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Her sudden drop yanks his balance forward, his grip slackening just enough. In the half-second he’s off-guard, Oliver moves.

The gunshot is a single, clean punctuation mark in Preston’s forehead. The boom rings in my ear.

Preston’s eyes go glassy before he hits the ground.

And Sunny is free.

EPILOGUE: HARPER

The guys called in help for the cleanup process. It’s good to have connections to the right kind of people. They’re methodical, swift, and almost unnervingly calm. I suppose this is part of their regular operation.

Trent easily takes over when others arrive, giving quiet and calculated orders to the men who will collect evidence and prepare the bodies for the authorities. He keeps an eye on me like he’s afraid I’m going to disappear out from under his nose.

I’m not going anywhere. At least, not without him.

I cradle the hot cocoa one of his men hands me and lean shoulder to shoulder with Sunny. She’s in shock with her own drink, and she’ll be passing out soon from the drop in adrenaline.

Grant bends in front of us, his big hand cupping my cheek with such care. “How are you two doing?”

I smile at him. Happy and relieved that we got Sunny. That she’s safe.

“I’m good.” I squeeze Sunny’s hand, and she smiles at me.

“And how about you, Sunshine?” Grant’s features visibly soften for her, not something I’ve ever seen him put on for me. A bit of a show-stopper if I do say so myself.

She lets out a long breath. “Well, I’m definitely going to have nightmares. And I’ll probably need to talk to a therapist for a little while. But I’ve got all my pieces. All in all, I’m doing pretty good.”

Sunny sways a little and lets out a giggle. “I’m really glad those guys are dead. And that’s super awful to say, but I’mreallyglad. It sucks though, Preston was a beautiful man all around. People who arethatbeautiful shouldn’t be so terrible. It’s too bad that they often are.”

Her wistful sigh slumps her against my shoulder. Yep. Her filter has completely broken.

There wasn’t much of one to begin with.

Grant’s gaze slides back to me, and it’s obvious he doesn’t usually deal with young women like Sunny very often.

“Don’t worry. That’s a completely normal train of thought for her. No brain damage.” My reassurance does its work, and he nods, planting a kiss on my forehead and disappearing back into the frenzy.

Sunny is taken to the hospital with her own escort, whom she gushes over as they load her into the ambulance.

Not long after, the guys take me home.

It feels like I sleep for days.

I wake up to our story in the news. The cartel took a big hit, and my dad’s name is cleared completely.

It’s the icing on the cake because the man who killed my father no longer roams this earth. That’s what I truly wanted. Justice.

And it takes the guys a full week before they let me back at the office.

Sunny gives me a big hug upon my return. It melts me completely, and I hug her back as hard as I’m able. She’s made a quick recovery, and apparently she’s doubled down on her duties at work.

I absolutely love her zeal and how hell-bent she is on saving the world. I’m behind her one hundred percent.

After a long, kind of boring day—which I will absolutely take after the last month—I’m hanging out in Grant’s green room. All the plants he’s cared for has a calming effect on me.

My thoughts keep ping-ponging. Do I keep the baby? Would that be best for them? For us? For me?

I’m truly not sure, but every time I linger too long on what it means for me, and the longer I think of not having this baby, the guiltier I feel.