“Stan,” I whisper, barely audible. “You good?”
He blinks hard. Then frowns at me like I’ve offended him somehow.
“Of course it’s ayes,” he hisses, pointing at our golden wedding bands. “Toforever. Andafterthat too. The both of you!” His eyes fill. “You don’t think I’ll drag you both down to hell with me?”
Em laughs through her tears. I do too.
Stan scrubs at his face, frustrated. “I’m not joking,” he insists. “We’re getting buried together when we’re a hundred years old. Try to defy that, physics.”
“Technically,” Em says, “it’sphysiology.”
Stan pouts at her. “Em, my love, please. My ego.”
I laugh with my whole chest. Standing here, caffeine buzzing through my veins, I don’t know a lot, but I know this much for sure. It’s the three of us. Forever.
Bonus Epilogue
???
A few months later
Sneaking in has been tricky. We’ve only needed to do this once before.
It went well the first time, so we’re not pushing our luck by trying something new.
My wristwatch reads 4 a.m. when Damon taps his phone and says, “This will tamper with the cameras without leaving a trace.”
My life’s in his hands, so I trust him. It’sbeenin his hands, and he hasn’t let me down. Neither me or Darius. Or his son.
I’ve been delighted to hear more and more news about my brother when Damon sends me encrypted messages about him and his family. Darius finally got to retire as a revered vet by a beautiful beach in the tropics.
Perhaps I could be at a beach one day, but at the moment, I’m lying down in the back seat of Damon’s Lexus. I’m clad in all black with a hood that makes me feel like the Reaper. Chuckling to myself, I think of how odd this must look,ifwe ever get caught.
But the aim is to lie low.
We’d be going anywhere else, but his computer network is secured to this location, so he’s parking us in the underground garage right now. Soon, we can get inside his wife’s estate and access his study.
I also really wanna see my son, so two birds, one stone. Though, I’m not a fan of violence, even in metaphors, but it’s true enough. I’d like to see him while I’m here.
Besides, I get to see how Em’s doing, by passing by her lab, by seeing the photos framed and decorating their halls. The last time I visited, I imagined walking alongside her again as I followed Damon’s lead. It’s a fond memory that helps me smile on lonely nights.
Luckily, Stan saved videos he recorded into a hard drive, which I access to rewatch on occasion, just to relive moments of Em unraveling. Admittedly, it’s rather perverse, but…
Listen, when a man’s desperate over the woman he wants, he’ll do just about anything.
When Damon gives me the signal, I get up and exit his car, then follow him into the basement hall, which lets us pass by Stan’s “hacker room”—as his handmade sign says—as well as Em’s professionally labeled “research laboratory.” I smile, pride warming my chest as I trace her sign with my fingers, before going up the stairs, and into the west wing.
Our footsteps barely make a sound. Even the lights seem subdued, casting more shadow than glow. We pass more closed doors, a lot of them still in renovation in this corridor. I’m guessing that renovations have been paused to avoid making noise for the tiny humans needing their rest in the nursery.
We’re about to pass that exact room, and without a word said between us, we both slow our steps until we stop at the door.
I ease the nursery door open with my fingers and slip inside. The room’s even dimmer than the hall, lights turned low this early in the day.
Looking around, I notice the new painted signs hanging high above each crib, far out of the infants’ reach. I read the wooden plaques in order, admiring the handiwork and care put into them.
Then I reach the last bluish green crib closest to the window where my son is.
Riz. I smile wide. What a cute nickname.
