Epilogue
Maggie took a deep breath the moment she stepped outside.
Freedom.
It was something she’d never take for granted again.
The one year and ten months she’d spent behind bars was hell. And nothing she’d been prepared for. It didn’t matter how many times she claimed she hadn’t done what she’d been accused of—no one had believed her. And why would they? With the evidence against her, she’d known she was fucked from the very start.
Resentment welled inside her once more. She wanted nothing more than to get revenge against the man who’d set her up, had her thrown in jail. But she knew better than most that he wasn’t a man to fuck with. If she’d thought the last twenty-two months were bad, they’d be nothing if she snitched.
No, the only thing she could do was try to get on with her life .
A car pulled into the small parking lot outside the building where Maggie had spent almost two years of her life locked up. The woman behind the wheel smiled and waved.
Grateful for her friend Adina, Maggie hurried down the steps of the prison.
Adina had gotten out of the car, and now she greeted Maggie with a huge hug. Nothing had ever felt better. Maggie had been starved of basic human contact while incarcerated.
“I’m so happy you’re out!” Adina said.
“You and me both,” Maggie told her with a small smile.
“Come on. I’ve ordered takeout for your first night, and I have my guest room all set up for you. I have a bunch of stuff to tell you before I head out next week.”
“Head out?” Maggie asked as she got into the passenger side of the older-model Honda Accord.
“Yeah,” Adina said with a small frown. “I didn’t want to stress you out before you were released, but I’m leaving for a six-month deployment next week.”
Shit. Maggie did her best not to panic.
“As I told you before, you’re more than welcome to stay at my apartment for as long as you want to get back on your feet,” Adina said quickly. “It’ll be nice to have someone there looking after the place while I’m gone.”
Maggie swallowed hard. She and Adina had met just a few months before…the incident, as she was calling it. And it was a huge surprise when the woman had actually kept in touch while she’d been behind bars. Maggie had lived for her letters. All her other friends had disappeared. The fact that Adina had offered her a place to stay when she got out…it meant the world to Maggie .
But free rent or not, California was expensive. She needed to find a job. And now that she was a felon, Maggie had no doubt that would be easier said than done.
That was a worry for tomorrow. Today, she would revel in the fact that she was free. Away from the hell she’d been living for almost two years.
“Thanks for coming to get me,” Maggie told her friend.
“Of course! You didn’t deserve to be there in the first place.”
She didn’t. And it felt amazing to have at least one person believe that she hadn’t done what she’d been accused of. She didn’t even think her own lawyer believed her when she’d told him she’d been set up.
“I wish we had more time together before I have to leave. I was going to set you up.”
Maggie recoiled as if she’d been struck. “No! No set ups. I’m going to be single for the rest of my life. The very last thing I want is any kind of boyfriend.”
“Ever?”
“Ever,” Maggie said firmly. She’d learned her lesson the hard way. Men were dogs.
“So, I guess going to Aces Bar and Grill is out for tomorrow night?” Adina asked.
“It’s out,” Maggie confirmed.
“Well, darn. Fine. But if you change your mind, all you have to do is say so. I know some single, good-looking Navy SEALs.”
“Nope. No guys. Especially not ones who are in the Navy.”
Adina spent the rest of the drive to her apartment happily talking about all the things she had planned for them for next week, before her deployment. All Maggie wanted to do was hole up and get her wits about her again. To reacclimate to being outside the prison walls. But she wouldn’t say a word against her friend’s plans. The fact that Adina was willing to let her live with her, rent-free, for as long as it took for Maggie to get back on her feet, was a small miracle. She’d do anything the woman wanted.
By the time Adina got back from her six-month deployment, Maggie was determined to have a job and be self-sufficient again.
Then she was leaving California. Going somewhere that didn’t have a naval base. Somewhere she’d be guaranteed never to see the asshole who put her in jail, ever again.
In the back of her mind, Maggie had a feeling if the man knew she was out, he’d do whatever he could to make sure she was sent right back behind bars. He was an asshole of the first degree, one with power. She hadn’t seen him for who he was before, but she did now.
When Adina turned off the engine in her parking lot, Maggie got out and took another deep breath. The fresh air smelled so good.
She wasn’t going to mess up this new start her friend was giving her. She’d make the most out of it. Or die trying.
As you all know, nothing in my books ever goes smoothly, Maggie’s new start is no exception…starting with the no Navy gu ys thing. Preacher and Maggie are about to cross paths and take them both on a journey filled with ups and downs. Read all about how it plays out in Protecting Maggie the next book in the SEAL of Protection: Alliance series!
And you met some of the guys from my new Rescue Angels series…The first book is Keeping Laryn .