Epilogue
Three weeks later…
The softball game had been Hayden's idea. "Family bonding," he'd called it, though Kara suspected it was really an excuse for her brother to determine whether her new boyfriend had the goods to compete on his men's softball team starting next month.
Softball had always been a tradition in their family.
Every spring they gathered for a game in the park to kick off baseball season.
Kara was a pretty good player, but rarely had time to play on a team, so her skills were rusty.
Not that she cared much about this game at all; she was more interested in seeing how Max fit in with her large, extended family.
Until now, she'd been introducing him to people in smaller groups.
But this was everyone and their friends. And Max seemed to be loving it.
He waved to her from second base, where he'd landed after hitting a double.
He looked more relaxed than she'd ever seen him.
Three weeks of sleeping through the night without nightmares of Qadir and waking up next to someone who loved him despite knowing all his secrets, had taken a lot of weight off him.
She felt lighter herself, no longer feeling the need to prove anything to anyone.
She realized now how the incident at the NYPD, the breakup with her boyfriend, and the blacklisting by former friends had taken a serious toll on her.
She'd buried herself in work, so she didn't have to think about friendship or love.
She'd thought proving she was an excellent agent would make everyone realize they were wrong about her, but now she knew she hadn't really been trying to prove that to others, but to herself.
She didn't have to do that anymore. She knew who she was, and she was good with herself.
"Strike three!" Uncle Danny called from behind home plate, grinning as Hayden walked back to the bench after striking out spectacularly. "Medical school didn't teach you how to hit a curveball!"
"That wasn't a curveball!" Hayden protested. "That was barely a strike!"
"I'm the umpire. My rules."
"Max is fitting in well," her mother said, settling down beside her on the blanket Kara had spread on the grass when she'd decided to sit out so that the two teams would have even numbers.
"Look at him, he's having the time of his life," her mom added as Max ran home on her cousin Laurel's long fly ball.
"He likes our big, chaotic family."
"We like him. So, when are you going to make this official?"
"Mom!"
"What? I'm just saying, you're not getting any younger, Kara. And he clearly adores you."
"We've known each other for a month."
"That doesn't matter. I've never seen you look so happy. I want that to continue."
"It will," she said. "Stop pushing. I've got this."
"I'm glad," her mother said. "Do you want something to eat or drink?"
"No, I'll wait for Max."
Her mother stood up, then paused. "Your father would have liked him, Kara?"
"Really?"
"Yes. Not because he's strong and brave and handsome, but because he loves you, and he wants to protect you."
"I don't need him to protect me."
Her mother smiled. "I know that, but there is always a time in life when you need someone to have your back."
"Well, I know that Max will always have my back," she said, remembering how he'd bravely stood by her side as they both faced death. But her mother was never going to hear that story.
"That's what I think, too," her mom said with a satisfied smile. Then she went to join her sister-in-law at the dessert table.
A moment later, the game ended, and Max came over to join her.
"I think we won," he said, flopping down on the blanket beside her. "But I'm not entirely sure. The game seems to be starting again with new teams, so who knows?"
"That's how these games go," she said with a laugh. "They never end, and my uncle makes up rules so everyone will feel like they've won. By the way, my family loves you."
"I love them too."
"So, you said you had some news," she reminded him. "Can you share it?"
"I'm not sure this is the right time."
"We're alone. And I want to hear it."
"Okay. I've decided to make my fake security firm real," he said.
"My friend Reza is leaving the agency; he's going to join me.
So will Kai, who was helping me with Dominic's business.
She's willing to commit to full-time as long as I don't make her travel.
Reza has another friend who's leaving the ATF.
He'll come on board as well, and we'll see where we go from there.
It looks like I'm going to need an actual office. "
"Are you focusing on overseas work?"
"No. I'm happy to focus on the city. I'm starting to like it almost as much as you do."
"It is an amazing city." Her gaze drifted to the Brooklyn Bridge in the distance. "I still sometimes wonder how we didn't lose that bridge. But I'm so glad it's still there." She looked back at him. "I've been thinking about a few things, too."
"Like…"
"Maybe we should get an apartment together. We're together most nights, and going back and forth is getting to be a pain. I think we should find a place to share."
"I already started looking," he said, surprising her again.
"Really?"
"Yes. But before we move in together, I want to make things more official."
She gave him a warning look. "Stop right there, Max Malone. You are not going to propose to me at a family softball game with everyone watching."
He laughed. "That would be perfect, wouldn't it?"
"No. I don't enjoy being the center of that kind of attention."
"I know you don't." He gave her a look that suggested he knew her as well as she knew herself. "I'm not proposing here, but soon. I want you to know that I'm committed to you and me. This is going to be a long-term deal."
"I thought you didn't like long-term."
"Well, you changed my mind. And when I ask you to marry me, it will be a surprise."
"As long as it's just you and me, I don't care where it is or when it happens. Because I love you, and I'm all in. In fact, I could just ask you right now," she said.
"No way. You don't want a family proposal, and I don't want you to ask me."
"So, we make a deal that I propose when your family is not around."
"It's a deal," she said with a grin. "We negotiate pretty well."
"We do a lot of things pretty well." He leaned over and gave her a kiss. "By the way, I heard that the investigations into Dominic's global empire are revealing quite a few skeletons in the closet. He's going to be facing charges for all kinds of things."
"Good," she said with satisfaction. "I can't stand that he used you to make a deal with Qadir. I know he's acting like he wasn't going to honor it, and that it only had to do with getting you to Tajikistan, but I don't buy it, and I don't trust him."
"Samantha doesn't trust him, either," he said. "I stopped at the hospital this morning on my way here."
"Really? How is she doing?" She knew that Samantha had been recovering from her near-death experience but still had a long road back to recovery.
"She's now aware of everything that happened, and her newfound appreciation for life has apparently given her a conscience. She said she's asked the DA to reopen investigations into the fire and all the people who were involved."
"Too little, too late for David Hartford and his family, not that he deserves any compassion, but the victims of that fire do. By the way, did Samantha ever tell you why she sent you that text asking you to meet her at the café?"
"It was what we thought. She was concerned about Dominic.
Actually, it wasn't just concern; she'd overheard him talking to someone, and it had sounded like he was paying for protection.
She didn't like that idea. She was concerned that Dominic's ambition would lead him and possibly her into a dangerous situation, as she was planning to attend the groundbreaking with him. "
"She is a smart woman."
"Smart enough to end things with him as soon as she realized how deeply he'd gotten involved with Qadir."
"Well, I'm glad she's recovering."
"She told me she's hoping to be back to work within the next two months."
"She's a workaholic—kind of like us."
He smiled. "We're talking too much about work, aren't we?"
"Maybe. I'm excited about your new company, Max, and I really enjoy working with my team, but I hope we can find some balance going forward.
I want more in my life than just work. I want a real relationship, and I want to make that relationship a priority, too.
I know it won't be easy for either of us.
When there are lives on the line, we'll go all in.
But maybe when there aren't lives on the line, we don't obsess over work. "
"I like the sound of that. I've spent too many days and years chasing Qadir, looking for revenge, justice, whatever you want to call it. I don't want to do that anymore."
"It's all really pointless, isn't it? No one can change the past. All any of us can do is just move on. The best revenge is being happy, right?"
"Right. And we are going to be so happy." He leaned forward and gave her a long, passionate kiss.
"Hey!" Danny called from home plate. "No kissing in the outfield! This is a family game!"
"We're not in the outfield!" she yelled back.
"Close enough! Save it for later!"
She ignored him and went back to kissing Max, because if she'd learned anything about time, some things couldn't and shouldn't wait.