Emotion rose fast in her throat. “So am I,” she whispered.
“So are we,” Leland amended. “If we can be of help, just call.”
The older man’s gaze lingered on Julia, but his words were for Leland. “Help yourself by keeping her safe, Mr. Hale.”
“I intend to.”
Mr. Bellamy’s eyes held his for a long moment before he returned to his wife. Marlena rose and linked arms with him. She paused, offering Julia and Leland a small gracious nod before leaning heavily against her husband as they walked away.
Julia watched them go. She understood grief for a parent, but losing a child was something she couldn’t fathom. The weight must be more relentless than any punishment could lift.
“This doesn’t make it better,” she whispered.
“No,” Leland agreed. “But it stops it.”
That mattered. It had to.
Julia gripped his hand as they started toward the car. Not entirely for comfort. Because she knew she could, and he wouldn’t pull away. In fact, he drew her closer.
Epilogue
Devil’s Pointe felt different. The music still drifted from the house. Laughter carried from the bar. The familiar rhythm of a place built on trust moved around them like nothing had changed. But something had.
The illusion that evil always came from outside the gates was gone.
Julia stepped out onto the patio, the warm breeze off the water stirring her hair. The scent of citrus lingered faintly in the air. Her hand rested easily in Leland’s, neither tentative nor uncertain.
They weren’t here as part of an investigation tonight. Or a protection detail. They were here together. Not only here but everywhere, because she lived with him now.
That hadn’t been her idea entirely. With all the subtlety of a federal warrant, Leland presented her with two options. Move into his secure waterfront home or watch him relocate into her safety-deficient apartment building. If that happened, he promised, unapologetically, he’d be a bear to live with.
She hadn’t chosen the bear.
Leland paused as they reached the edge of the lawn, his gaze sweeping the property out of habit before settling on her.
“Your choice tonight,” he said.
No pressure, no expectation. Tonight was about reclaiming something that had been taken from her.
Julia’s gaze drifted over the grounds. The pool shimmered beneath the moonlight. The waterfall cascaded nearby. Beside the house, the labyrinth waited in mystery and darkness. Onlyone place would do tonight. The place where she’d nearly lost everything.
Even from here, the new wood gleamed. Soft curtains stirring in the breeze. The dock beyond it glowed beneath a row of solar lights.
This time, there was no unknown threat waiting in the dark. She had Leland by her side.
Her pulse didn’t race. It steadied.
She looked up at him. “The pergola.”
A dark brow arched as he glanced down the slope toward the water. She felt the tension that followed.
“Are you sure?” he asked quietly. “It has only been a few weeks.”
Julia stepped closer, her fingers brushing the front of his shirt. “That’s why,” she said. “I don’t want that to be the memory I have. I want to replace it with something much better.”
His eyes met hers. She saw concern, protectiveness, and a softness he rarely let anyone see. So deep in it with her now, he no longer tried to hide it.
“You’ve chosen the one place I nearly lost you,” he said, his voice low and rough at the edges. “Don’t be surprised if I’m a little possessive.”
