Epilogue
Two Months Later
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Jane walked into the newly-finished hotel suite that would serve as their new home in Abu Dhabi.
She’d looked at the hotel room Chance had been living in and, with Angela’s help, decided that they could do better.
Better meant they wouldn’t be on the thirteenth floor, next-door neighbors with his teammates.
Their new apartment on the fourteenth floor was close enough that Chance didn’t mind and Jane wouldn’t feel like she lived in a fraternity house.
They’d also been able to convince Liam and Chelsea to set up an apartment on their floor. Jane guessed that Chelsea and the baby would be part-time residents of the under-construction hotel soon enough.
She tossed her keys onto the hallway table. “Hello?”
“In here.”
Jane eyed a box that must have come from his old apartment, because Angela had had Jane’s things boxed, shipped, and unpacked before they returned from their honeymoon. “What’s in there?”
“Cans of stew,” Chance explained as he and Hagan lounged at the kitchen table, T-shirts appropriately damp with sweat, drinking beer and basking in their recent victory—moving his couch that he couldn’t live without to their new place.
It had looked like a perfectly ordinary couch to Jane, but he’d insisted that it had conformed to his body.
He didn’t want to start all over again. Such was married life.
Jane sat in his lap and took a sip of his beer. “I can’t believe you got that thing up here.”
“The bastard’s heavier than it looks,” Hagan added.
Chance flexed his muscles and grinned. “But, ya know, piece of cake.”
She rolled her eyes.
“So?” he asked. “How’d the call go?”
Jane beamed and handed the beer back. “That’s what I wanted to tell you about. It went way, way better than expected.”
“Don’t kill us with suspense.”
“They each took a deal,” she said.
“Wait—what? Really?” Chance popped his knees up and made her squeak. “Seriously?”
“Yup, really!”
“Gigi vowed to go down fighting.” He snickered. “At least, that’s what I thought she said when I swung by federal lockup for a quick hello.”
Hagan snort-laughed. “That’s not passive aggressive at all.”
Chance shrugged, then faced Jane. “I don’t get it. Just like that?”
“Well, as it turns out, staging my death for ratings wasn’t their only problem.” She bit her lip. “Remember that time I asked you if the bullets were real?”
“No—” Chance sobered and cocked his head. “You mean in Syria?”
Jane nodded. “The federal prosecutor shared a hell of a story.”
“I knew it,” Chance whispered.
“They planned the whole thing?” Hagan searched their faces for clarity.
She nodded again.
Chance added on, “Until the locals realized they had the upper hand.”
“True,” Jane said. “But they didn’t fess up until the photographer from the trip found himself in hot water.”
“With the feds?” Chance crooked his eyebrow. “Like the production company?”
The Thanes and Lark hadn’t been alone in their greed.
The more Jane learned, the angrier she became.
But then it clicked. They went to extremes, desperate for happiness.
Money and fame were like drugs. As soon as she accepted that, Jane pitied them.
They’d destroyed their lives, willing to do the same to others, to find what was available and free.
Love and acceptance. “Yeah. The photographer cut a similar deal, but only after they got him with blackmail.”
“What?” Both men hooted.
“I know, right?” She shook her head. “Dax told him what to expect. Joe played his part, believing the whole thing was a farce for most of the trip. Until he didn’t. Then he blackmailed Dax and Gigi.”
“Bet they gladly paid up,” Chance muttered.
“And,” Jane continued. “Because they planned the trip, the feds got all of them on several additional charges, from child endangerment to manipulating consumers and shareholders.”
Hagan whistled.
Sad but her story had a happy ending. “All of which means… drum roll, please.”
The guys obliged, laughing and drilling the table.
“I don’t have to testify in person,” Jane announced.
They cheered. She took a bow as though the show were finally over. Chance gave her a big kiss. Hagan popped up to retrieve another round of beers. He cracked the top off of a fresh one and gave it to Jane. “Congratulations.”
They clinked bottles and took a drink.
“There’s more good news.” She rolled her bottle between her palms. “You are looking at the newest martial arts instructor for one of the hotels across the street. They have a beautiful dojo and will be ramping up a children’s program. I start next week.”
