Epilogue
Mandie
The kitchen was a disaster. Flour dusted the counters like fresh snow, half-chopped peppers littered the cutting board, and the air smelled of charred tortillas and something vaguely resembling victory.
I leaned against the counter, fingers greasy from the taco I’d just inhaled, watching Donovan move like a man possessed.
His black nails were caked with spices, sleeves rolled up to reveal the faintest trace of ink peeking from under his wrist cuff.
The way his brow furrowed in concentration was almost cute, if you ignored the fact that he looked like he’d just crawled out of a gothic nightmare and straight into an apron.
Johnny, ever the instigator, nudged my elbow. "Bet you ten bucks he burns the next batch."
I side-eyed him. "No bet. And shut up. These are delicious. Way better than the charcoal briquettes you tried to feed us last week."
Donovan heard us. His cheeks flushed that telltale shade of pink, like he’d been caught doing something illicit instead of just cooking dinner.
Roger grabbed a beer from the fridge and slid it across the counter toward him. "Feel free to burn mine, Flexel. I like the crunch. Here—liquid morale boost for the chef."
Donovan took it and downed half the bottle in one go.
I couldn't help but giggle. "Wow. Johnny's jokes are so bad, Donovan has to get drunk just to tolerate them."
Matt, meanwhile, was glaring at the taco in his hand like it had personally offended his ancestors. "This has paprika in it."
Sebastian didn’t even look up from his coffee. "Paprika is a spice, Matt. Not a war crime."
"Debatable," Matt grumbled, but he took a massive bite anyway. The man had survived god knows what in his lifetime, but mild seasoning was apparently where he drew the line.
Teddy cleared his throat. It was his “leader” voice. Or at least the voice of someone who had read a leadership manual cover to cover. "We should acknowledge the elephant in the room."
Johnny groaned, throwing his head back. "Oh god, here we go. Your dad sucks. There, I said it."
"I’m not talking about Victor," Teddy said, though the tightening of his jaw suggested otherwise. "I’m talking about the fact that we’re all still alive."
A beat of silence settled over the room.
Then Roger raised his bottle. "To not dying."
"To almost dying," Johnny corrected, clinking his own beer against Roger’s. "Because let’s be real, it’s not a Tuesday unless someone’s bleeding."
"Or eating tacos," I added, taking another bite.
Donovan laughed—an actual, unguarded sound that was so rare it made my chest tighten. He quickly covered his mouth, like he’d committed a social faux pas, but the damage was done. The room softened. Even Matt’s scowl dialed back to a mere frown.
Sebastian set his mug down with deliberate precision. "Statistically, our survival rate is concerning. We have been beating the odds, but that cannot last forever."
"That’s the spirit, Doc," I drawled. "Next you’ll tell us our cholesterol is too high."
"It is," Sebastian said, deadpan. "But that’s neither here nor—"
"Save it," Johnny interrupted, waving a hand. "We get it. We’re a walking health violation. But right now? We’re alive. And Donovan made tacos."
Donovan flung a crumbled tortilla chip at Johnny’s head. It bounced off his spiky blond hair and landed in Matt’s beer. Matt didn’t react. He just fished it out, wiped the rim of his bottle on his sleeve, and took a swig like this was just another day in the apocalypse.
I swirled my drink, the whiskey burning pleasantly in my nose. "So. Victor’s still out there with a hard-on for world domination."
Teddy’s gaze flicked to me, sharp and assessing. "We’re safe here. He will never find this bunker. We can regroup. Get better. You helped us with that."
He leaned over, cupping my face, and kissed me. I leaned into it, savoring the contact, the warmth, the reality of him.
"Right," I said when we pulled apart. "Because last time we ‘regrouped,’ we ended up in a cave with a psychopath and a dragon."
Johnny snickered. "Yeah, but I got to race a demon-bike, so... worth it."
Roger shook his head, but he was smiling. "You’re all insane."
"Says the guy who wrestled a dragon mid-air," Sebastian pointed out.
"It was more of a… guided descent," Roger said, though the tips of his ears turned red.
Donovan, who’d been quietly assembling another taco, suddenly spoke up. "We did do something right, though." His voice was soft, but the room stilled. "We got Mandie back. We stopped them. For now."
The weight of it settled over us. Not a total victory. Not yet. But a moment. A breath. A stolen hour where the world wasn’t ending.
Matt exhaled, long and slow. "Yeah. We did."
Roger rubbed his stomach and pushed his plate away. "That's it for me. I cannot eat another bite."
I finished my drink and slammed the glass down. "Oh, hell no."
Six pairs of eyes turned to me.
"All six of you better save some room," I said, a slow, wicked grin spreading across my face. "Because you are going to be eating my taco next."
Roger choked on his beer. Johnny’s jaw dropped.
"Aren't you exhausted from all the kidnapping?" Sebastian asked, arching a brow.
"Listen," I said, standing up and smoothing my shirt.
"If I learned anything from almost dying today, it's that life is short and sleep is for the dead.
I plan to keep all six of you busy all night.
" I pointed a finger at them, dead serious.
"If any of you stop before the sun comes up, I am grounding you for a week.
No saving a bus full of nuns, no saving the world from a nuclear disaster. You just stay here with me."
"You act like you are in charge of this team," Teddy said, grinning.
I grabbed his shirt and pulled him in close. "It is our team, Teddy. Deal with it."
I kissed him again, deep and claiming, knowing that neither of us would leave the other again.
“You guys want to watch a movie later?” Matt asked.
He wasn’t usually one to suggest a group thing, but he had been a lot more relaxed since he got his letter. His daughter wants to finally hear his side. They are meeting next week.
“Only if I get to pick the movie,” I said.
“Getting a little comfortable around here, are we?” Johnny joked.
“It is about to get a lot more comfortable around here. When are we moving my stuff in?”
The guys looked at me in confusion.
“You’re staying?” Teddy asked.
“Only for the cleaning bots. I like them. As for you guys, if I am going to keep you around, you all better behave. You will treat me right, take care of me, give me princess treatment, and no dying.”
“Deal,” Teddy said with a smile.
After all the pain, the betrayal, and the disappointment in my life, I finally had my happily ever after.
I had six incredible men who gave me everything I ever wanted.
There might always be a villain to fight, a world to save, or a catastrophe to avert.
But I knew that at the end of the day, they would always come home to me.
Life couldn’t be more perfect than this. From now on, it was the seven of us vs the world.