EPILOGUE (BILLIE)
It had been a long time since we left our first safe house and moved around the country in an attempt to outrun the Russians. But we couldn't ever stay in one place for very long because the people coming for me and my son were relentless. It was exhausting, it really felt like there was never going to be an end to it.
But perhaps today, things were going to be different. We had never been called into the CIA headquarters before, so I could only hold onto hope that finally things were going to get better. We really needed that.
"Is everything okay, Mommy?" Joey asked as he curled into my side. His words made me realize just how nervous and fidgety I had become. I just didn't want to get my hopes too high to have them dashed later on. Much as we had been good together, and it had been a relief for us all to be together through the hardest time of my life, what I really wanted was to be settled.
"Err, yeah I'm fine," I tried my hardest to reassure him. "I'm just waiting."
Joey needed more stability now. The 'adventure' had to be grating on him. He needed to be in one place where he could go to a proper school and make proper friends. I so wanted that for him, but when the time was right, and it was safe for him to do so. I wouldn't be able to relax with these assholes coming after him. And how could he start school when we were moving all the time? It just wasn't healthy for him, so we had to wait.
"But Mommy, you're shaking," Joey continued. "I'm scared for you."
I wished that I could pull myself together for long enough to make sure that Joey was okay, but I was in a daze. I was all messed up over this. Luckily, Phoenix saw what was going on and he came to take Joey to one side, to amuse him for me. Thank goodness, because I really needed to get my head in order.
I was actually dizzy with it all, but watching Phoenix play happily with Joey made my chest warm up. At least one good thing came out of this. I wouldn't have found a way to reconnect with Cody, to let him know that Joey was his son, and I also wouldn't have met the other guys as well. I honestly couldn't imagine what my life would have been like without the other men. All of them. They really did make me whole. So while I hated what I was going through, it did bring me to these men for which I would always be grateful.
Actually, I had a feeling that Stark knew exactly what he was doing when he put us all together. There was something a little sneaky and fun about him.
But until all of this was over, we would never be able to relax and enjoy ourselves. We would never be able to live a normal life. That was what I yearned for now, I absolutely ached for it. Every single time I closed my eyes, I just saw us living a simple and straight forward existence. Most importantly having a home of our own.
"I'm going to see what's going on," Cody snapped, about as impatient as I was feeling. "We've been waiting for too long, haven't we? And this is stressing me out. I need to know what's going on here. I have to get some answers."
"Dude, wait." Grant rested his hand on Cody's shoulder, immediately calming him. Thank goodness he didn't get too hurt when the war broke out at our first safe house because he was the calming influence that all of us needed. "Don't push the CIA, they will get to us when they get to us. If this is something that we need to know about immediately, then we will. Just chill out, okay?"
He was just about the only person in the world who could tell Cody to chill out and not get a punch. But that was the power of Grant. His Yoga and meditation had rubbed off on us all in a really good way. But it was his aura as well. He was a soothing person who helped us all, and we really needed him now.
"I agree with Cody," Jasper agreed in a soft whisper, even managing to get Phoenix’s attention with this statement. "I'm starting to go a little crazy. I don't like it. I just want to know if this is good news, or if we have to leave the country or something. I mean, if this has gotten more dangerous then..."
He gulped audibly. He didn't finish that sentence, but he didn't need to. We all knew what he meant. If it got to the stage where we had to leave the country, then shit was really going to be terrible, wasn't it? There was no coming back from that. Worst of all, we would be out of the CIA's jurisdiction and in real danger.
I bent forward and held my stomach, trying to calm the butterflies down, but they weren't going anywhere. Those nerves were zig zagging, affecting my lungs as well. If I wasn't careful, I was going to struggle to breathe.
"I'm here, sorry about that." A gruff voice finally broke through my shock barrier, causing me to glance upwards to see who was talking to me. To us. It was him, Markus Robertson, head of the CIA here to talk to us at last. Thank goodness, I think. I wasn't too sure because I couldn't suss out what his expression meant. "I got caught up in a meeting then. But it's time for us to talk. Are you ready to come into the conference room? I think we can all talk much better in there."
