Epilogue
EPILOGUE
ELLE
Eight Months Later
T he months after I stepped into the offices of Homeland Security and took the deal that included all my charges being dropped had been a whirlwind. I’d never screamed, cried, or gotten angry so much in my life. Every day seemed to be a new challenge and it felt like my emotions had been riding an endless rollercoaster.
But we made it. And today was the day.
Sitting next to Dayton on his sofa in the living room of his home, our fingers interlaced, we watched the live coverage of the trial for Aaron Ramsay. All of the others who had been arrested and put on trial had been convicted. He was the last. The collapse of his empire had been cheered by most, but condemned by some. There were those out there who felt it was a witch-hunt. No amount of evidence would change their minds, not the testimonies, not the videos of him abusing aspiring models and actresses in security camera footage, or the videos secretly taken by another whistleblower of the drug smuggling and sex slaves. But that was okay. There would always be those who were so committed to the characters these men and women were portrayed to be in the media that no amount of evidence would break through their illusion of who that person truly was.
My coming forward had begun a domino effect. It empowered others to come forward with what they knew.
I’d testified the previous week.
My duty was done, and I’d played my part to take the organization down. I’d been terrified every step of the way, but it was Dayton’s strength and assurances that helped me through to the end. Now all I could hope was that the jury would do their part.
He gave my hand a squeeze drawing my attention from the television to Dayton.
Damn, he was sexy. While the actors in Hollywood played the role of hero and knight in shining armor, he truly was one.
There’s no way I’d have gotten through this ordeal without him.
“You’re my knight in shining armor, you know that, right?”
He cocked a brow at me. “Is that so?”
“It is.”
“You don’t need a knight though. You’re plenty strong all on your own, Elle. I’m more of the sidekick.”
Laughing, I leaned over and placed a tender kiss on his lips. “If I haven’t said it before, thank you—for everything.”
Our moment was interrupted by the jury announcing their verdict.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Aaron had been charged with a string of counts, and like the others—including my ex, Sebastian—each and every one came back guilty.
We sat in silence until the coverage ended.
Grabbing the remote, Dayton turned off the television and then turned to me. “It’s over Elle.”
“It is. You’d think I’d be in the mood to celebrate, but I’m not.”
“How do you feel?”
“Relief.” Chewing at my lower lip, I looked up at him again. “And sad. Does that make sense?”
“It does. It’s been a rough year for you. And now you’ve got a lot of decisions to make.”
“I do.”
Dayton’s expression turned nervous.
My eyes narrowed at him as I attempted to get a better read of what he was thinking. “What’s on your mind?”
“There’s something I’ve been wanting to discuss with you.”
“Oh?”
“I’d like to discuss our future.”
My heart stopped beating for a split second. “What are your thoughts?”
“I think we should continue living together?”
“You do?” I felt the same way. I had no intention of ever letting the best thing that ever happened to me go, but the evil side of me demanded I tease him a bit. “What else are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking there’s a few things that need to be said between us.”
“That so?”
“I’m just going to say it. Elle, I love you. I’ve been biding my time. Seeing where this whole trial and the craziness that went with it calmed down. But I don’t want to hold how I feel back any longer. I love you and I don’t ever want to let you go.”
I’d told him I loved him silently a hundred times or more over the past few months. I just never had the balls to tell him. So I’d kept silent waiting for the day that I’d build the nerve to say it.
Finally. The day was here.
A smile spread across my face so wide that my cheeks hurt. “I love you too!” I squealed as I threw myself into his open arms. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to tell you.”
Laughing he placed a light kiss on my forehead, the tip of my nose, and then finally, my lips. “Does this mean that you’ll live with me? Here. One of your fancy houses. Another country. I don’t care. As long as I’m with you my life will be complete.”
“You read my mind.”
The End