Epilogue
Tory
Life has changed in ways I never could have imagined since I met Ranger.
Sitting at my worktable, I carefully string tiny crystals onto a delicate silver chain, the sunlight streaming through the window and making the stones sparkle.
It’s peaceful here, a perfect balance between the life I had before and the one I’m building now.
My dad and I are still close. He’s traveling and calls every other day to check on me.
I still help him as much as I can, diving into data analysis or proofing his presentations, but now it’s on my terms. I’m no longer tethered to his world twenty-four-seven, and he’s more than happy about that.
He says every time we talk how grateful he is that I’ve found someone to love—someone who brings out the best in me.
And Ranger… Ranger is everything.
I glance over at the small picture on my desk. It’s of the two of us on the beach, his arm around me, my head tilted against his shoulder. We both look so happy, so in love. And we are.
I smile to myself, thinking about our plans. I’ll be moving in with him soon, officially trading in my dad’s little apartment for the cozy beach house he’s made into a home. It feels right—like every piece of my life is finally falling into place.
It’s not just my personal life that’s blossoming, either.
My jewelry business is finally taking off.
What started as a hobby to pass the time has become something bigger than I ever thought it could be.
People actually want to buy my designs, and the little online shop I opened has been busier than I ever expected.
The thought fills me with pride. Every time someone purchases a piece, it’s like a little reminder that I’m capable of creating something beautiful—something meaningful.
I finish the necklace and hold it up to the light, admiring the way the crystals catch the sun. It’s simple but elegant, and I can’t wait to send it off to its new owner.
My phone buzzes on the table, and I glance at the screen to see a text from Ranger.
Can’t wait to see you tonight. Burgers on the grill?
I laugh softly, my heart doing that little flutter it always does when I think of him.
Perfect
I reply, setting the phone down and leaning back in my chair.
Life isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty damn close. I have my dad, my jewelry, and the love of my life. And for the first time, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.
Happy. Fulfilled. Loved.
And I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
The ocean is doing that hypnotic thing again—rolling in like it has all the time in the world.
For the first time in my life, so do I.
Warm salt air drifts over Ranger’s back porch, carrying the smell of burgers and charred veggies and whatever magic he puts into “simple.” I’m curled into a wicker chair with a sweating glass of iced tea, watching him at the grill.
He stands there like he was born to guard the shoreline—broad shoulders, steady hands, eyes that scan the yard out of habit even when the only threat is an overcooked bun.
He catches me staring and lifts one brow. The expression says, What? but the crooked smile says, I like being watched by you.
“Stop looking at me like that,” he calls.
“Like what?” I ask, sweetly innocent, because I’ve learned something important since meeting Ranger Cole.
He loves my attitude almost as much as he loves my mouth.
“Like you’re about to tackle me,” he says, flipping a burger with practiced ease.
I take a slow sip of tea, letting my eyes drag over him on purpose. “Maybe I am.”
His grin turns dangerous. “After I feed you.”
The old version of me would’ve laughed and then spiraled—Is this real? Can I trust it? When will the other shoe drop?
But Ranger doesn’t do flimsy.
Ranger does steel.
He does mine.
And somehow, unbelievably, I’ve become brave enough to want that.
The screen door squeaks and Ranger glances over his shoulder. His whole body shifts—subtle, instant, protective.
Then he relaxes when he sees who it is.
Dean Maddox steps onto the porch with his wife, Sophia, a bottle of wine in one hand and a plate of brownies in the other like they’re normal people attending a normal cookout.
They’re not normal people.
And this isn’t a normal life.
But it’s ours.
Sophia smiles at me, warm and open, like she’s known me forever instead of through secondhand war stories and security briefings. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
I stand to take the brownies. “I’ve heard a lot about you too. Mostly that you’re the reason our boss smiles now.”
Dean makes a sound that’s half warning, half amusement. “Careful. Ranger’s contagious.”
Ranger points the spatula at him. “Says the guy who used to scowl so hard his face could’ve cracked glass.”
Sophia laughs and settles onto the porch swing like she belongs here. Dean moves to the grill with Ranger, because men like them can’t stand still when there’s a perimeter to mentally patrol.
I can hear them talk—their voices low, casual, like they’re discussing sports instead of lives on the line.
“How’re the guys?” Ranger asks.
Dean pops the top on a beer and slides it across the grill shelf. “Boone’s holed up in the woods with a pizza shop owner who might actually be feral. She apparently keeps trying to stab him with a rolling pin.”
I snort into my iced tea.
Ranger’s shoulders shake like he’s laughing without making a sound. “That checks.”
“And Asher,” Dean continues, “is pretending to be engaged to an heiress. I gave him one rule: don’t fall in love.”
