Her sobs gust against my neck. “Oh, God. I was so scared.”
“I know, baby. Me too.” I hug her tighter, emotion thickening my throat. “I’ve got you now.”
She lifts her head, searching my eyes. “I love you, Gabriel. I should’ve told you. I shouldn’t have let you leave—”
“I’m here,” I say, kissing her trembling lips. “I’m here, and I’m holding you, and I love you. I love you so much, Evelyn. I’m never letting you go.”
“Promise?”
I nod. “It’s more than a promise. It’s a vow.”
She kisses me, and I draw away from her lips reluctantly when I hear police officers clambering down the stairs with weapons at the ready. I recognize one of them as a cousin and give him a nod and crooked smirk in greeting.
They will have questions, of course. There will be statements for us to give, and evidence to collect from the boutique and my apartment.
But all of that can wait.
The rest of the world will have to wait, because right now, I’ve got Evelyn safe and warm in my arms, and I’m not about to let her go.
Not for anything.
EPILOGUE
~ Evelyn ~
One month later . . .
“Kat, what do you think about the lace on this demi-bra? I went with Leavers, but now I think the Chantilly might be a better complement to the piece.”
She walks around to my side of our shared design table and glances down at the swatches I’ve laid out. “Chantilly, no question. And I agree with you about the silk piping over the rosettes. It’s a beautiful design, Eve.”
I meet her approving gaze and smile. “Thank you.”
It feels good to be working with Katrina again. I wasn’t sure she would come back after the way I’d hurt her with my doubt.
As it turned out, Walter Hennings’ derangement had gone much deeper than stalking and cyber sabotage. Athis home, the police discovered reams of image files and documents going back to the beginning of my modeling career. He’d kept a journal of my appearances, and copies of every article ever written about me.
If that wasn’t disturbing enough, he also had a life-size silicone doll molded in my likeness. The officers found the thing dressed in lingerie I had designed, its mouth painted in the red lipstick Hennings stole from my purse. And, yes, he had collected other, random personal belongings of mine over the years too, just as he’d bragged to me in the subway station. He had handcuffs and shackles as well, and a cabinet full of ropes and weapons.
I still shudder to think what he would have done with me if he had managed to abduct me like he’d planned. But Walter Hennings is no more. It’s rare that I think of him weeks after Gabe saved me from him. Being busy with work helps.
Once the news media got a hold of Walter Hennings’ death and the details of his sick obsession with me, Katrina called to see how I was doing. Thankfully, she accepted my apology for not believing her when I should have trusted her. She forgave me.
Since she’s come back to L’Opale, our working relationship has never been stronger. Our friendship has strengthened, too. I couldn’t ask for a better creative partner on the boutique’s newest launch.
With Avery Ross’s wedding and honeymoon ensemble making headlines, the shop has been inundated with new clients. We’ve hired more designers and seamstresses, but Kat and I are working alone on the concepts for the lingerie project that means the most to me now.
Kelsey O’Connor steps out of the dressing room wearing our newest prototype. “Well, how do I look?”
I smile, taking in the gorgeous sight of my friend. She’s wearing a sheer black lace, boned bustier with balconette cups and a touch fastener along the right side with matching panties. She looks fierce and sexy. Most of all, she looks beautiful.
“Stunning,” Kat says, beaming at her.
I nod in agreement. “Do you like it?”
“I love it.” She smooths her hands along the front of the piece, the hand that’s flesh and bone, and the one she’s wearing today that’s fashioned of sleek titanium and carbon, the fingers gleaming like polished silver. She glances up at me, grinning. “I think Jake’s going to love it too.”
“Oh, I’m sure of that.”
