Epilogue
New York City: Later that evening
“Wait here,” Andrea ordered.
The two bodyguards bowed their heads and positioned themselves outside the elegant double doors.
Andrea entered using her keycard. She closed the door quietly behind her. The city was a distant thrum against the windows of Benoit’s penthouse office.
She stood in the center of it all—the polished black marble floor gleaming beneath her designer heels, the weight of silence pressing like a velvet glove around her shoulders.
She wore a tailored Dior dress, sharp as a scalpel and just as deadly. She walked over to the bar inset into the wall and poured herself a glass of vintage Bordeaux.
Taking a sip, she walked over to the vast bank of windows and stared down. The glass of Bordeaux rested in her manicured hand, the deep crimson catching the recessed lighting like blood in a goblet. Her lips curved, thoughtful… amused.
Less than ten minutes later, the door behind her opened with a soft click. She didn’t turn. She didn’t have to. Robert’s polished presence had hardly needed a psychic to predict.
“I assume you’ve heard,” Robert said, his voice steady, professional. Predictable.
Andrea tilted her head in a brief bow of acknowledgement. “Yes. It was to be predicted. He never should have gone up against Kiki alone.”
“I wouldn’t say he was exactly alone,” Robert retorted in a dry tone.
Robert came to stand beside her, slipping his hands into the pockets of his dark gray slacks. He kept his gaze focused on the city below. Andrea took another sip of her wine.
“I expected you to be more… upset,” he murmured.
“You expect me to weep for Benoit?” she asked, finally turning her head to glance at him.
His jaw tensed. “No. Perhaps. You were married.”
“Benoit was married to his research. I was simply his lover,” Andrea said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
He partially turned, his gaze flicking to the sleek monitor embedded in the wall. Three photos were on display: Kiki, all fire and defiance… Eric, his expression an icy fortress… and Brie, worry and resolve clashing behind her eyes.
“I would have thought perhaps you’d reconsidered continuing Benoit’s research. With CRI involved, this path could be—unwise.”
Andrea sighed, her gaze slipping from Robert to the glowing screen. “Benoit made a fatal mistake in allowing sentiment to cloud his judgment. He saw Kiki as a legacy. A child. A symbol of his brilliance.”
She paused.
“He forgot what she was created to be.”
Robert shifted slightly, discomfort flickering in his eyes. Andrea walked over to the desk.
She set her wineglass gently on the edge. Lifting her hand, her fingers caressed the screen even as she pulled open the side drawer of her late husband’s desk. She reached in and pulled out the cold steel of the 9mm Benoit had kept there.
With a sigh, she turned back to face Robert.
Robert stiffened when he noticed the gun in her hand. “Andrea—”
“One of Benoit’s other flaws,” she interrupted smoothly, “was letting dead weight linger in the room.”
The shot rang out like the final punctuation at the end of an essay.
Robert’s body jerked backward, crimson blooming across his shirt as he crashed to the floor in stunned silence.
Andrea moved to stand over him. Her face was an exquisite mask of serenity, as if she was untouched by the cold-blooded act she had committed.
“I’m sorry, Robert, but it was time for our liaison to end. I hope you understand. It’s not personal, but your feelings for Kiki made you a liability,” she said softly, gazing down at the life ebbing from his eyes. “Tell Benoit I said hello.”
She stepped over him without pause, retrieved her wine, and took one last sip.
Outside the door, the two bodyguards in dark suits turned sharply as she exited.
“There’s a mess in my office,” she said coolly. “Get a team in to clean it up. And make sure the body’s never found.”
“Yes, ma’am,” one of them replied instantly.
Andrea didn’t look back.
As the elevator doors slid closed behind her, her eyes glittered—not with sorrow, but purpose.
There would be no mourning.
Only momentum.
Because with the right funding, and fresh blood, The Founders would rise again.
And this time, nothing—not even love—would stand in her way.
