Page 68 of Echos and Empires (After #3)

“The plan was to get the message out. She did that. She did a hell of a lot more.”

“Yeah,” Chris said, the doubt creeping back in, gnawing at the edges of his hope. “But what if?—”

“She’s picked the best person, Chris. You know that.”

He wanted to believe that. He wanted to believe the words they heard on the radio were ones he could honor the way she seemed to think he could.

He’d never felt so out of control in his life.

Chris rubbed his temple, trying to ease the pounding, trying to think straight from pain that had nothing to do with cracking his head on a fucking boulder hours before.

“We’ve got a lot to do. Supplies to gather.

Routes to plan. Who knows what it’ll be like when we get back to the main portion and my fucking head is killing me. ”

“At least they’ll know who’s in charge,” Liam said, a teasing edge to his voice.

He ignored the comment, knowing Liam would take the bait if he gave it to him. Knowing he was right about it all. It was the chance Emma left him with, and the last thing Chris wanted to do was screw it up.

Liam watched him closely, clearly seeing the struggle on his face. “Hey,” he said, the lightness gone from his tone. “It’s gonna work. You know that, right?”

Chris wanted to tell him no, wanted to tell him there was no way to be sure, that the plan was as fragile as they were. But what came out instead was, “Yeah.”

He felt Liam’s hand on his shoulder, a reassuring squeeze, and let himself believe the words. Let himself believe Emma.

Chris closed his eyes, let out a slow breath, and tried to focus on what they needed to do next. Emma had thrown him off, thrown him for a loop, but they could still make it work. They could still find a way to pull it together, even if it wasn’t what any of them had expected.

He’d make it work. “She’s lost her fucking mind. And I love her even more for it.”

Liam laughed again, and this time, Chris didn’t stop him.

It was a good sound, a hopeful one. The kind that made him believe they’d get through this after all. “You think it’ll really be that easy?” he asked, but it was more of a question to himself than to Liam.

“Not a chance,” Liam said, smirking. “But that’s never stopped us before.”

Chris nodded, felt the strength in the words, the challenge in them.

He knew Emma would push him, push all of them, to do what they didn’t think was possible.

He just didn’t know she’d do it so soon.

Didn’t know she’d do it with a radio transmission and the faith that he’d pick up where she left off.

Emma took her finger off the button, finally able to breathe with the words no longer spilling out.

The transmission was done. She was done.

The truth was out, and so was all her energy.

Her tears caught her by surprise, a wet trail of disbelief and hope that dripped onto her lips, tasting sweet, tasting like victory.

She’d held it together long enough to finish, long enough to let Chris know what was coming.

But now it hit her, the weight of it, the impossibility of it all.

She was trembling with relief and exhaustion, barely able to stay on her feet, barely able to believe what they’d just done.

It was over. Finally over.

Shooting Vincent played over and over in her mind as she spoke, her brain running wild.

From the danger, from the fear, from the adrenaline that coursed through her.

From the truth. But now, there was nothing left to run from.

There was nothing left but to begin again, to hope they’d all make it back. To let it all sink in.

The weight of it, the sheer magnitude of it, made the world spin around her.

She leaned against the radio, bracing herself against the rush of emotions, the tears that kept coming.

She wanted to laugh, to cry, to collapse in a heap and let the relief wash over her, wash away the fear that had been her constant companion since they first got to the island.

Since before that. Since the very beginning.

Emma closed her eyes, tried to catch her breath, tried to stop the world from spinning long enough to make sense of the jumble in her mind. The memories, so clear, so vivid, so alive, crowded in on her, each one a piece of the impossible puzzle they’d just put together.

The very first memory, the one that started it all, was of her basement.

She was a different person then. A different Emma.

Afraid. Alone. Too scared to ask for help.

Too desperate not to. She was spinning the radio dial in a constant cycle, hoping to hear another voice and dreading what it would mean when she finally did.