Cody headed for the room right away, walking with determination. Jasper wasn't far behind him, needing the information as well. Phoenix held on to Joey and guided him into the conference room, but Grant waited for me and extended his hand towards me. We walked hand in hand into the conference room and took our seats. The air was thick and heavy between us as we waited. Markus had to be feeling it, didn't he? He had to know that we were all on edge here.
"Right." He took a seat at the head of the giant table, and knotted his fingers together. "Well, I actually have good news for you here." My heart skipped a beat. "We have been working hard over the last seven months to discover who has been after you, and while we started on the assumption that it was the Russian Government, we found out we were wrong. Not exactly anyway." I sucked in and held a breath. "It's a man named Nikolay Sidorof and his gang of thugs. They are the ones who took it upon themselves to use the information about Project Hammond leaked online as a guideline from the Russian Government to kill the members."
"So, it's a gang?" I asked shakily. "A vicious, violent gang?"
"That's right," Markus replied with a nod. "A gang who believe they are the chosen ones, and God-like. That they have the right to choose who lives and dies. Unfortunately, Markus comes from a very wealthy family so he's had a lot of money to back up his escapades, as shown by the bounty offered."
I swallowed hard. "So, what does that mean now?"
"We have been capturing the gang members over time, and anyone associated with the bounty. But we knew it wouldn't be over until we got Nikolay himself." He paused for a moment a little breathlessly. "Which is what we have now done. Well, in a way." He cocked his head to one side. "We wanted to bring him in for questioning, but it didn't exactly work out that way."
"What do you mean?" I whispered back. I kinda knew, but I needed to hear it.
"He insisted on a shoot out, and he didn't make it out of that."
"So... he's dead?" I didn't know how to feel about that, but tears absolutely raced through me. I guess the stress and the horror of the last few months overcame me. "That means I'm safe?"
"Much safer than you would be if it was the Russian Government."
Okay, that was something. In fact, that was everything. I didn't know if I would ever totally stop looking over my shoulder, but this was a great start.
"Sorry for crying," I sobbed pitifully. "I don't even know why I'm crying. I mean, I've been in proper war zones, I've done much longer stints on the road than this."
"But now you have someone else to think about," Grant reminded me as he nodded towards Joey. "So that makes things different."
"I suppose." I rubbed my stomach once more, really feeling the ever growing bump there. "Not just one person. Our little girl as well."
We'd only just recently found out that it was going to be a girl joining our ever expanding family in a few months time, and to be honest, the news about us being safe couldn't have come at a better time. I didn't think I'd be quite as capable of climbing out the window on to the roof to shoot out once more. I mean, if it came down to it, I would do it just like I did last time. I wouldn't even think twice about it because it would be the best way for me to keep my family safe, but it would definitely be a whole lot harder. I couldn't imagine it.
No, now I needed a safe space, a real safe house to live in. A home of our own.
All the guys grinned at me, happy to have this news as well. All the stress that had been balling up in Cody all day long simply fell off of him.
"Knock, knock." I jumped as a new voice entered the room. I didn't know what to expect, who else could possibly want to see us right now? Would it be Anthony Johnson, who I only met briefly on that night when everything went down? I didn't know him well, but he might have felt like he had some investment in this...
No, it wasn't. I jumped up right away, as quickly as I could manage, when I saw Stark Light walking in. The man who made all of this possible. It had been way too long. I raced across the room to hug him and thank him for everything.
"Hey, it wasn't me who took down Nikolay," he chuckled modestly. But he was always a modest man. I didn't think he knew how amazing a person he really was. "That was the CIA, but you're welcome for looking out for you. It’s no problem."
Again, the emotion got the better of me, and looking into Stark’s eyes, I could see that he understood. Stark likely wished that he had been able to help all the members of Project Hammond before they got killed. But that blood wasn't on his hands. The only person to blame for any of it was the person who committed the act.
Eventually, we were both going to have to get used to that.
