Epilogue One
Six months later
“Parker, you look incredible!” Ashlynn squeals as she takes a step back to take in my appearance. “Doesn’t she look fantastic?” She asks, turning to Hazel and Marie, who both stand off to the side with misty eyes.
“You’re so beautiful.” Marie chokes out. “I just know your mom and dad are seeing you right now, and smiling so big.” She finishes and my eyes begin to water. Tipping my head back to prevent them from falling, I blink and swallow the lump forming in the back of my throat.
“We’re just missing one thing.” Hazel chimes in, and I look down at her confused. She reaches into the bag for my gown, and pulls out the veil we all picked out last week. She strolls over to me, and I bend just enough to allow her to place the veil in my hair.
Turning, I look into a full length mirror and gasp at my reflection.
I chose a black, off the shoulder silk dress that has black lace underneath that peeks out over the top.
It hugs my curves in all the right places and drops into a sheath skirt.
Hazel fluffs the matching veil behind me and I swallow the lump in my throat.
In just a few minutes, I will marry the man of my dreams. I never saw myself getting married, but Maverick came into my life and changed everything for the better.
I can’t imagine my life not tied to him in every way possible.
A knock on the door sounds, and Hazel smiles.
She leaves me to go open it, and my heart pounds harder when I see my uncle standing in the doorway.
“Ladies.” He greets the women in the room, and walks over to me. Stopping in front of me, his eyes fill with tears as he takes my hands.
“You look so beautiful, Princess.” He says softly and I pull him into a hug. A lone tear falls, and Hazel slaps his shoulder.
“Don’t you make her cry, Rossi. That makeup took Ashlynn over an hour.” She scolds and I laugh. He pulls away from me and looks over to her.
“Alright, alright. Jeez, calm down.” He jokes and everyone shares a chuckle at their interaction. “I have something for you.” He says to me, and reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a small box with a tiny purple bow, and my heart stops, eyes immediately filling with tears.
I look down at the box and then back at him with wide eyes. Taking it from him with shaky hands, I carefully lift the top and the tears spill over my lashes when I see what’s inside.
“My locket.” I choke, and carefully pull it out. Placing the box down on the table next to me, I open the heart shaped locket, and stare at the pictures inside of it. One is of me and Nick, the other is of me and my parents at the beach, the summer before I started kindergarten.
“Whe-” The words get caught in my throat. “Where did you find this?” My eyes flash to his, tears streaming down both of our faces. “I thought it was gone.”
“The men I sent to Preston’s house that day, they found it amongst his things.” He whispers. “Here, let me help you.” He says and I hand him the locket. Spinning around, I watch in the mirror as he places the necklace on me, and clasps it. My fingers touch the pendant and I let out a shaky breath.
“Thank you.” I whisper and he kisses my cheek.
“Okay that’s enough!” Ashlynn interrupts, she’s also crying. “We’re messing up my masterpiece.” She comes over to me and blots my face with a napkin. When she finishes, she steps back to look at me and nods approvingly.
“There, all finished. Now, let’s go get you married.
” She smiles, and we all exit the room. Making our way down the stairs, we stop at a curtain that blocks our view from the wedding venue.
We decided to get married at one of Perdition’s many beautiful overlooks of the mountains.
It’s going to be a small ceremony and reception, with only around twenty guests.
Hazel and Marie offer their well wishes, then make their way out to the space where the ceremony will be held.
The music starts, and Ashlynn steps between the curtain to walk down the aisle and take her place as my maid of honor.
Taking in a shaky breath, Nick steps up next to me and holds his arm out.
I loop my arm through his, and exhale. The curtain opens and my heart stops at the sight of the man who waits on the other end for me.
He stands tall and stoic, in a perfectly tailored black suit and plum colored tie.
He’s speaking to Karson, and his head snaps up in my direction when the music changes to Drag Me Under by Sleep Token as Nick and I step forward.
A bright, devastating smile pulls at his lips and I can see from here that his eyes fill with unshed tears.
The walk down the aisle seems long and tedious, but finally we reach the end.
Uncle Nick places my hand in Maverick’s then gives me a kiss on the cheek.
He extends a hand to Maverick, who takes his palm and they shake hands.
Nick pulls him into a one armed hug and pats him on the back.
They pull apart and my uncle keeps a hold on Maverick’s shoulder, and Maverick gives him a soft and reassuring smile.
“I’ve got her.” Maverick says with a promise and I watch Uncle Nick’s adams apple bob as he nods.
He gives my hand a gentle squeeze, then places it in Maverick’s.
