“She and Velasquez are on a chartered plane and headed back here. They are due to arrive in about two hours.” Ross glanced at her watch. “Around six-thirty.”
Gem squeezed Tony’s arm. “I told you. I told you she would be okay.”
Tony sighed and nodded. He finished giving his statement and shook the agents’ hands. They stood and Denae turned to Linden and Tony.
“We would like a debriefing with Dr. Morales, Velasquez, and a couple of other folks tomorrow morning. May we use the facilities here?” he asked.
“Of course,” Tony replied, and then walked out of the station and into the parking lot. He drove her to her car. Gem glanced at her watch. “Six o’ clock, Pazzini. You’ve got just enough time to make it to LAX.”
He smiled. “I’m on it!”
CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
The sun was beginning to set as Kelly and Julio’s flight taxied and the stairs were lowered down from the private jet. She had to squint in the bright light to make out the figure at the bottom of the steps as she looked out the window. She gasped when she realized who it was. Tony.
Julio over at looked her. “You okay?”
She nodded. “It’s the detective. Tony.” Julio was grinning broadly. “Did you know about this?”
“I made some calls. After we talked and all that went down back there, I needed to see if this guy was dirty like you thought. I could tell you were into him. And I hated thinking he was a bad guy, that he’d used you. But he’s not a bad guy. He’s clean, Doc. Squeaky clean.”
She stood up and headed to the stairs. Walking down the stairs, her stomach churned nervously. “Hi,” she said, reaching him.
“Hi? Hi?!” Tony grabbed her and hugged her tightly. “Oh my God. I was so scared. I didn’t know what to think.”
Kelly laughed nervously, “You? I thought, well…I thought you were in on it. I thought you were part of all of this.”
“Me?” He looked at her, stunned. “Why would you think that?”
She told him about the phone call she’d overheard back at her place, the morning before she’d been chased and fled to San Francisco.
He laughed outright. “That? Oh Kelly, do you know what that was?”
“Uh, no. Obviously.” She was starting to feel irritated.
“I was talking with my dad. Boss is his nickname from way back. We were planning my mom’s surprise party! She turns 65 this year.”
Kelly felt the heat rise to her cheeks. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.” He put an arm around her.
“I feel so stupid. I assumed…”
“She assumed the worst,” Julio said. He’d come up behind Kelly, reaching around her to shake Tony’s hand and introduce himself.
“Thanks, man. Thanks for helping bring these guys down and for taking care of Kelly.”
Julio smiled. “No thanks needed. Oh, and the doc can take care of herself.”
“Yeah. I bet she can.” Tony was smiling so hard his cheeks began to hurt. “Hey, why don’t we go grab some drinks and have a little dinner? We can fill each other in on everything. We have a debriefing in the morning with the feds, but it might be good to wind down some, share notes.”
Julio shook his head. “You know, I think that’s a great idea…for you two. I actually want to go and see Eric.” On the flight back, they had received word that Eric was in the hospital, recovering from an attack at his apartment.
“Oh, we need to go there, too,” Kelly said.
“Tell you what, why don’t you let me visit him tonight and you can swing by in the morning? Get some dinner.” He winked at Kelly.
She smiled at Julio, getting the message. “Please give Eric my best…and find out how Baby S. is doing,” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for everything.”
Julio said goodbye and headed inside the airport.
She turned back to Tony and took his hand. “You know what?”
“What?” he asked.
“I would love to have dinner with you. But I don’t want to talk about any of this.”
He took her face in his hands and kissed her. After a minute, he pulled away. “Deal. Drinks, dinner, and maybe a little dessert. Doesn’t get any better than that.”
They headed into the terminal, holding hands.
EPILOGUE
One Year Later
“Champagne?” the waiter asked.
“Yes, please,” Gem replied, taking the flute from a tray. She caught Pazzini’s eye and raised her glass in his direction. He had one arm around Kelly’s waist. A large diamond ring flashed brightly on the doc’s left hand. She was so happy for them.
Across the room, Gem spotted Julio and Eric talking animatedly together. Somehow, they’d been able to patch up their relationship and, best of all, were now the proud parents of a little girl. Samantha (formerly known as Baby S).
As for Gem herself, well, things had gone from good to great. They were all there celebrating her bestselling book. The Covert Reich Project. It was the story of Peter Redding, The Brotherhood, and their demise. In it, Gem detailed first-hand many of the events that brought The Brotherhood to its knees. She’d worked with the whole gang: Pazzini, Kelly, Dr. Horner and his wife, Eric Sorensen, and Julio…all of them to weave a complex and riveting tale of greed and bigotry and heroism. Not only was her book a New York Times Bestseller, a movie was also in the works. Gem sighed happily and took another swig of the champagne.
“Cheers!” she called out loudly. Then, “More champagne please!”
About the Author:
A.K. Alexander is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her international bestselling thrillers include Daddy's Home and Mommy, May I? A. K. Alexander dreamed of being a writer since the age of nine, earning a degree in journalism from the University of Southern California before tackling fiction. Today she is the author of over two dozen books — women’s fiction, paranormal novels, mysteries, and thrillers. A lifelong equestrian, she helps to run her family business manufacturing sports-medicine products for horses. She is a native of San Diego, California, and still lives there today with her family, which includes three kids, a bunch of horses and dogs, and one bossy cat. You can find more information about her and her work at http://www.michelescott.com
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