When Chris’s voice came through, it was salvation. It was safety. It was everything she needed, and she hadn’t even known it yet.

And then they showed up, like something out of a dream, like something out of a nightmare, like something she couldn’t have imagined if she tried. Five men. All there for her. All ready to take her out of the small, suffocating world she’d locked herself in.

The memory of letting them rescue her, of letting herself trust them, was so bright and vivid she could barely believe it was real. She could barely believe any of this was real.

But it was.

And it was her reality.

They’d made it. Made it all the way to this moment.

Emma opened her eyes, blinked back the tears, tasted the salt of them on her tongue, the bitter sweetness they brought with them. It was the taste of hope. It was the taste of freedom.

It was hard to imagine how far they’d come.

How much they’d risked to get here. Every step of the way, it was a mix of safe and dangerous, of moments when she thought she had it all figured out and moments when she thought she didn’t have a clue.

When she thought they wouldn’t make it, when she thought she wouldn’t make it.

But they did.

They really did.

Emma let the disbelief wash over her, let it carry her back to the darkest moment of all, to the one she was sure would break her.

The moment she killed Marcus to save herself.

She could see it, could feel it, could remember the horror and relief of it as clearly as she could feel the blood on her hands.

It felt like a lifetime ago, felt like a different Emma, felt like she’d never shake it.

But she did. She’d saved herself.

And in saving herself, she’d saved the life they had together.

Marcus had been just the beginning. The betrayal on the base, the impossible journey to the island, they survived it all. They’d come through it, through everything, through the danger and heartbreak and chaos, and now the future was as wide open as the ocean that surrounded them.

As wide open as the new life they’d find.

Emma sank to the floor, overwhelmed and overjoyed, barely able to process how much they’d overcome. She wrapped her arms around her knees, let the tears come, let the hope and disbelief and sweetness of it all fill her.

She thought of Chris and the certainty in his eyes, the way he made her believe they could do anything, be anything, survive anything.

And she thought of the way he looked at her, the way he loved her, the way she knew he’d take the truth she gave him and make it into something new, something good.

He was the first one to speak to her on the radio, and he was the first one she spoke to in the end.

The last-minute twist, the final truth. She’d left him with more than he knew, more than he expected.

And then there was Liam. Liam, who made her feel safe and cherished and adored.

Who was always her hero, who was always the first to save her when she needed saving, the first to hold her hand when things got bad, the first to let her see that life after the bombs could be beautiful.

He’d take care of them. Of their family.

He’d make sure it was everything she hoped it would be.

Alex with his impressive wit and undeniable charm. With the way he could make her feel like the only person in a room and always seemed to know just what she needed. He was the one that had helped her the most throughout the pregnancy.

William, who was the most sincere person she’d ever met.

He was quiet and withdrawn, but when they were alone he was confident, determined.

He took what he wanted and made no excuses for the need he felt for her.

His eyes never missed anything, and he made certain she knew he saw everything and would always be there for her.

And finally, Bash. To the gruffness and fury he showed the world as if only his muscles mattered.

To her he showed everything. He was the one she went to when the fear became overwhelming, when the strain of the past threatened to take her down.

He was the giant teddy bear who would wrap her in his arms and never let go.

He’d saved her with his self defense training and more times than she could count. He was her strength.

It was impossible to imagine life without them.

Without the men who showed up at the radio tower, who showed up again and again, even when the rest of the world crumbled around them.

Without Chris and Liam and Alex and Bash and William, without the fierce determination and stubborn hope that made them fight for her, that made them fight for all of them.

Impossible, but she’d almost believed it would come to that.

The thought of losing them, the thought of not having this moment, this life, had haunted her. But now, it was as far away as her fear and uncertainty. It was as far away as the old Emma, the scared Emma, the one who never would have made it without them.

The new Emma. The one they’d saved, the one who saved them, the one who never would have believed it, was finally ready to live.