Tattooed fingers wrap around my palm and Nick turns to take his seat next to Elias–the man who’s been like a father to Maverick since he turned eighteen.
My heart feels like it could burst watching the two men exchange a friendly handshake, then look toward the children they raised.
Both look like the proud fathers they are.
“Are you ready for this, Sweetheart? Forever is a long time.” Maverick says with a playful wink.
“It’s not nearly long enough.” I say and a lone tear slips down my cheek. He smiles, and the officiant begins the ceremony. It passes in a haze, and before I know it, I’m saying ‘I do.’
“You may now.” Without waiting for the officiant to finish, Maverick pulls me into him for a long, slow and passionate kiss. I gasp into his mouth and his tongue sweeps over mine. When we part, the officiant speaks again.
“Introducing for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Maverick and Parker Cain. Congratulations.” Applause erupts around us as he takes my hand and we make our way back inside where our short reception will be held.
Neither of us wanted anything big, long or showy, so we settled on cake and a first dance.
When that’s over, we’ll be taken to the airport for our honeymoon in Santorini.
And I’m more than ready to skip straight to the honeymoon part.
Our friends and family join us inside after a few minutes, and we cut into the cake. Safe with me by Ike Dweck begins to play, and Maverick stands from his chair. He offers me his hand, and I look up at him.
“Care to dance, Mrs. Cain?” His sage green eyes sparkle with excitement, and I can’t help the chuckle that leaves me.
“Absolutely.” I say. He pulls me to a stand and leads me to the center of the dance floor.
Wrapping an arm around the small of my back, he grabs my hand with his free one. He wraps that hand in his and places it to his chest. We sway to the music as I press my head against his chest and close my eyes, searing this moment into my mind.
“I love you.” I say and lift my head to look him in the eyes.
“And I love you, Mrs. Cain.” He leans down to peck my lips and I smile against his mouth.
“I’ll never get tired of hearing that.” I say softly and a deep chuckle rumbles in his chest.
The song ends, and our guests make their way outside. We follow behind them, and walk through the open doors that lead out into the parking garage of the Hades tower. Our friends stand on either side of the open back door of our limo, offering hugs and handshakes as we near the vehicle.
Stopping next to the door, I lean forward and pull my uncle into a hug.
“Be good, Princess.” He whispers as he hugs me back and I giggle.
“Always.” Pulling away, he looks to Maverick.
“I have something for you as well.” He reaches into his suit jacket, and pulls out a small envelope. Maverick eyes the envelope and looks back at Nick with furrowed brows.
“What’s this?” He asks, taking the envelope from Nick.
“After you two came back here, I had my team of people do some digging. You had mentioned what happened with your mother, and I wanted to see if I could help in your search.” I gasp and cover my mouth. Maverick reads over the paper and clears his throat.
“How did you find her?” He asks softly.
“I found an article about her disappearance online. It had a photo and she looked so familiar. It took a while, but I realized I had seen her before.”
“When, how?” I ask in disbelief.
“Did Preston tell you why Sam went after your parents?” Nick asks and I nod.
“He said embezzlement.” Nick shakes his head.
“It was trafficking. Somehow it came to your father and I’s attention that Sam and a group of politicians were involved in a trafficking ring.
Your dad was working tirelessly to take them all down and send them to prison.
When he was close, Sam ordered the women he had been holding captive to be killed, and disposed of.
” Nick starts and I grip Maverick’s arm and look up at him.
He listens to my uncle intently, and nods for him to continue.
“One night, a 9-1-1 call was received about a body being discovered along the river banks. Anthony and I had them dismiss the call, and we went to investigate ourselves. The woman we found, Maverick, was your mother. No one ever came to claim her body, so she was cremated and her ashes buried in a cemetery close to where the Moretti’s are buried.
” Silence stretches between the two for a moment before Maverick reaches his hand out to shake my uncles.
“Thank you for this.” He says and Nick nods.
“I’m sorry to do it today of all days, but I figured you’d want to know as soon as I knew anything.”
“Don’t be sorry. This means a lot to me. Thank you.” Maverick says, then looks down at me.
“Are you ready?” He asks with a smile and I nod.
“Always.” He helps me into the car, and slides in next to me.
The driver puts the car in gear, and we leave Perdition’s grounds. Once on the interstate, Maverick leans into me and whispers.
“I can’t wait to get you out of this dress, Mrs. Cain.” A shudder of excitement runs through my body, and I shift to look at him.
“We have nothing but time, Mr. Cain.” I reply, and smile up at him.
“Forever.” He whispers and I nod.
“Forever.”