Epilogue
THREE MONTHS LATER
WINDSOR, ENGLAND
Where have you been?” Kendra asked as she slammed the door of the Range Rover and turned to Lynch in the driver’s seat.
“You tell me that you’re going to take me to say goodbye to Stevie, and you’re two hours late.
I was getting very nervous.” She tensed as a thought occurred to her.
“Something went wrong? They’re not going to set her up in that safe house in Washington? ”
“I didn’t say that,” Lynch said. “Stop worrying.” He bent forward and gave her a kiss. “It just took a little longer than I thought to arrange, and I knew you’d be fretting if Stevie wasn’t properly settled.”
“Yes, I would.” Kendra relaxed a little but was still frowning.
“Even though I’m not sure this arrangement could be considered either proper or settled.
But I still want to say goodbye. We’ve been through so much together since we first met.
” She made a face. “And Stevie had so many reporters and diplomats at that damn farewell dinner last night, I barely got to talk to her.”
“I noticed that.” He was driving down the road now. “But it’s only what you’d expect after all the notoriety from that Wembley incident. She’s famous all over the world.”
“I guess you’re right,” She shook her head. “But I’m a little worried about what she might have to go through once they all start officially ‘handling’ her.”
He sighed. “Why did I know that was coming?”
“Be quiet.” She punched his arm lightly with her fist. “I like Stevie. I worry about people I care about. I’m not like you, who tends to knock out anyone who gets in his way instead of trying to solve the problem.”
“You’re maligning me, and I thought we were getting along so well.” He smiled at her. “But I forgive you because you still don’t realize how sensitive I am. I’ll even allow you to make amends in the ways that we find the most entertaining when you discover how wrong you are.”
“I can hardly wait. And when is that fantastic discovery going to take place?”
Lynch pointed to the airport just ahead. “Do you see that sleek wonder of an Airbus sitting on the runway?”
“I could hardly miss it,” she said dryly. “Which billionaire decided to drop in for tea?”
“Actually, I requested a loan from the owner to come by and pick up Stevie to take her to her safe house. Do you think she’ll like it?”
“I’ve no idea,” Kendra said. “I doubt it. She didn’t impress me as a materialist. Remember? She said that she could be a multibillionaire herself if she sold the rights to her robot. Is that plane where I’m supposed to say goodbye to her? Is she waiting for me?”
“In a manner of speaking.” Lynch put on the brakes and sat there staring at the plane. “I’m afraid I may have done something that will irritate you. I didn’t exactly tell you the truth.”
Kendra’s eyes widened. “Exactly? It’s yes or no.” Then she tilted her head, and a smile touched her lips. “What are you up to, Lynch?”
“Because exactly really is the right word. Stevie is waiting for you on the plane, but not for you to come say goodbye to her.” He grinned.
“We smuggled her onto that plane early this morning. I told her that I didn’t want her to see you because that would draw attention to her presence here.
I wanted Archie and her to slip away and get settled before all the fireworks started over her departure.
I knew both of you would be disappointed, but it’s only for a little while.
In a few minutes, you’ll get out of the car and go to the tarmac and Stevie will see you and you’ll both wave goodbye and bon voyage.
” He added gently. “I promise there will be lots of hellos and goodbyes in the future for both of you. I’ll just have to work out how best to arrange it.
You’re both in a rather difficult situation at the moment. ”
“And you’re confusing the hell out of me,” Kendra said. “I thought the principal difficulties were over. So tell me what you’re doing. Make it simple.”
“Simple?” Lynch repeated. “Okay, here goes . . .” He paused and then dove in.
“Stevie thinks the idea of those politicians shipping her to Washington sucks. She wants her life, and skills, and privacy back. She also wants Archie to be totally hers again and not a toy for the world to play with.” He was starting to smile.
“And I believe you want that for her, too. I could see it growing in you day by day as you watched all those self-important officials trying to use her to glorify themselves.”
Kendra slowly nodded. “Anyone could see it. But it would be very difficult to arrange what she needs.”
“Maybe not so hard. I’ve had more complex problems to solve in my career. So I thought I’d set up a way to do it and then give both of you the chance to accept or refuse. Shall I tell you about it?”
“I believe you’d better.” She was staring at him with a combination of amusement and fascination. “I suspect you’ve been working on this awhile.”
He nodded. “First, we take Stevie out of the world of people who want to use her and Archie for their own benefit. To do that, we need to isolate her with people who care about her work and well-being and have enough funds to protect her from the vultures who tend to circle if not watched. We also have to provide her with guards who’ll appear when she needs them and who disappear when she doesn’t. ”
“That’s a fairly heavy list,” she said thoughtfully. “I can’t wait to see how you think you can swing that.”
“Then I’d better give you names, hadn’t I?” He reached over and brushed a strand of her hair away from her cheek. “I think I see signs that you’re getting eager.”
“Definitely interested anyway.”
“The owner of that plane on the runway is Diane Connors. Perhaps you’ve heard of her.
She’s been in the news and medical journals for a couple of years.
She’s the one who discovered a universal cure for disease.
Which means that money is no object. And she recently purchased an island in the Pacific, which would supply the isolation Stevie needs.
However, she’s trying to make her discovery free for everyone, and that’s a problem when so many people want to dominate the market.
That’s a real headache for her, but it might be stimulating for Stevie to have a new and different challenge occasionally.
