Epilogue
Seven Months later
Lorelei burrowed into her coat as a cold wind wrapped around her legs. She walked on the sidewalk in the shopping district, heading toward the craft store. Her knitting was slow going, and she still wasn’t sure how her grandmother infused healing love with each stitch, but she kept at it.
“Miss Lorelei.”
She halted, slowly turning to see a man, wearing a black trench coat and black gloves. Tall, muscular, piercing blue eyes. He looked vaguely familiar but she couldn’t place where from. Behind him stood three men, looking like the Secret Service, dressed similarly. Dark sunglasses obscured their eyes.
“No, sorry, you have the wrong person.”
As she took a step away, one of the bodyguards stepped in front of her, preventing her from leaving. At this point, fear slowly inched its way through her body.
“Please,” she pleaded. “Let me go.”
All she could think about was that these men could take her away from Cross. She’d rather be dead than locked up again.
“I’ve been searching for you for months.”
“I said you have the wrong person.” She took a step backward and bumped into another bodyguard.
“You don’t recognize me, do you?” the man asked. “Not that I blame you. I looked very different from when you last saw me, on my deathbed.”
Lorelei tilted her head, trying to place this very handsome man, until it suddenly clicked. “Mr. Thorp?”
He smiled. “Yes.”
She studied him up and down, noticing there was a glow to his skin. “You look healthy.”
“Thanks to you,” he said softly. Reverence resided in his eyes. “You literally pulled me from death’s hand. Plus, you erased all the damage from the chemo, and even replaced the brain matter the cancer had consumed. You’ve given me a second chance at life. You’re a miracle.”
“I’m glad you’re well,” she said demurely.
“Would you like to get a coffee?” He pointed to a coffee shop across the street. “It’s chilly, and I’d like to talk to you some more.”
“Oh.” She glanced around, glad there were other people bustling around them. Lots and lots of witnesses. “I don’t know. I guess ... maybe. Okay.”
“Excellent,” he murmured. He took hold of her elbow and as he started to cross the street, his men swarmed around them, looking every which way.
Warmth greeted them as they entered the coffee shop. Several tables had people working on laptops. A few others had people talking to one another. Mr. Thorp led her to a table in the back, where they could see the rest of the place and keep an eye on the door. They got a few questionable stares.
“What would you like?”
“Um, I think I’m too nervous to drink anything.”
“You don’t have to be nervous. How about water?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Mr. Thorp gave a nod to one of the men, who immediately went to place the order.
“They always do what you say?” she asked.
“Always,” he replied, smiling.
“How did you find me, Mr. Thorp?”
“Please, call me Joseph.”
“Joseph,” she relented.
“After I miraculously recovered, my father told me about you. How he thought you were being held against your will. I did some digging and the more I learned, the less I liked.”
His man came over and placed a sealed water bottle in front of them. Even though she said she couldn’t drink anything, she cracked the lid and took a deep drink.
“Thank you,” she said, wiping her mouth free of liquid. “Why are you here?”
“You should know that there isn’t much I can’t do. Or have done,” Joseph bragged unabashedly. “I moved to shut Noble Vale down and during that operation, I learned your name. Then I heard about what happened at Jessica’s Den. It was easy to track your movements once I learned Aera Cross’s name.”
Lorelei distinctly remembered Jessica. It made her sad to think about how she betrayed them. Especially Cross, because they’d been lovers at one point.
“But, why did you want to find me?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
She shook her head. It had almost been a year since she escaped that place, and once her uncle had “disappeared,” she hadn’t thought of that time in captivity all that much. She refused to let it consume her life anymore.
“To offer you a life of complete freedom.”
She tilted her head. “I don’t understand. I’m free now. Costello Birsha can’t hurt me anymore.”
“But the biker you’re with can.”
Lorelei tensed. “He’d never hurt me.”
Joseph leaned forward, his penetrating chocolate eyes focused on her. “When I say freedom, all you have to do is name where you want to go, and I will handle everything. You’ll have a big, beautiful house. A car. And I’ll deposit two million dollars into your account to start. You won’t have to work ever again or worry about money.”
Her eyes widened. Two million dollars? “I don’t understand why you’re offering this.”
“You saved my life,” he said softly. “I would do anything for you. Give you anything you want.”
Her heart melted at his sincerity. “Joseph, all I want is for you to live a happy life. To make the most of your second chance.”
“I plan on doing that, but I want to take care of you. I don’t want you to ever be used again for your gift, unless that’s what you want to do.”
His sincerity took her breath away.
“Thank you,” she finally said, choking down her emotions. She held out her hand and he grasped it. “It means the world to me that you healed completely.”
His intense stare speared through her. “But?”
