Fatal Intimacies (Romantic Suspense) (10 page)

EPILOGUE

Thomas Garcia sat in his Mercedes and glanced to the restaurant. Something that had a foreign word as the name and described itself as fusion. A fusion of what, he couldn’t tell. It was a fitting place to do this.

He got out of the car and walk
ed inside. The maître d’ tried to say something to him and he held up his badge and said, “Shh,” before walking past him and straight to her table.

Miriam was in a business suit, though she didn’t have a job. Garcia sat across from her without kissing her hello.

“You won’t believe the day I’m having,” she said. “Candice went out and—”

“I’m sorry, Miriam,” he interrupted, “it’s not working for me. I have to end it.”

“End what?”

“Our relationship.”

She scoffed. “Are you joking? That would never work. Your friends are my friends and my friends are your friends. It’d be a mess.”

“Your friends are not my friends. And any that are, you can have. I’m sorry.”

She paused. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” He took the engagement ring and placed it on the table.

“And you chose to do this at a restaurant?”

“I just wanted it done as quickly as possible.” He rose. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

Before he could turn around, her glass of wine flew at him. It struck him in the chest, splashing the crimson fluid over his face and shirt. Everyone in the restaurant turned and looked at him. Normally, this might have been a humiliating situation. But he didn’t care. He was free.

He wiped some of the fluid away with a linen napkin that was on the table and said, “Take care of yourself,” before he walked out of the restaurant, and Miriam’s life.

Jessica sat on the beach. The waves rolled to shore and crackled against the
sand and rocks. She was in a bathing suit with a sunhat and glasses. The weather was perfect; not too hot and not too cold. Before her in the surf, Garcia lifted Ruth and pretended to throw her into the waves. She squealed and laughed and tickled him to get away. He pretended to lose his grip and she ran off into the waves with her brother.

Garcia
sauntered up the sand and fell next to her, his body slick with ocean water, his muscles rippling as he leaned over and kissed her.

“They’re good kids,” he said.

“They’ve had it rough. I hope they can get over the things they’ve seen.”

“People are stronger than you think.”

He kissed her again. She could taste him, smell the salt on his skin. His hands gripped her like vices and pulled her close.

“Mom,” Ruth shouted, “
look at me.”

Jessica chuckled and looked to
her daughter. She was riding on her brother’s back as a wave hit them and toppled them over.

Even a year ago, Jessica would not have pictured herself here. A man was an
abstraction. Something she didn’t think she needed or wanted. But as Garcia took her hand and lay back on the sand, she felt an excitement and hopefulness she hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

And there was no place in the world she would rather be.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

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Fatal Intimacies
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Copyright 2013 Isabelle Ali

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Please note that this is a work of fiction. Any similarity
to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All events in this work are purely from the imagination of the author and are not intended to signify, represent, or reenact any event in actual fact.