Epilogue

That's all folks...

"Seriously?"

Lorette waved a nervous hand at Camille, telling her to keep her voice down. She looked around carefully, checked out the window to make sure they hadn't been heard.

"Yes," she said. Her voice was hushed, as if imparting a secret that could bring the world to a screeching halt. "I don't know what to do."

Camille laughed, jostling the cherub on her lap. "For heaven's sake, Lorette, you have a baby, that's what. It sort of comes along with being pregnant."

"You're a real card, Camille. I think I have that part figured out. I'm talking about Marion. He's going to have a heart attack when I tell him."

"You mean you haven't told him yet? Don't you think the man has a right to know he's about to be a father?"

"You have no idea what he's like."

"I'm sure I can guess."

The baby started giggling at the mongrel chasing its own tail some feet away. Both women laughed along with him.

"Seeing you with your son makes me really want to have this baby. I can't wait to cuddle and hug him and tell him about all our adventures. I just don't think Marion could stand it."

"What makes you say that?"

"You saw the way he acted, like he was afraid of breaking little Nick. He won't even touch him."

"Well, we'll just see about that." Camille stood up, hefting her four-month-old son up to her shoulder. "You're getting to be such a big boy. Let's go see Uncle Brick and show him what he's missing out on."

"Camille, what are you thinking?" Lorette asked with some trepidation.

"I'm thinking that any man who can fight off an entire army of villains should be able to face his greatest fear—small children. This should be fun."

The cabin was beautiful, something to really be proud of. Niko was glad he'd had a part in constructing the sprawling home. Calling it a cabin seemed an understatement. It was more a cross between a mansion and a lodge. Brick was an enigma. The man had lived in squalor for years but had more money socked away than anyone could have guessed. And the man had a head for business. With his investment portfolio, he and Lorette could afford to live quite comfortably.

"So, how do you like genteel living?" he asked, trying to hide his smirk when Brick growled.

"It sucks, if you gotta know. I can't even walk in my own house without taking my shoes off or Lorette throws a fit. The woman's a clean freak. And lately, it's getting worse. She's always scrubbing at something—usually me. She's got me smelling like a rose."

"And you love every minute of it."

Brick grinned broadly, something Niko was having a hard time getting used to.

"You got me dead to rights there," Brick said. He led the way to the back of the cabin where the shady, awning-covered patio awaited with its new furniture. "She insisted on getting all this fancy shit to sit on out here and I have to admit that I like it. Something's bothering me, though."

"What's that?"


"Aw, hell. I should keep my big mouth shut."

"Spill it, Brick."

"It's not that I want your advice or nothin', but ... Something's wrong with her. I can't really figure her out."

"Why do you say that? She seems perfectly fine to me."

"I don't know. Maybe it's nothing. I ain't had much experience with women on a domesticated level, so I probably just imagine..."

As his words trailed off, Niko could see something was truly eating at the big guy. "What's up, Brick?"

"Well, take yesterday for instance. For weeks Lorette's been cleaning and planning and scheming about your visit and when the two of you show up, she starts crying. I thought she would be glad to see your wife again, but she just started bawling."

"Women don't just cry when they're sad, fella. They don't even need a reason to do it. They just cry—when they're happy, when they're angry. They just up and cry."

"Yeah? Well she's been doing it a lot lately. She ain't herself, I tell ya. You remember when we first found her, how sweet and gentle she was? Well she ain't now, brother. The woman goes off at the drop of a hat, gets spittin' mad and it's like tangling with a mountain cat. The next minute she's apologizin' and cuddling up to me like nothing happened. I think she's plain crazy. I had no right bringing her up here and separating her from her family."

It was Niko's turn to grin. "How long's this been going on?"

"I don't know. A couple o' months, I guess. But that ain't all..."


"What?"

"You know ... Shit, I don't even know how to put it. Okay, it's like this. All those years the only women I knew were whores. I paid for my needs and cut 'em loose. Some were good, some were just whores."

"Yeah? So?"

"Well, Lorette ain't like that. She ... Her only experience with men took place in that dungeon on the island." Brick paused, an expression like a thunder cloud crossing his face. "I'd like to bring every one of them sons-of-bitches to life so I could kill 'em all again." He gave himself a visible shake and sat up a little straighter. "Anyway, on our honeymoon, I was afraid to touch her. Hell, I was scared I'd hurt her. And she was so shy, not timid, but shy. I was gentle and she seemed to like it that way."

"And?"

"And now it's different. She's not shy, let me tell you. It's like my sweet wife is gone, replaced by ... by a hell cat. I mean, every night! She's going to kill me."

"So, you're complaining that Lorette cries too much, forces you to be clean and rocks your world every night. And this is a problem because... ?"

"Shut up, Pavli. I knew you wouldn't understand."

"What's to understand? Listen, Brick, Lorette will tell you what's on her mind soon enough. Women have their ways and all we can do is wait for them."

"You know something I don't?" Brick leaned closer, put out a hand as if to grab Niko's throat. To make matters worse, Niko laughed.

"Know what?"

Both men looked up to see their wives walking toward them. Niko was clearly amused while Brick looked like he might explode.