Epilogue
“ C asimir Hallie, it’s great to meet you,” I said, holding out my hand. I was a little surprised and trying not to show it. Without really thinking about it, I had formed a mental picture in my head of John Alden that had absolutely nothing in common with reality. I had imagined that he would look something like my captain at the LAPD. Older, white, slightly pudgy from sitting behind a desk all day. The only one of those things that might have actually applied was older. He was obviously older than me, but he was a tall, fit, handsome black man with a friendly smile, and the gentle handshake of a man who knows he’s stronger than most people.
John Alden accepted my handshake with a wide smile. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
His husband, David, who was white and shorter, wider, and more heavily muscled, offered his hand as well, and we shook warmly.
I looked around the building we were in and shook my head with an awed smile. “It is gorgeous,” I said. “Rishi has described it but he didn’t do it justice.”
Rishi laughed. “You’re the writer, baby, not me.”
“You write, Mr. Hallie?” David asked politely.
I flushed. “A little. A hobby.”
“Mr. Hallie, there is a reason that I asked you to come in with Rishi today,” John said, gesturing for me to sit. I did, with Rishi next to me, while John and David seated themselves side-by-side across the table. “I understand that you’ve been attempting to find a job in social work?”
I nodded, sighing. I had hoped that my law enforcement background would allow me to find something in a supportive role. I wanted to help people, even if I was no longer considered fit for duty.
“Have you ever done dispatch work?”
I tilted my head, looking at John more closely. “No, I haven’t…” I said.
“We wanted to offer you the position of chief dispatcher and law enforcement liaison,” David said. “You have a relationship with the police organizations here in Los Angeles, and you are tried and true in stressful situations. We believe you would be perfect for the job. It would be much more involved than a typical dispatcher position, and may evolve as the office grows, but we feel that you would be a great asset to Alden Security, and we hope that you will consider joining us.”
John and David clasped their hands on the table and looked at me hopefully.
I gawped at them, then nodded. “Yes,” I said, nodding harder. “Yes, I would love that! That sounds fantastic, I don’t— Absolutely!” I stood up and offered my hand to both of them, shaking them enthusiastically.
“Fantastic!” John said. “If you can manage it, I would like to bring you back to Denver for a month-long training with Marie, our office manager extraordinaire, and Marcus and Lee, the tech and intelligence gurus.”
I glanced at Rishi, who nodded subtly. “Yes, that would be fine. I just need to rearrange my appointments, and then I’m all yours.”
John laughed. “Well, mostly ours,” he said, glancing at Rishi with amusement.
***
The flight to Denver was unremarkable, other than the hassle of getting through security with a prosthetic leg. Rishi drove us to the Alden Security building and introduced me to Marie, who looked me over appraisingly. Her steel gray hair, glasses, and sharp suit gave her a severe air, but then she smiled and twinkled at Rishi. “Very nice work.”
Rishi grinned.
We were put up in the Alden Security building in a nice efficiency apartment, and I spent the days learning the information and procedures that I would need to know while Rishi got additional training, as John and David wanted him to use his strategy background to do more of the review and planning on the cases that the new office would take. Even though we weren’t really home, it felt comfortable and domestic and I was unbelievably happy.
I met some of Rishi’s friends, including Jason. He gave me a one-armed hug and clapped Rishi on the back. “You landed a good one,” he told me.
It was nearly time to go back to LA when Rishi proposed a night out. “Dinner, maybe a show? We haven’t gotten to go on many real dates,” he said.
That was true. Even after Fernandez had been eliminated, we didn’t alter our lifestyles that much. I did therapy and appointments, and we stayed in and had dinner, and occasionally hung out with Luis, Saint, Rio, and a couple of my friends from the force.
A nice night out sounded amazing.
I had been wearing business casual for my training, but I had brought two suits with me, just in case. Rishi had one too, and we decided to put on the spit-and-polish for our night out.
We made reservations at an upscale Indian restaurant. The reviews were great, and I was excited; I adored good Indian food.
I wore my prosthesis and used one crutch, though I was almost confident enough to leave them both behind. Rishi and I walked hand in hand, which still gave me a little thrill. I wasn’t closeted in LA, but I had never gone out with a man like this, hand in hand and clearly a couple.
The atmosphere was gorgeous, with deep brown wooden chairs, curtains the color of good curry, and beautiful golden lighting. The host led us to our table and gave us the menus, and our waiter was with us almost immediately to take our drink orders.
We talked about the training we’d each been doing and how Rishi felt about using his military training again, and as dinner concluded, our banter turned to flirting. I had plans for Rishi when we were done with dinner. He looked gorgeous in his deep red dress shirt and black suit, and when I thought of peeling the layers off of him to reveal all of his elaborate body art, I ended up sporting a semi at the table.
We had taken a cab to the restaurant but decided to stroll for a while when we finished so our food could settle. We walked hand in hand, the crutch a safeguard more than a necessity, and were almost halfway back to Alden Security, when Rishi tugged me up against the wall of the building we were passing and caged me against it, kissing me. “I love you,” he breathed, and slid down my body.
For a second, I wondered if he was trying to get us a public indecency charge — not that I would have been able or inclined to object — but then he took my free hand. “Casimir, I love you more than I knew it was possible to love anyone. You’re the strongest, most amazing, most…” He stopped, pressing his lips to my palm instead. “I love you, Cas. I want to love you forever. Will you marry me?”
I felt my jaw drop. I had a plan brewing in the back of my mind to do this very thing after we got back to LA. Rishi had beaten me to it. There was no question in my mind that he was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. “Yes, Rishi, yes,” I whispered. I dropped the hand hold of my crutch, though it still hung on my wrist, and held my hand out as he brought out a simple gold ring. He slipped it onto my finger and stood up, kissing me deeply. “I love you,” I told him, standing with my arms wrapped around his torso.
The End