Page 117 of The Firefighter's Fate

And then I slide off her and wrap my arm around her body, bringing her in as close to me as possible.

And I kiss her cheek and call her mine.

She calls me hers.

And we both gently fall asleep in each other’s arms.

I don’t know what time I wake – whether it’s five minutes later or five hours later. That was, without a doubt, the best sleep I’ve ever had in my life.

And it’s because the woman I love was totally wrapped up in my arms.

When I do wake up and open my eyes, I see Ember looking at me. She must’ve been looking at me for a very long time.

I smile.

And she whispers...

“Hey, Connor Penmayne?”

“Yes?”

“I’m happy I came to this town. I’m happy I interviewed you.”

I take in a long breath before I dare speak the truth.

“I’m happy you interviewed me too, Ember Mortensen.”

EPILOGUE

ONE YEAR LATER

EMBER

“Thank you for your time today.”

The warlord just stares at me. One of his teeth has been replaced with a shining gold one. He wears an expensive gaudy gold necklace and steadies a gold AK-47 against his arm. Yeah, it seems like he likes gold.

He doesn’t thank me for my interview. Which, to be fair, is kinda expected.

I just need to get the hell out of this place.

I nod at my cameraman colleague, and we make a quick exit from the den.

We’ve got what we came for.

We’ve been at this warlord’s compound on the outskirts of the city for the last two days, filming and interviewing the scary man and his subordinates. This interview has been something that’s been months in the making – slowly earning the trust of this man and his associates has taken its sweet time and constant effort. They have been nothing but courteous to my cameraman and me since we arrived, but there’s always been the air of potential violence. It’s kept me on edge the entire time.

But the warlord is a vain and narcissistic man - he wants his photo, and his gold tooth, splashed across America. He wants everyone to hear his words and tremble at his power. He wants that level of respectability, and he knows I’m the best person to do that for him, so I do feel under his protection.

But now, the interview done, I know we just need to get on the next plane home.

Before this crazy man changes his mind about this mad woman who’s dared come here to question him...

It’s only when I’m finally at the country’s international airport that I feel brave enough to pick up my phone and call Connor.

In the past year, we’ve somehow made our abnormal lives work. He still lives and works in Crystal River as a firefighter, and I travel the world as an investigative journalist, and when I do make it back to America, we shack up together in his hidden cabin and just be in love in our secret space.

Somehow, I’ve found my strange man.

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