Upstate New York:
The fire crackled softly, casting flickering gold light across the circle of friends gathered around it. The stars above twinkled like fireflies scattered across a velvet sky. The scent of pine, smoke, and roasted marshmallows lingered on the air, warm and familiar.
Kiki leaned into Nikos’s side on the double-glider bench Lucas and Cole had drug over earlier while Nikos and Markos built a fire. Her cheek nestled against his chest. She listened to the steady thrum of his heartbeat beneath her ear.
His arm wrapped around her shoulder. His fingers traced slow, tender patterns over her skin, grounding her in the here and now. It was incredible what a few hours could make.
The men were laughing—deep belly laughs and dry mutters that trailed off in exhausted amusement. Even Markos cracked a rare smile as Cole and Lucas traded jabs over who had looked more shocked when Mak and Teriff first appeared.
No one dared mention Harlem who had disappeared shortly after the last of Benoit’s men had been detained. Kiki half expected the unusual man to materialize like an apparition.
She looked up when footsteps crunched softly in the dark.
Cosmos stepped into the light with Teriff and Mak flanking him, the two towering aliens pulled another round of amused jokes from the men. All three were covered in flecks of dirt and ash, looking like they’d just walked off the set of a sci-fi war film.
Cosmos exhaled a long breath and released a tired sigh. “Well… Avery and the rest of my team, along with an unnamed government agency that seems to know more than they should thanks to RITA, have successfully cleared the area.”
Angel arched an eyebrow, lifting a glass of whiskey. “Touché! How did Avery explain all the dead bodies?”
Cosmos gave him a lopsided grin. “What dead bodies?”
Kiki’s eyes flashed to the massive alien to Cosmos’s left when he grinned and patted the alien weapon strapped across his chest. Nikos muttered a curse and pulled her tighter against him.
“No sense in advertising what’s happened here anymore than the locals are already curious about,” Cosmos added.
Cole muttered to Lucas, “Mental note—never, ever piss off the aliens.”
Lucas nodded solemnly. “Yeah. I like my limbs where they are.”
Teriff slapped Cosmos’s shoulder, nearly knocking him off balance. “Tonight’s excitement has made me horny. It’s date night. Tilly says date nights are important and should never be missed.”
Cosmos groaned. “TMI, Teriff, TMI.”
Laughter rippled through the group.
A shimmer sparked in the air as a familiar portal swirled open behind them. The men collectively leaned forward again, their expressions shifting from awe to wary anticipation.
Cosmos sighed and motioned. “Go on, you two. I’ll catch up.”
“Not happening. Terra made me promise to keep you safe and bring you home… in one piece,” Mak grumbled with a piercing glare.
Cosmos gave the group a crooked grin and shrugged. “I better go. Date night. I’ll get RITA to answer the rest of your questions.”
The silence that followed as the trio disappeared as suddenly as they appeared earlier was broken by Markos, who turned toward Kiki.
“I’ve got a question.”
Kiki blinked, lifting her head from Nikos’s shoulder. “What is it?”
Markos studied her carefully. “How did you deactivate both detonators?”
Before she could answer, a flash of light sparked across from them. RITA materialized in a swirl of beads, fringe, and tie-dye, decked out in a head-turning 1960s Woodstock outfit complete with peace sign earrings and round sunglasses.
“God help me, I’m in love,” Lucas muttered.
Cole stood as if hypnotized… then promptly dropped back down when a towering, leather-clad figure materialized beside her. Broad-shouldered, all-black leather, shoulder-length dark hair, and a glower that could melt titanium.
“Everyone, meet FRED,” RITA chirped. “My darling hubby.”
FRED crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at the group, who collectively looked like they were reconsidering all their life choices.
“Fascinating,” Angel murmured. “Did not have ‘muscular AI enforcer husband’ on my apocalypse bingo card.”
RITA turned to Kiki, her expression softening. “Are you okay, dear?”
Kiki nodded. “Yeah. I knew you’d come through. Thank you.”
RITA sighed. “Of course I did. But next time, give a girl a little more warning before you play chicken with a madman.”
