Page 105 of Free

EPILOGUE

D looked out over the beach in Florida, taking in the waves as they crashed against the sand. Not too far from where he sat with Jeremy, Faith, Xander, and Matt were tossing a football back and forth. It was good to see everyone again. It was hard to believe that almost a year had gone by since he'd been arrested. Time flew by. He was sure it wouldn't have gone so fast if he'd been stuck in prison.

The fact they were clear across the country, leaving Rani in charge of the team, spoke volumes about how much they trusted those they worked with. He still didn't have the connection with all of them that he had with Xander and his old team, but it was getting there. He trusted them to take care of things and handle any situation that came up. They were only a phone call and a plane ride away if anything went wrong.

"You look happy." Jeremy glanced over at him.

"I am. It's good to get away, and even better to be on the beach again. If I had to shovel snow one more time, I think I was going to scream." D sighed. "Colorado is beautiful, but I could handle only living there in the summer."

"It's not so bad. I actually expected worse." Jeremy reached for a beer that he had sitting in a cooler beside him. He handed it to D before getting one for himself. "At least you got a short vacation."

Christmas in Florida had been Faith's idea. She wanted to check out Disney World and all the other tourist sites. While D was happy to tag along, he would have been just as happy sitting on the beach, enjoying the sun instead. "We should make this a habit." D brushed sand off his leg. "Not just to escape the snow, but so we can have some time alone without all the stress on us."

"Hawaii next year?" Jeremy grinned.

"Now that sounds perfect." D clinked his beer bottle to Jeremy's. He pushed the bottle into the sand to keep it upright, and relaxed back onto the towel he was laying on. The sun was hot against his skin, but after a freezing Colorado winter, he welcomed it, even if it meant a bit of a sunburn.

His new tattoos still were odd to him, and he did a double take each time he looked into the mirror, but they did make a difference, and with his longer hair, and a slight bit of facial hair, he was secure enough to go out in public. After almost a year, news about his escape had disappeared, and being on the other side of the country from where it happened was a big plus too. "I could get used to this."

"Too bad we have too much work at home to enjoy the good life." Jeremy sighed. "Maybe someday we can retire."

"Maybe?" D laughed. "How about we will retire someday." He didn't hesitate to think about that happening with Jeremy by his side. While they hadn't pushed their relationship too hard, he was pretty sure they both knew it was a forever thing. He planned on asking Jeremy to move in with him once the weather improved, because he'd be damned if he was going to help him move with six inches of snow on the ground. They spent all their time together anyway. It made sense to have one house.

"What are you grinning about?" Jeremy asked, rolling to his side, and resting his head on D's chest.

"You," D admitted without shame.

"Your addiction need feeding?" Jeremy blew over his nipple.

D shivered, but shook his head. "For the longest time, sex was my addiction, but now I have a new one." D smiled.

"Oh, you do?" Jeremy grinned.

"You." He wrapped his arms around Jeremy, ignoring the sand that was getting all over them. As he thought about all that had happened over the last year, he realized that the monsters who had chased him so long were gone, and he was finally free.