“But Diane is very interested in both the robot and Stevie herself. Stevie wants to do more work on Archie and take him to the next level. So the money and power are there to be tapped, with absolutely no obligation.”
“And the guards?”
“I’m sure that you and I would be glad to volunteer occasionally, and as substitutions, Jessie and some of Fitz’s band would probably be willing to accommodate them.” He smiled. “So there’s the plan. What do you think?”
Kendra was shaking her head with amusement. “I think that you’ve done it again. It sounds perfect for Stevie. It should make her very happy. I can’t wait until you tell her about it.”
“She’s already a yes,” Lynch said. “Or she wouldn’t be on that plane right now. But I want another yes from you. I’m still working my way toward some kind of absolution for putting you through such hell since you’ve been here in Jolly Old England.”
She laughed. “So you’re trying to make Stevie’s life perfect to make up for being such an asshole to me?”
“Something like that,” he said gruffly. “Maybe I’m not always perfect. Imagine that.”
“I can’t.” She was still laughing. “But you can be sure I’ll rub your nose in this confession at every opportunity.”
“I know.” He kissed her. “But conflicts between us tend to be a trifle confused and seldom have a definite victory. If you say something that might hurt my feelings, you immediately feel bad and try to make it better. Which leads to me eventually having another wonderful night. So who wins, Kendra?”
“We’ll have to see.” She tilted her head back and gazed searchingly up at him. “Because I think all this thought and planning you were doing probably had a dual motive.”
“You’re right. Because it’s not only about Stevie. You’re welcome there, too, Kendra. You’d be safe. And Stevie would love to have you there with her for at least a little while.”
She paused. “You needed the time to make these preparations. It was about Cambry, too, wasn’t it?”
She could see the abrupt stillness of Lynch’s body. But he didn’t try to deny it.
“Are you sure you want to talk about this?” he asked quietly.
“I’m very sure. You’ve been very patient for the past three months, haven’t you?
Getting everyone settled and as comfortable as possible when life was so hectic.
Making sure that there were no bad aftereffects for you or me or anyone else from that nightmare at the stadium.
Even taking care of Stevie and seeing that she and her dad had time together to work toward understanding each other better.
You were always there in the background. ”
He chuckled. “That doesn’t sound like me. You know I seldom lurk in the background.”
“That’s why I noticed. You didn’t lurk; you were just frequently absentminded, and I could see the wheels turning.” She was silent a moment. But then she realized that she had to know. “Have you tracked Cambry down yet? Do you know where he is?”
He shook his head. “He disappeared that day we were at Wembley, and no one has seen him since. Half the intelligence agencies on Earth have been looking for him, with no luck anywhere. I’ve had a few false starts, but I haven’t really tried to dig in and locate him. As you said, I was busy.”
“But you knew it was coming. You were waiting for that first break. I’m surprised you waited as long as you did.”
“You shouldn’t have been surprised. You know I enjoy every minute I spend with you, in or out of bed.
Nothing was going to change that. I wasn’t going to let Cambry dominate my life.
This was just something I had to do. Cambry hated me.
I could feel it. You even mentioned that you could see it when he talked about me.
I knew eventually he’d probably talk himself into finding a reason to come after me.
” His lips were tightening. “But I thought he might also decide to go after you if he thought it would hurt me.” Lynch shook his head.
“That wasn’t going to happen. So lately I’ve been thinking that it was almost time to start the hunt. ”
“Were you going to tell me about it?” she asked. “Or just disappear into the sunset again?”
“Hell, no.” He reached out and grasped her hand.
“Never again. Do I want you to go with me? No. It scares me to death. But I won’t try any shenanigans to keep you from doing it, because that might cause me to lose you even sooner.
I guess what I’m trying to say is . . . I’m keeping my promise not to make decisions for the both of us.
” He motioned toward the plane. “You can go to that island or stay here and track down Cambry with me. The choice is yours. You’re my equal partner in this and everything else. ”
He meant it. She could see it in every line of his body and face, and she felt a rush of relief. “Then I’ll volunteer to stay and keep an eye on you to prevent it.” She laughed. “And if Cambry causes any trouble, I’ll go after him myself.”
Lynch was laughing, too. “We don’t want to intimidate the poor bastard.
He had enough trouble with you up in the Highlands.
” He was opening the car door for her. “Well, then it’s time for you to go wave goodbye to Stevie.
She knew it could go either way.” He helped Kendra out of the car and stood back, watching her as she moved forward on the tarmac.
A moment later, she watched the door of the huge plane open and saw Stevie standing in the shadows of the entryway waving at her.
Kendra waved back and threw her a kiss. She stood there remembering all the laughter and the tears and how they had come together as strangers and yet ended up as close friends.
She gave her one final wave. Then she turned and went into Lynch’s arms and stood there for another moment just holding him.
There had been so much pain and difficulty during these past weeks, and no doubt there would be more trouble and danger hovering somewhere in the future.
It was probably inevitable just because of who they were and how they lived their lives.
But it didn’t matter. They could handle it all as long as they were together.
She held him tighter and said huskily, “You know, when you asked me which one of us would win in any conflict that came along and threatened to tear us apart? I didn’t really answer you.
But I have an answer now.” She leaned forward and whispered, “We would. We win, Lynch. Every single time . . . We win!”