"You're looking really good, Billie," Stark told me with a smile. "Pregnancy suits you. Ooh, and let me have a look at this. This is a nice shiny ring."
He pulled my hand to the light, my engagement ring glittering and grinned. But not as hard as me. I couldn't stop smiling. Being proposed to by the men, who I had absolutely fallen head over heels in love with, was an incredible experience, and they did the best they could to make it as romantic as possible for people who were on the run.
It was another date night, something we liked to do as often as we could to remind us all that we had found something special in the midst of everything surrounding us. But this one immediately felt different. There was soft music playing, beautiful flowers spread out as far as the eye could see, all the men were fully suited and booted, looking absolutely gorgeous. But I didn't pick up on what was going to happen right away. It wasn't until they were all down on one knee making a beautiful speech letting me know how I had impacted their lives in a positive way that I caught on. And of course, the emotion took over instantly. I cried then more than right now, which was really saying something.
By the time the gorgeous princess cut diamond had been slipped onto my finger, I was a sobbing wreck. But also, the happiest that I had ever been. I mean, I already knew that I wanted to be with these men for the rest of my life, there was never any doubt about that, but having it confirmed, having it official was just lovely. It made me feel so much better and more connected to the guys. I really knew now that they were mine.
"I'm happy for you," Stark continued. "This is great news. Especially now that you can all have a nice safe life together. Where are you going? Back to New York City? That's where you were before all of this, right?"
I nodded. "Yeah, and I always kinda thought that I would end up back there, but now I'm not so sure. With all of this, we have seen a lot of America, and I would be happy to live anywhere. I suppose it depends on what everyone else wants."
"Denver," Phoenix jumped in right away. "We have good memories there."
"Yeah, but a lot of bad ones as well," Jasper reminded him.
"What about Mississippi?" Cody asked. "I have always wanted to live there."
"No, Indiana..." Grant argued.
Now, this was the one downside to being in a harem. There were so many opinions to consider, all the time, which often made decision making challenging. But it didn't trouble us too much, even if we were all very strong willed, we were willing to compromise to be together. Even this arguing now was only a bit of fun. Eventually, we would all sit down together and come up with a plan. One that was right for all of us, but for Joey most of all. Thankfully, he was the most important person to all of us. We would always put his needs first, and our daughter's needs as well.
"I don't know where we're going to go," I laughed and rolled my eyes at Stark, who joined in with the laughter. "But we'll find somewhere nice to settle down. As long as you're sure that Nikolay was in the middle of all of this, we don't need to worry about anyone else. Right?"
"You don't need to worry about anyone else," Stark said as he threw his arm around my shoulders reassuringly. "Nikolay is the problem, or was the problem, should I say. But don't forget, not only do I always have your back, but so do these men as well. I wouldn't have hired them to work for the RedEye security agency if they weren't the best of the best. They will always take care of you."
I nodded confidently. "And I suppose I can always look after myself..."
"Now that is the truest statement I have ever heard," Stark chuckled. "You have always taken care of yourself. But now it's time for you to relax a little."
I nodded and turned back to smile at the men I loved, to find them all grinning at me too. As much as they had said I'd changed their lives for the better when they made their engagement speech for me, they'd all changed my life as well. Cody, with his fiery passion and the son he'd given me, Grant with his happy care free love, Jasper with his powerful intensity that always made me feel special, and Phoenix with his sweetness which was absolutely delicious. We all complemented and completed each other––they were my family.
I had been through hell and back. My past had caught up with me and put me in real danger, my boy as well, but that was over now. Done. So it was time to start existing in the beautiful happiness that I didn't dare hope for, but that I found anyway.
"Come on," I said to them with a chuckle. "Let's get out of here. We can decide where we're going to live later on. There's no need for us to take up any more of the CIA's time. They've got a lot to do, and so have we."
The guys all came with me, and we walked out of the CIA building together, our feet barely touching the floor as we went. I was honestly higher than air, desperately looking forward to the future with my family. Whatever it might hold, and wherever it might take us. We had plenty of love, and that would get us through anything. Together.