She turned to Markos. “As for your question, the detonators were circuit-based. As a hologram, I can temporarily disrupt electronic frequencies when I shift through matter. I melted the internal boards and did the same with the explosive vest. Nothing flashy. Just… a little sizzle.”
FRED placed a protective arm around her. “Introductions made. You’ve done your check on Kiki. Can we go now? You promised me that we could check out the human’s nightclub to see if it was any good,” he grumbled, nodding toward Markos.
Angel leaned forward. “Before you go, what happened to the guy named Harlem?”
RITA smiled slyly. “Harlem is Harlem. It’s best to let him be. Now that I know everyone is settled, I’m happy.”
“I told you they were fine. Who cares about the men, anyway? You already knew Kiki was safe,” FRED growled under his breath.
“Hush, love. There’s no reason to be jealous. You know I only have ones and zeros for you!” RITA admonished teasingly as they disappeared.
Kiki giggled, her laughter mingling with the others’. Nikos rose, stretching before he turned and pulled her gently up with him.
“Want to go for a walk?” he asked quietly.
She nodded, intertwining her fingers with his as they walked away. She giggled when Markos released a loud groan behind them as it finally dawned on him that RITA and FRED were talking about visiting The Rocks. Laughter and teasing erupted at Markos’s slow response.
“It’s good to have the group back together again,” Nikos murmured with a sigh.
They walked in silence down to the water’s edge. The dock stretched out under a sky brushed with stars, clouds, and moonlight. The lake shimmered like liquid glass, calm and eternal.
Kiki breathed in a deep breath, her eyes searching the darkness across the lake where she had sensed Eric earlier. There was nothing but silence now.
When they reached the end, Nikos stepped behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. His breath stirred her hair as they stood in the glow of the full moon.
Kiki leaned back into him, soaking in his warmth. For the first time in her life, the future didn’t feel like a looming shadow. It felt… possible.
“What’s going to happen next?” she asked quietly. “What about Brie? Eric? The rest of the Founders? Benoit’s dead, but he wasn’t the only one.”
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he turned her to face him. His hands cupped her cheeks. She tilted her head into his palms when he began rubbing his thumbs along her jaw with a tenderness that stole her breath.
“Cosmos and KSS will work together and shut them down. I will never let them near you again, and if I know my brother the way I do, he won’t let them harm Brie.
As for what’s going to happen between us…
I’m going to love you,” he said, bending his head closer.
“I’m going to hold you, marry you, and never, ever let you go.
In that order. I want it all, Kiki. I want paintball wars, late-night dancing under the stars, hot chocolate and chocolate muffin mornings, and waking up tangled in sheets.
All of it. All of you. Just the way you are. ”
She swallowed hard, emotion choking her throat. “Are you sure?”
His fingers threaded through her hair, holding her gaze steady. “You’re not alone anymore, Kiki. You’ll never be alone again.”
Then he kissed her—deeply, thoroughly, like he was claiming every shattered, scared piece of her and putting it back together.
Kiki opened herself completely, letting the bond between them flare bright, letting him feel everything. Her fear, her love, and the fierce, beautiful joy that bloomed in her heart.
When the kiss broke, her breathless smile barely had time to form before Nikos swept her into his arms.
She squealed, laughing, as he spun her in a dizzying circle, the moon and stars blurring around them.
“Nikos!” she gasped, clutching his neck.
“You can’t show me things like that and expect me to behave,” he teased, grinning wickedly as he set her down.
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” she shot back with a saucy wink.
From behind them, the guys erupted in cheers and catcalls.
“Get a room!”
“Someone hose them down!”
“Make him work for it, Kiki!”
Nikos grabbed her hand and pulled her after him. She ran with him, her laughter bright, chasing joy as fast as her feet could carry her.
As they reached the stairs, he slowed just long enough to press a kiss to her temple and whisper, “Forever, Kiki. You and me.”
“You bet your ass forever,” she breathed.
Kiki knew, with every beat of her heart, that no matter what came next… she wasn’t running anymore.
She was finally home.