. He dropped his hands to my hips and tugged me in close.

“I love you, Ryan Fairview,” he whispered, his lips ghosting across mine. Somehow, I felt his touch everywhere. It was like I was swimming in his scent… his love… just him.

“I love you too, Callum Walker,” I replied before catching his lips in mine.

And that was how, in the middle of a sea of lilies, I promised myself to the man who’d taught me that I was enough.

THE END