Epilogue
California
The sounds of the cello woke Eden. She smiled as she sat up and rose from the bed to pad barefoot down the hall to where Maks sat on the porch with the morning sun shining. She stood in the doorway, listening to him for several minutes until he finished the song.
He looked at her then and smiled. “Morning.”
“Morning,” she said with a grin as she walked to him and gave him a kiss. “That’s the second-best way of being woken in the morning.”
“I couldn’t resist. It was just a perfect day.”
Eden had to agree with him. Not only were the temperatures mild with only a slight chill in the air, they were also back on American soil. Over the last few days, she found it difficult to believe that the week before had actually happened.
A few days ago she had found a news article about an American woman who had died in Vienna of a home invasion.
There was Janice’s picture in the article, which speculated the invasion had occurred because of the virus epidemic.
But Eden and Maks both knew that the Saints had killed her.
Eden couldn’t even bring herself to feel sorry for Janice.
Maks stood and put the cello away before they walked into the house together.
Neither turned on the news or the radio.
They didn’t need to know what was going on in the world, because they had been a part of it.
They had indeed found a vaccine in Jeff’s coat and had immediately taken it to the local authorities so it could be replicated.
Once that happened, it didn’t take long for the Romanians to give it to other countries, and everyone began vaccinating against the vile strain of flu. Unfortunately, before that happened, many hundreds of thousands died—all because of the Saints.
As for the organization, they had done what they could to stop the spread of information about them.
But once it was leaked that they were the ones who had designed and spread the virus, the cry for their arrests couldn’t be drowned out by anyone—not even the Saints.
The remaining four Elders were arrested.
In a plea deal, they had all given up a plethora of names of those associated with them.
It was a witch hunt, but then again, she and Maks had always known it would be.
The main thing was that the world was safe again.
Somewhat. There would always be danger out there.
There’d always be someone who thought they were doing the right thing, when in fact, they were the villains.
Thankfully, there were also men like Maks, willing to risk their lives for others.
Maks stopped by the kitchen island and shook his head. “You look damn good in my shirt.”
“Do I?” she asked seductively. “Do you like it better on me. Or off?”
“Is that really even a question?”
They laughed and walked into each other’s arms. “I love you,” she said.
“I love you.” He gave her a soft kiss.
Eden then pulled back and looked into his bright blue eyes. “Are you ready for today?”
“Yes. No.” He shook his head. “Let’s put it off another day.”
“If you want, but it’s always going to be difficult. The Saints are finished. Jeffery is no more. There’s no longer a reason for your family to think you’re dead.”
He gave her a lopsided grin. “You’re just too damn smart. I’m really glad you’re coming with me.”
“I’ll always be by your side.”
An hour later, they got out of the rental car in front of a San Francisco home.
Eden stood on the curb and waited for Maks to walk to her.
They had only gotten halfway down the walk when the front door of the house opened.
An older woman with light brown hair and bright blue eyes came out on the porch.
Her gaze was locked on Maks, her hand over her heart. “Alex? Is that you?”
“Hi, Mom. It’s me.”
Eden watched with tears pouring out of her eyes as Maks’ mom rushed down the steps and into Maks’ arms. It wasn’t long before his father joined them.
It warmed Eden’s heart to see Maks rejoin his family.
His mother was the first to call his siblings so everyone could come over.
There would be a ton of questions for Maks, and Eden knew that he wouldn’t be able to answer them all.
But it didn’t matter. He was home, back where he belonged.
And they were together.
He took her hand and pulled her with him as the four of them walked through the doorway. His mother and father embraced her as the laughter and happiness filled the house. And she knew it was just the beginning of their lives together.
Thank you for reading THE GUARDIAN. I hope you enjoyed the story!