Epilogue
Christmas in Prague
“Ba-ba!” Gregor shouted, waving his fists in annoyance.
Jozef shook his head and tapped son’s hand, then signed, Tell me what you want in our special language and I will accede to your demands.
Shaun smothered a giggle, sure her stubborn child would continue to defy his father.
Despite his mother’s expectations, Gregor chose peace, lifting his arms to clumsily sign, I want my bottle.
Shaun grinned her pride. Gregor was signing in full sentences before he was verbally speaking them.
My son is a genius, Jozef signed proudly at Shaun.
“Your son is hungry.” She held up the warm bottle of milk she’d brought back from the kitchen.
Give it to me. Jozef took the bottle and positioned their son in his arms for his feeding.
Watching Jozef and Gregor together never ceased to give Shaun the tingles. Gregor was more than she could have hoped for and he was all that she was going to get.
A few months after his birth, she’d had her hysterectomy.
Anemia, caused by the heavy periods that came with her Polycystic ovary syndrome, otherwise known as PCOS, had weakened her to the point that she couldn’t pick Gregor up without becoming dizzy.
As much as she would have loved to have another baby, her health was more important. Her son needed his mother.
“I’ll get the Christmas outfit mom bought for him,” Shaun said, rifling through Gregor’s dresser, which was filled with clothes mostly purchased by doting family members. “We can go down to join the others when he’s done eating.”
Shaun settled on the floor next to Jozef, a bright red elf outfit on her lap. She lay her head on Jozef’s shoulder and together they watched their son drift in and out of sleep while sucking on his bottle.
“Remember when we agreed they would combine forces and conquer the world?” Saskia said to Radik in a low voice, her gaze on Shola and Ayaan who were seated opposite them. “I think we were wrong. I think they’ve ruined each other.”
Radik chuckled. “The matching reindeer sweaters is a ruse, lulling their enemies into complacency. I know for a fact they are still deadly assassins.”
“How do you know?” Saskia asked, her eyes drifting to their one-year-old daughter who was on a blanket on the floor, watching curiously as Kris, Leeza’s eldest, showed Rory and his sister, Addy, a magic trick.
“Shola gave Ayaan a Krieghoff K-80 shotgun for Christmas, and Ayaan got a drone for Shola. I think both women are powerful and well-matched.”
“A drone?” Saskia asked, smiling as Rory clapped her hands in delight when Kris pulled a coin from behind her ear.
“The kind that cost $20,000 US.”
“Ah, I see.” The kind that could bomb a town the size of Marifiya off the map. “Nothing says true love like instruments of war.”
A news report on the TV caught Saskia’s attention and she stood, moving closer so she could hear it.
“… discovered late last night by his wife. It will take several days for the coroner’s report to come out, but it’s probable that former President Urban of the Czech Republic has died of heart failure, a condition that sidelined him during these last elections.
The death of President Urban is made more shocking as it comes on the heels of the deaths one year ago of the Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Branislav Makovsky in a car accident that also claimed the life of his wife, Irena Makovsky. ”
So, it was over. The two men who’d orchestrated Aurelia’s death and Saskia’s attack were now dead.
Jozef had planned every detail. There was now a government in place that he could control. The Koba family would never again be threatened by the Czech political elite.
“Are you okay?” Radik asked in her ear, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
Saskia looked over their assembled family and friends.
Jozef, Shaun and Shaun’s mother, Fatima, were in a bubble of their own, doting over baby Gregor while Fatima gently rocked him in her arms. In a chair nearby, Leeza was curled up on Havel’s lap, both of them watching as their children played with Rory.
Havel’s grandmother, Adeline, who had recently celebrated her 98th birthday, was snoring softly in a chair next to the fireplace.
On a couch nearby, Ayaan had her legs stretched over Shola who cuddled them against her. The two women spoke softly to each other, occasionally leaning in to share a kiss.
A few of their loved ones were missing, but they were in a good place. Nonna and Nikka chose to stay in Marifiya for the holidays, hosting a week-long celebration with the local families.
Saskia and Radik knew that Nuani intended to propose to Nikka the next day, on Christmas morning.
Looking up at her husband, Saskia answered his question. “I couldn’t be better.”
THE END