“You ready, Princess?” Bash asked, looking down at her with a smirk.

Emma took Bash’s hand, her legs barely able to hold her, barely able to stand under the weight of all they’d just done, all they’d just survived.

They walked out of the transmission room, and when she saw the truck, she collapsed, unable to keep going, unable to keep the tears from coming.

This was it. The end of the struggle. The end of the fear.

The end of everything that had haunted her since she first picked up the radio and called for help.

The truth was out. Chris knew what he had to do. They’d make it back to the community and face whatever was waiting for them, and she’d be there to help them pick up the pieces.

She’d be there for all of it.

But now, this moment, this impossible, incredible moment, was theirs.

She couldn’t believe it, couldn’t believe any of it.

Step by step they made their way out into the sunshine.

The Jeep was there. And Liam was there, running toward her, alive and whole and smiling like she’d never seen.

He scooped her up, spun her around, held her so tight she thought she’d burst from the love that filled her, from the relief.

From the certainty that this was the beginning, not the end.

“You’re here,” she said, barely able to get the words out through the sobs that caught in her throat. “You’re really here.”

“You think I’d let anything happen to me when we’re this close?” Liam said, a teasing lilt in his voice, a glimmer in his eyes.

She laughed, a breathless, trembling laugh, and kissed him, her hands on his face, on the scar where the bullet grazed him, on the miracle of him being here, being alive.

“I was so scared,” she said, pressing her forehead to his, feeling the warmth of him, the realness.

“Me too,” he said, a low chuckle in his voice. “Not that I’d ever tell Chris.”

Chris.

Emma turned, frantic, wild with fear that the reunion would be too good to be true. But there he was, leaning on the truck, looking at her with the same intensity he always did, the same fire in his eyes.

The same love.

“Bash, get over here,” Liam shouted, and the others caught up, grabbed her, held her close, wrapped her in the safety of them, the life of them. It was too much. It was everything.

“Emma,” Chris said, the word filled with so much she thought she’d collapse again, thought she’d never stop crying. He took her from the others, held her tight, his body warm and solid and alive against hers. “You did it.”

“We did it,” she said, tasting the tears, tasting the joy.

William’s voice cut in, soft and teasing, the sound like music. “Looks like she’s gonna kill you next, Chris. Like she did with the transmission.”

Emma laughed again, kissed Chris, then William, then Bash and Alex as they took turns holding her, passing her between them, whispering their love and disbelief and wonder.

“Thought we lost you,” Alex said, his voice hushed, reverent.

“Thought I lost you,” she replied, the memory of the moment they left still too sharp, too close. “It’s really done, isn’t it? It’s really over?”

Bash nodded, fierce and sure. “And we’re all here.”

The tears didn’t stop. Neither did the relief.

They’d made it. They’d survived. The worst was behind them, and the future was wide open, just like she’d dreamed it would be.

The mainland thought the island was a farce. Victor was dead. Supplies would be harder to come by, and no more people could come to this island.

But it would be home. It would be life.

It would be theirs.

Emma took a breath, felt the sweetness of it, the impossibility. She let it fill her, let it carry away the doubt, the fear, the burden of what they’d done, of what they’d lived through. Her men were here. Her family was here.

“Are you ready?” Chris asked, his voice soft, the question hanging in the air between them.

Emma smiled, looked at them all, the love of them, the strength of them. “Yeah,” she said. “I’m ready.”

And she was.

More than she ever thought she could be. More than they knew.

They kissed her, held her, passed her between them.

They didn’t stop.

Neither did she.

“It’s time to go home,” Liam said, the words bright, full of promise, full of everything they’d fought for.

It was.

They piled into the truck, the sound of the engine loud, triumphant, an anthem to the new life they’d find. Emma leaned against Chris, her hand in his, her heart full.

They drove off, their hope and determination as strong as they were, as unyielding. They drove off, and the world was wide open, waiting.