Page 28

EPILOGUE

Little Victories Bucket List No. 50: Live

It was official. Cammie now lived full time with Wade. They’d moved her stuff in the weekend after the incident at the bakery. Word had spread about what had happened that day, and Flour Power had been busier than ever. People and their macabre curiosity.

When Cammie learned that Kaia and Kali had something to do with her rescue, she promised free cupcakes and coffee to the mother and daughter pair for life. She’d been surprised to discover that Kali was the sister of one of Wade’s teammates, thinking that it was a small world after all.

Elodie and the others had called to offer their support in the aftermath, but she assured her friends that she was unharmed, both physically and mentally. With Wade by her side, both conditions would remain true.

Baker was doing his Baker thing and insuring that Daniella/Valeria spent the rest of her miserable days behind bars. He was currently researching the worst prisons in Colombia, searching for the facility with the most deplorable conditions. She didn’t know how she felt about that at first, not wanting another to suffer like she had. But upon hearing what she’d done to the kids at the foster house where the sister of Wade’s friend, Tin Man, had stayed, she got over her hesitation quickly.

And then, she expelled all those thoughts of them from her mind, pushing them to the furthest recesses of her consciousness. Her father. El Sombra. Valeria. None of them mattered anymore.

The only thing that mattered was her life. Her friends. And Wade.

She’d finally shared the full bucket list she’d written down on her phone with Wade. Some of her items had made him laugh, like her ‘Ride ’em Cowgirl’ one. But others, he saw the raw, heartfelt emotion poured into their creation, and recognized their true worth. Her ‘Give Yourself the Gift of Love’ one struck him as especially poignant. She even noticed him get choked up when he read it.

He was determined to check off the rest of the items on the list, no matter how long it took them. Which was why they were currently in line at a local fair waiting for her first rollercoaster ride.

The scent of fried dough and kettle corn hung thick in the air, laughter rising over the chatter of the crowd and the low rumble of carnival rides in motion. Bright lights twinkled like stars in every direction, casting a surreal, golden glow over everything. But it was him she kept looking at—not the spinning lights, not the endless line ahead.

In the meandering queue for the thrilling rollercoaster ride, Jeeves stood directly behind her, his arms encircling her in a warm embrace, offering a reassuring and steadying presence as she rested against him.

To take her mind off of the impending ride on the steel demon and the trepidation that was twisting her stomach into knots, she asked, “Are we meeting everyone at Hooch and Harmony later?”

“Yeah. All except Voodoo.”

“Where’s Voodoo?”

“He’s been assigned to a protection detail in Paris.”

“Really? Lucky duck. I always wanted to go there.”

“I’ll take you someday.”

“I’d like that,” she smiled.

The roar of the rollercoaster brought her back to the task at hand. The metal beast loomed ahead, its tracks twisting like a dare across the sky. Cammie stared up at it, eyes wide as the cars climbed to the highest peak and then plummeted with a shriek of laughter and terror from the riders. Her stomach fluttered—not from the ride itself, but from the sheer idea of being on it. Of trusting it. Of letting go.

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other in the snaking line, her hands clasped tightly in Jeeves’ larger ones. His thumb brushed slow circles over her knuckles, grounding her with a quiet control he always carried. She could feel the vibration of his laughter on her back as he teased her gently about the white-knuckled grip she had on his hands, which rested on her stomach.

“Still time to bail,” he murmured, leaning in close, his lips brushing the shell of her ear.

Cammie shot him a glance over her shoulder, heart thudding for reasons that had nothing to do with the towering metal ride looming ahead of them. “You wouldn’t let me.”

“Nope,” he said with a grin that still managed to knock the wind out of her, even after everything.

Even after the rescue, after the gunfire and betrayals, after facing down the woman who’d destroyed so many people’s lives—and nearly stolen hers, too.

“Seriously, sprite. You don’t have to, if you don’t want to.”

Cammie looked up at him—at the man who’d walked through fire for her, who’d held her after the nightmare ended, who never once asked her to be anything but herself. “I want to,” she said. “It just feels . . . new. A little scary.”

His eyes softened, and he reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’ve faced worse. You’re stronger than you think.”

She leaned into his touch, comforted by the warmth in his voice. The fair buzzed around them, neon lights dancing off the curve of his jaw, the echo of distant laughter spinning through the cool night air. It felt surreal—standing here, in this place filled with joy, after everything they’d survived.

She turned fully to face him, sliding her hands up his chest, over the solid beat of the heart that had fought so hard for hers. “I never thought I’d get to do things like this . . . things normal people do. Fairs. Rollercoasters. Standing in line with the man I love.”

His face softened. “You are normal, Cammie. Brave. Beautiful. And very real.”

A lump caught in her throat. “You saved me.”

He shook his head, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “You saved me first. I didn’t even know I was waiting for you.”

“We were waiting for each other.”

She looked up at him then, truly looked. He still carried the shadows of the man he’d once been—the weight of betrayal, of loss, of the friend he couldn’t save. But he also carried her . He’d walked into the line of fire to save her, to put an end to the woman who’d nearly destroyed both their lives.

And somehow, out of all that pain, they’d found this moment. The fair. The lights. Laughter. A rollercoaster.

“You know,” she said quietly, pressing closer, “I used to think rollercoasters were reckless. Pointless. Scary. But maybe . . . they’re not so bad. Maybe, if you hold on tight enough, they’re kind of fun.”

Jeeves smiled, that slow, crooked smile that made her chest ache in the best way. “Then we’ll hold on. Together.”

Lost in thought, her gaze flitted about, momentarily captivated by the everyday normalcy surrounding her. Families with overly energetic children enjoying what the fair had to offer. Groups of friends, laughing as they wandered the grounds. Lovers as they waited in lines in each other’s arms. “Is this what normal feels like?” she whispered.

He tilted his head. “Normal?”

“Being scared of stupid things instead of real ones.” She tried to laugh, but it caught in her throat.

Jeeves shifted, brushing his thumb against her cheek, his voice barely audible above the music and buzz of the crowd. “You don’t have to be scared. Not ever again. I’ve got you.”

She nodded, a smile blooming slow and steady. She had survived hell. And now, here she was, holding the hand of the man who’d pulled her out of it. Maybe love didn’t fix everything—but it sure as hell made the fall a lot easier to take.

The rollercoaster roared above them, and her stomach did a flip that had nothing to do with the ride. She smiled—nervous, thrilled, alive. “Well,” she said, fingers tightening in his shirt, “guess I’m about to see what it feels like to fly.”

He leaned in, kissed her temple. “You already do.”

The gate opened, and the ride attendant waved them forward. Cammie inhaled deeply and stepped into the car, her fingers still wrapped around his.

“Ready?” Jeeves asked as the safety bar came down.

“No,” she said, laughing. “But with you? I’m ready for anything.”

She wasn’t afraid.

Not anymore.

Now, she was ready to live.

Thank you for reading the first book in the Condor’s Overwatch series. I hope you enjoyed Cammie and Jeeves’ story.

If you want to learn more about Tin Man and Sutton, read Sutton’s Shadow , book 4 in the Nighthawk Search and Rescue series. It can be read as a standalone but if you’d like to read the series from the beginning, start with Natalie’s Nighthawk .