Epilogue
EPILOGUE
ONE YEAR LATER
EMBER
“Thank you for your time today.”
The warlord just stares at me. One of his teeth has been replaced with a shining gold one. He wears an expensive gaudy gold necklace and steadies a gold AK-47 against his arm. Yeah, it seems like he likes gold.
He doesn’t thank me for my interview. Which, to be fair, is kinda expected.
I just need to get the hell out of this place.
I nod at my cameraman colleague, and we make a quick exit from the den.
We’ve got what we came for.
We’ve been at this warlord’s compound on the outskirts of the city for the last two days, filming and interviewing the scary man and his subordinates. This interview has been something that’s been months in the making – slowly earning the trust of this man and his associates has taken its sweet time and constant effort. They have been nothing but courteous to my cameraman and me since we arrived, but there’s always been the air of potential violence. It’s kept me on edge the entire time.
But the warlord is a vain and narcissistic man - he wants his photo, and his gold tooth, splashed across America. He wants everyone to hear his words and tremble at his power. He wants that level of respectability, and he knows I’m the best person to do that for him, so I do feel under his protection.
But now, the interview done, I know we just need to get on the next plane home.
Before this crazy man changes his mind about this mad woman who’s dared come here to question him...
It’s only when I’m finally at the country’s international airport that I feel brave enough to pick up my phone and call Connor.
In the past year, we’ve somehow made our abnormal lives work. He still lives and works in Crystal River as a firefighter, and I travel the world as an investigative journalist, and when I do make it back to America, we shack up together in his hidden cabin and just be in love in our secret space.
Somehow, I’ve found my strange man.
Connor answers the phone pretty damn quick.
“Ember! How are you? You’re okay?”
He’s loud and enthusiastic – not typical traits for this typically stoic man. He’s clearly been worried about me. He’s probably had his phone with him at all times, waiting for any notification from me. Eric has told me he does that when I’m away. It’s so uncharacteristic for the big old-fashioned man to do that, but his care for me trumps his distaste for modern technology.
“I’m all fine,” I reassure my man. “I’m at the airport now, about to board. How are you? Wait, is that fire?”
I can hear crackling. Something burning in the background of the call.
What is he doing?
Connor laughs.
“I’m just on a job,” he tells me. “We’ve just saved an orphanage.”
I snort.
“That sounds much better than interviewing a murderer,” I reply.
“You want to hear the kids?”
“Absolutely.”
A whole load of child voices echo out my name from the other end. I guess Connor has his phone raised out over the kids he’s saved and is actively encouraging them to call out.
“How’s that?” he asks. I can practically hear his grin.
“Saving orphans and making them your friends, Connor? Your virtue makes me sick.”
He chuckles.
“It’s good to hear you’re okay. Ember, I miss you. Get on that plane soon. Otherwise my firefighter boys and I will have no choice but to come over there and find you.”
I smile.
“I’d like that, Connor. I would like that a lot. Come and find me, big guy. Come and make me yours .”