“Awesome.” Chance lifted his bottle. “Let’s hope your new employers aren’t as crazy as your last ones.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Hagan held up his bottle hesitantly. “Any other good news?”
Jane smiled. “Courtney emailed an update. Teddy loves his new school and joined a Lego club. He’s so happy now.” Her eyes grew watery. “But I’m going to miss seeing him every day.”
A loud knock shook the front door, killing her misty moment. Chance and Hagan groaned.
Jane arched her eyebrows. “Who is that?”
“Boss Man,” Chance explained, finishing off his first beer. “And he sounds so cheery.”
She tsked them. Hagan chuckled. Chance cracked open his second beer. Jane went to answer the door. The second she opened it, Jared blustered in.
Maybe the guys were right. She sidestepped the angry storm of a man. Jared had a basket in one hand and a crumpled piece of paper in the other.
“Hi—”
He thrust the basket into her arms. “Angela says you need this.”
“Okay.” Jane eyed him suspiciously then read the card with a grin. “It’s a housewarming gift.”
He grumbled. “I gave you a house. Isn’t that enough of a gift?”
“Thank you.” She gave him an awkward but well-meaning squeeze. The gesture shut down his grumpy tirade, though it left her husband and his teammate speechless. “That was very thoughtful.”
Jared cleared his throat. “Enough of that. Let’s talk about this.” He flung the half-crushed paper onto the table. It landed between the beer bottles. “Is this your way of owning up to the signs?”
Jane stepped closer. Chance and Hagan sealed their lips. They didn’t say a word, turning a dark shade of red as they tried to hold back their laughter.
“What is it?” She flattened the paper on the table.
WARNING
Love is in the air
Take all precautions
Face Masks. HazMat Suits.
Do Not Drink the Water
Jane set the housewarming gift basket down and flipped the paper over and back. Blank. She glanced at Jared questioningly. “Where did you get this?”
“Taped to your door,” he groused.
She squinted, trying unsuccessfully to decode what was going on. Jane turned to Chance. “I just walked in. Nothing was on our door.”
Hagan stood like a lawyer making a closing argument. “Proof that it was not us.”
Jared didn’t speak so much as he growled—without opening his mouth.
“Well, guys.” Hagan grabbed his beer and retreated. “This is where I leave you. Enjoy the couch and the company. I’m out.”
He quickly disappeared. Still grumbling, Jared snatched the paper and stormed out behind Hagan, leaving Jane confused. “Um, what am I missing?”
Chance bellowed with laughter before he clarified. “Someone’s hanging signs around the building. They’re driving Boss Man to the edge.”
Her lips quirked. Maybe their apartment wasn’t on the frat house floor, but she could tell the antics couldn’t be avoided. The more she thought about it, the more Jane liked having the Aces team so close. They could be like her big, rowdy, paper-sign-making family.
Their laughter subsided, and she pulled Chance to the new-old couch.
Their place was very nice. She noticed a few more boxes that had arrived with the couch.
They could unpack and figure out what else needed to be done.
She already had a list brimming with ideas on how to make their hotel room suite look like a home.
She leaned into her husband. “What should we do now?”
He pulled her close. “Since love is in the air… I think we’re supposed to do each other.”
Laughing, she pressed a kiss onto his lips.
“What?” Chance gave her a not-so-innocent look that made her toes curl. “That’s not an option?”
“It’s the best option.” She kissed him again but stopped short. “I was just thinking about something and realized I had it all wrong.”
His eyebrows knitted. “HazMat suits aren’t needed for birth control. We’re fine.”
She slapped his chest playfully. “I was thinking about how to make this place look even more like our home.”
“Jane, babe. Right now, I don’t care about anything other than the mattress.”
“Hear me out.” She grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck. “So long as I’m with you, it will always feel like home. See what I did there?”
He shook his head and jumped up with her in his arms, muttering about making her feel at home as he raced to their bedroom. Jane giggled until they fell into bed again.
“See what I did there?” he asked then stripped away their clothes and wrapped her close.
With nothing between them, she nodded. “You gave me everything.”