Epilogue
The day after Isaac proposed to Julie, their family converged on the island. He’d missed his brothers and their women, but he hadn’t been quite ready to share Jules with the rest of them. They’d eaten a late ocean-front lunch together after Gus, Sasha, Easton, and Kinley had arrived at the resort. The women had wanted some time alone with Jules, so they went up to Gus’s suite to give them privacy. Now, he sat with his brothers on the balcony that towered high above the property, giving them an aerial view of the resort. The open sky was a brilliant blue. Light bathed every inch of the beach below, leaving no room for shadows. The sun’s rays stroked the tranquil turquoise water with brushes of glittering silver. The quiet pace of the day paired with the weather fueled his optimism and hope for the happy future he imagined with Julie. It was hard not to feel that way, when you were on a tropical island with the woman you loved and almost lost, your tight knit but annoying as hell family at your side, and the bad guys behind bars.
“You didn’t waste a single second getting your ring on Julie’s finger.” Gus leaned back in his chair, a beer in one hand, and his elbow propped on the arm rest of his lounge chair.
Easton smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “You can’t let her swim with that on. It’s like the paper weight I have on my desk.”
“Wanted to spoil her.” Even though his brothers didn’t appear upset with him, there was a conversation they needed to have. One that was weighing on his shoulders.
“Think you accomplished that.” A grin from Gus wasn’t quite as rare these days with Sasha in his life, but the way the wide smile cracked across his face made Isaac feel thankful. Gus had every right to be mad as hell at him. First, keeping such a huge secret about how he felt for Julie, then hurting her by staying away. She’d been abducted under his watch, and he hadn’t asked for anyone’s blessing to slip that ring on her finger, and still here he was, shooting the shit with the two men who meant the world to him. Obviously, they’d all grown up without a strong father figure or role model, but they’d all stepped up and been that support for each other. When one of them got knocked down or lost their way, another would be there to offer guidance. And when they all faltered, well, that’s when their bright light stepped in. Julie was a nurturer. Had everyone wrapped around her finger. She could set them all straight with a single, leveled gaze.
He cleared his throat and leaned forward, dropping his elbows to his knees. “I wasn’t honest with either of you. I didn’t deserve your easy acceptance of my feelings toward Jules, but I want to thank you anyway. I made a mistake by distancing myself. I hurt her. Then I fucked up again when I made a poor judgement call that compromised her safety. I won’t make those same mistakes again. Hope you get how much your trust, your support means.”
“Shit, Isaac.” Gus brought his empty bottle down on the table with a clank and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Do you really think we’d lay that blame at your feet? Gotta let go of that God complex you have, because that’s gonna tear you apart. Julie was taken by Greco’s men. You were outnumbered. They came in with a plan and executed it. That’s not on you.” Gus leaned forward, his intense gaze trained on Isaac. “Julie wouldn’t be alive today if you hadn’t rescued her from the scene of the crash. She would’ve been taken and tortured along with Agent Dawson.”
“The thought of Jules being hurt worse than she was is sick. Even though neither of us want to hear the details of what went on in your teammate’s safehouse,” Easton said with a mock shudder. “We knew Julie would be safe.” His brother was ribbing him, trying to lighten the tone of their conversation.
“And that’s where we end that conversation.” Gus shot Easton a look of disgust. “You have my complete blessing, but keep that personal relationship shit to yourself,” Gus said, turning to Isaac.
“Hey,” Isaac held up his hands. “Easton brought it up, not me. Has anyone received an update on Dawson or Nilsson?” he asked, quickly maneuvering the conversation away from him and Julie.
“Dawson’s still in critical care. They had to operate.” Easton paused and raked his hands through his dark hair. A wave of affection stole over him. His brother’s hair took on that mussed look it always had when they were kids. Now that he was a federal agent with his own cybercrime task force, he rarely saw Easton with a hair out of place. “It was successful, but one leg was so badly damaged, they had to amputate.”
They were all quiet for several minutes, processing the weight of Dawson’s loss and the difficult road to recovery.
“We’ll have his back.” Gus said as he looked out at the ocean. “Your teammate, Dawson, Nilsson, Vesey, Sabrina, they’re all family now, too.”
“Jules talked to Sabrina on FaceTime this morning.” Isaac smiled, remembering the squeal of pure joy when the little girl picked up the call and saw Julie. Then there was the look on Vesey’s face. A man who knew how close he’d come to losing his only child. The bureau was still reeling from the betrayal of one of its directors, Dale Mancuso. The man had done far worse than taking kickbacks and leaking information to a crime organization.
Easton shook his head. “Straight out of a box office thriller. An FBI director blackmailing an agent, threatening his presumed dead wife’s life every time he refused to do his bidding.”
Everyone had been told that Vesey’s wife had died in an accident, but all along, she was right under their noses, held hostage in Dale Mancuso’s home. He’d orchestrated the whole thing and used Vesey’s love for his wife to get him to do his bidding.
“Staging a fiery car accident so everyone thought Vesey’s wife had burned up in the crash, but instead keeping her hostage to manipulate his agent.” Gus expelled a long breath.
“That must have been one hell of a reunion. Was Vesey’s wife hurt?” Isaac turned to Easton. Out of all of them he had the most inside information.
“Aside from the trauma of being taken from her daughter and husband and detained, it certainly could’ve been worse. There were beatings throughout the year when Vesey pushed back for the sake of his daughter and wouldn’t comply, but she got lucky.” Easton rolled his shoulders.
“Mancuso will be in prison for the rest of his life. Greco is behind bars, too. His cousin was more than happy to roll over on him. Provided enough intel to put him behind bars for multiple life sentences.” Gus looked down at the beach, and Isaac and Easton followed his gaze to where Sasha, Kinley, and Jules were settling beneath one of the resort’s striped umbrellas on lounge chairs.
Julie’s strength and her determination to move on with her life and put this ordeal in the past was awe inspiring. She had on a bright yellow bikini and large sunglasses that dominated her face. Her head was high despite the bruising that covered nearly her entire body.
“How about we enjoy the island and our girls,” Easton said. “We have two days until we have to catch a flight home.”
They all stood, chair legs scraping against the deck. Maybe they only had two days left on the island, but Isaac wasn’t disappointed to be leaving. He had his whole life with Julie ahead of him, and that was a paradise all its own.
The End