Page 120 of Duty Unbound

The last thing I heard before consciousness slipped away was Mel’s voice, fierce and certain.

“No,” she agreed. “There won’t be.”

Epilogue

Mel

Six Months Later

I set my brush down and stretched my cramping fingers, admiring the golden light falling across the canvas. The mountains in the distance were starting to take shape on my canvas, their majestic peaks capturing the late afternoon sun in shades of purple and gold I never could have imagined before seeing them in person.

Six months. That’s how long I’d been living this dream—my dream—right here on Ethan’s ranch. Our ranch now, technically, though I still caught myself thinking of it as his at times.

The wooden porch creaked behind me.

“Still at it, huh?” Ethan’s deep voice sent warmth spreading through my chest, even before his arms wrapped around my waist. The solid weight of him against my back felt like home in a way no place ever had before.

“The light’s perfect right now.” I leaned back against him, letting my head rest against his shoulder. “I couldn’t waste it.”

He pressed a kiss to my temple, his stubble rough against my skin. “You’ve been out here for three hours.”

“Has it been that long?”

“Mhmm.” His chin rested on my shoulder as he studied my painting. “This might be your best one yet.”

I twisted to look at him. “You say that about every painting.”

“And I mean it every time.” His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled—one of the thousand little details I’d memorized about him in the months since Tommy.

Since I’d finally found the courage to choose my own path.

Ethan released me and settled into the Adirondack chair beside my easel, stretching his long legs in front of him. He looked more relaxed than I’d ever seen him in those early days—the constant tension in his shoulders notably absent, his expression open.

“How was your call with Nova?” he asked, eyes on the real mountains mirrored in my painting.

“Good.” I dipped my brush in water, cleaning it methodically. “Really good, actually. She’s thriving with Jessica managing things.”

“And she’s not making Jessica’s life a living hell?”

I laughed, remembering my own fears when I’d hired my replacement. “Surprisingly, no. Turns out Nova responds well to someone who doesn’t let her get away with anything. Jessica told her to stop being a diva last week, and Nova actually apologized.”

“Sounds like a miracle.”

“More like growth.” I set down my brush. “Almost losing me scared her.”

A shadow crossed Ethan’s face. Even now, six months later, memories of those terrifying days could darken his mood in an instant. He’d nearly died trying to save me, but he got more upset at the thought of my being taken in the first place.

“Hey.” I moved to perch on the arm of his chair, sliding my fingers through his. “We’re okay. All of us.”

He nodded, pulling me onto his lap in a smooth motion that still caught me by surprise. “Better than okay.”

I settled against him, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath my palm. “Nova’s actually excited about the benefit concert for stalking victims.”

Ethan’s arms tightened around me. “That’s good. That money might help someone else before things get as bad as they did with Tommy.”

Even after all this time, his name still sent ice through my veins. After everything that had happened on that boat, I’d feared the nightmares would never stop. But they had, gradually, with time and therapy and Ethan’s unwavering presence beside me.

The official story had been that Tommy’s boat had suffered a catastrophic malfunction, resulting in a rapid decrease in vessel buoyancy. Fortunately for me, a Citadel team had been doing somerecreational deep-sea night fishing, enabling my successful rescue. But despite the team’s harrowing efforts, they’d been unable to save Tommy, who had appeared to go down with the ship.