Ranger’s mouth quirks. “How’s that going?”
Dean’s silence is the answer.
Sophia leans toward me, eyes sparkling. “Asher’s sweet. He’s going to get destroyed.”
“Welcome to Maddox Security,” I murmur.
Dean takes a long pull of his beer, then glances toward the ocean like he’s measuring the horizon. “And Orion…”
Ranger looks up, interest sharpening. “Yeah. How’s Locke holding up?”
Dean’s smile turns into a grimace. “He called me at five a.m. last week.”
Sophia gasps. “Orion called you?”
“Sounded like he’d been through an exorcism,” Dean says. “He’s protecting Minnie Green’s daughter—Briar.”
My stomach tightens a little at the name. I’ve heard it in passing. Pretty socialite. Zoo job. Stalker ex-boyfriend.
But Dean’s expression says it’s worse than that.
“There’s more,” Ranger says, not a question.
Dean’s eyes flick to Ranger’s, and something unspoken passes between them. The kind of silent communication men develop when they’ve seen too much and survived it together.
“There’s always more,” Dean says finally. “The ex is only the surface. Someone else is watching her too. Someone patient.”
My skin prickles. Because I know that word. Patient. That’s what hunted my father. That’s what hunted me.
“What about the five a.m. call?” Sophia asks, trying to lighten it, but her voice goes careful.
Dean huffs a laugh. “The bird.”
I blink. “The bird?”
Ranger chokes, then covers it with a cough.
Sophia leans forward. “What bird?”
Dean’s eyes gleam like he’s been waiting to share this. “Apparently Briar has an enormous exotic bird with an attitude problem. Name’s Jeb.”
“Jeb,” I repeat, because it’s so normal it feels suspicious.
Dean nods solemnly. “Jeb flew into Orion’s room, landed on his head, and screamed until Orion fed him. Orion said—and I quote—‘This bird is a demon in feathers.’”
Ranger loses it. Full laugh, head tipped back, the kind of sound I didn’t know he could make until I came into his life and proved laughter wouldn’t kill him.
Sophia wipes a tear from her eye. “I can’t picture Orion dealing with that.”
“Oh, he’s dealing with it,” Dean says. “Just badly.”
“And Briar?” Ranger asks, voice going softer, more serious.
Dean’s humor fades. “She’s scared. Pretending she’s not. But she’s in it deep.”
I glance at Ranger, and the way his hand finds my waist—like he can feel my anxiety before I speak it—makes something warm settle in my chest.
He pulls me closer without a word.
Because he’s Ranger.
He doesn’t let me drift.
Dean raises his beer in a mock toast, like he’s trying to pull us back to the light. “To happy endings,” he says. “And to birds staying off our heads.”
We laugh, because we have to. Because if you don’t laugh, you’ll remember the other stuff.
The screaming. The running. The fear.
And I’m done living there.
Later, after the food and the wine and the last of the daylight bleeds into stars, Ranger and I sit on the porch swing with the ocean whispering below.
I rest my head against his shoulder and breathe him in—smoke, salt, and that clean, steady scent that says safe.
“You happy?” he asks, voice low.
I turn my face up to his. The moonlight catches his jaw, the scar near his brow, the intensity in his eyes that used to scare me before I realized it was all for the people he protects.
“For me,” I say honestly, “happiness used to feel like something that got taken.”
His arm tightens around me. “Not anymore.”
I swallow, throat thick. “I love you.”
Ranger doesn’t make a big show of it. He doesn’t need to.
He presses his forehead to mine, like he’s sealing a promise into my skin. “I love you too, Tory Ann. Always.”
The ocean keeps rolling in.
And for the first time, I don’t flinch at the sound.
Because if the world comes for us again…
They’re going to have to get through Ranger Cole first.
And I pity them for trying.
Thank you so much for reading Tory and Ranger’s love story. Want more Ranger and Tory? CLICK HERE for a bonus scene!
Your next mission is waiting… SAVING WHAT’S MINE
(Maddox ALPHA Series — Book 2)
You thought the danger was over.
It isn’t.
Orion is the kind of man who runs toward trouble—trained, lethal, and built to protect. But when a woman with haunted eyes lands in his orbit and a threat escalates fast, “just a job” turns into a line he’ll happily cross.
Because she isn’t just a case file.
She’s his.
Inside Saving What’s Mine, you’ll get:
· Protective hero / “touch her and die” energy
· Forced proximity
· High-stakes romantic suspense
· Bodyguard obsession + possessive vibes
· Fast pacing, danger, and heat
· A swoony, hard-earned HEA
Ready for your next mission?
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P.S. Start reading immediately—there’s a sneak peek on the next page…