I can’t wait to get back home. I can’t wait to tell Grace everything. I want her to know how free I am. I want her to know how I feel about her. She’s mine, she’s completely mine, and she always will be.
I press down the accelerator and speed toward her, feeling light and ready.
She answers on the first ring. “Gio?” Her voice is low and full of worry.
“I’m coming, princess. I’ll be there soon.”
Epilogue
Gio
* * *
I step out onto the balcony and take a deep breath of the fresh sea air. I raise the coffee cup to my lips and sip the fresh, strong French coffee as the city unfolds in front of me. Duke is curled up in the corner under the small table, dozing in the morning breeze. He’s gotten lazier since we moved, just like a proper French dog.
It’s a beautiful town, Saint-Tropez. Situated in the south of France between Cannes and Marseille, it’s a small place that’s not jam-packed with tourists. It’s absolutely breathtaking, just like most of southern France, with gorgeous pastel-colored homes and a sprawling view of a deep blue ocean.
Grace picked it out. Out of everywhere in the world, she wanted to come here. It’s our home now. And she loves it. That’s all that matters to me. I don’t remember how long it's been. Two months, maybe three. Time doesn’t really matter anymore. Life is slow in Saint Tropez, which is exactly what I wanted.
I don’t kill anymore. Ever since leaving Chicago, the cravings disappeared. The darkness never appears anymore, not even in my worst moments.
I take another deep breath, feeling calm and content for the first time ever.
I turn around and look into our bedroom. Grace props herself up on one elbow, smiling at me. The breeze from the open doors blows her hair out of her face. She’s goddamn beautiful. I’m a lucky man.
“You’re up early,” she says with a yawn.
I walk in and kiss her gently on the lips. “I wanted to get your breakfast together.”
“You’re spoiling me.” She laughs.
I shrug, smiling. “You’re damn right I am. You’re my princess.”
“What’s on the agenda for today then?” she asks, stretching her arms above her head.
“Whatever you want. I thought we might walk down to the market, get something for lunch and dinner, and then walk along the beach. Maybe stop for a drink somewhere.”
“So, what we did yesterday?”
I grin. “Exactly. I also thought we could visit that little private outcropping of rocks… “
She laughs. “You dirty man. You’re just trying to get into my panties again.” She rests her head on the pillow and looks up at me as though she’s innocent. She’s just as dirty as I am. And she knows it.
“Damn right I am.” I kiss her rough on the lips as the memory of fucking her on that public beach the day before comes back to me.
After everything went down, I picked up Grace and Duke from my house, packed some bags, and we left that night. We drove around the States for a while, living off my cash, until one day we met a guy that made fake passports in Philadelphia.
From there, we flew into London. We traveled around there for a while before heading into Germany. We hit up Italy, Spain, northern France, and finally settled in Saint-Tropez.
I ended up buying this apartment, and for the first time since we left my house, we settled into a normal daily life.
Well, normal enough. I still have a shitload of money saved up, which means neither of us are going to have to work for a very long time. If ever.
For her part, I can tell Grace is the happiest she’s ever been. I made sure she got to visit everything she wanted and see and do everything possible. She had so many experiences to catch up on, and I loved watching her find herself in the world.
She’s free. She’s my princess, but she’s free. She can leave at any time if she wants, but I know she never will.
Not when we’re so stupid happy together. Not when it feels like we finally make each other complete, and the horrors of our past no longer matter.