“But I’m where I want to be. I’m with the man I love.”
“Does he love you back?”
Ah. That was the question that kept burning through her mind. Did Cross love her? She didn’t know, and he had never even hinted at what he felt for her.
“I think your silence answers my question.”
“Maybe he doesn’t, but I still can’t leave him.”
“Can’t, or won’t?”
She shrugged, not sure how to reply.
Joseph sighed. “Then promise me something. Promise me, if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“You don’t have to—”
“No, Lorelei, I do.” He drew in a deep breath and leaned closer so only she could hear. “I’ve alwayssaid I never feared death, but I stared into the abyss of nothingness, and it terrified me. Then I received a miracle. You pulled me back into the land of the living, and I want to thank you by giving you the opportunity to live a life free of anything that can hurt you.”
For a moment, she thought about his offer, but almost immediately dismissed the idea of leaving Cross. She was still discovering who she was, but the one definitive thing she knew was that her future lay with her biker.
“The only thanks I need is for you to have a wonderful life.” She rose and stepped to his side to place a kiss on his cheek. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m where I want to be.”
He took hold of her hand and kissed the back of it. When he let go, his business card was in her palm. “Regardless. Promise you’ll contact me if you need anything?”
“Ipromise,” she said, then she leaned closer. “You shouldn’t be ashamed of being scared. That makes us human. Goodbye, Joseph.”
Giving him a smile, she pulled away and left.
****
T he Uber driver dropped her off, and as she walked up to the door, it opened. Cross stood there with a smile on his face. Over the last few months, he had slowly gotten used to the fact she went out on her own to run errands. Every time she arrived home, he greeted her at the door and held out his arms. She rushed into them, hugging him tightly.
Should I tell him about Joseph Thorp? She pondered the question as they moved into the house.
“You didn’t buy anything?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I met a friend.”
He tensed. “A friend?”
“One of the last people I healed at Noble Vale was a man named Joseph Thorp. He had a cancerous tumor in his head.”
“How long did it take you to recover from that?”
“Several days.”
“And this man is your friend?”
“Yes,” she said.
He searched her face. “How did this man track you down?”
“He said he had Noble Vale shut down, and that’s where he discovered my name. He’d been looking for me.”
Cross speared his fingers through his hair. Lorelei wished she hadn’t said anything.
“Why?” he bit out.
She hesitated.
“Why, Lorelei?”
“He offered me freedom,” she replied. “A house, a car. Money. Said I could live life on my own terms.”
His hands curled into fists. “No. Absolutely not. You’re not leaving me. I will find this man and I will—”
She reached up and put her fingers over his lips to silence him. “I’m not leaving you.”
He wrapped his hand around her nape and pulled her into his body. “Damn straight you aren’t.”
“How do you feel about me?” she asked, biting her lower lip. She wasn’t sure if she should have asked that.
“What do you mean?”
Lorelei shook her head, suddenly not sure she wanted to know. Because if it wasn’t love, then her heart might break. “Never mind.”
“No, tell me.”
“I’m not leaving you because I love you.”
He blinked. “Okay.”
Disappointment filled her heart, and she told herself it was okay. He wasn’t ready. Maybe he’d never fall in love with her, and if he didn’t then she’d learn to live with that knowledge. She just hoped that if he did find someone else, he’d be honest enough with her to not indulge in an affair behind her back.
“I just wanted you to know that.” She moved back, out of his reach, hoping her smile didn’t look strained. “Let me make some lunch.”
Her cooking skills were far better than her knitting ability. Cross, it seemed, wasn’t having that, and stopped her retreat.
“Fuck lunch,” he said. “What else did he say to you?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit. He said something or you wouldn’t act like this.”
“Act like what?”
He searched her face. “You love me.”
She looked away. “Yes.”
“Good.” That one word floored her, until he continued. “Because what I feel for you is beyond love. You’ve dug your roots into my heart so deep they fucking touch my soul. Every time you walk out that door, I can’t breathe. Not until I can hold you in my arms once more. I don’t care if I’m obsessed. Or possessed. I love you, Lorelei. I’m yours in this world and the next.”
Happiness burst inside her, and she threw her arms around him. His own wrapped around her, squeezing her tight.
“I didn’t think you loved me,” she whispered brokenly. Happy tears were just on the horizon.
“Silly girl,” his voice rumbled through her, igniting all sorts of tingles. “Would I live in this type of house if I didn’t love you? Don’t you know by now, I’d do anything for you?”
She leaned back to look into his eyes. “Thank you for rescuing me. I love you.”
“Damn straight you do. Now, get in there and make me a sandwich.”
She pursed her lips and held up her index finger and thumb about an inch apart. “Oh, so close to being perfect.”
All he did was wink.
The End