Page 84 of Close Protection

"What?" Julia asked, pressing a kiss against Ivy's forehead.

"This sense of belonging." Ivy raised herself slightly to meet Julia's gaze. "I've spent my life analyzing patterns, finding connections others missed. But I never expected to find the most important pattern in us."

Julia's expression softened. "What pattern is that?"

"Two people who've spent their lives avoiding attachment, suddenly finding home in each other." Ivy traced the sharp line of Julia's jaw. "It defies probability."

"Maybe that's what makes it valuable," Julia replied, her smile gentle in the moonlight. "Like your financial evidence, the anomalies reveal the truth."

Ivy laughed softly. "Only you would make forensic accounting sound romantic."

"Only you would understand what I meant."

They settled back together, the stormnow just a gentle patter against the windows. Outside, Phoenix Ridge continued its nighttime rhythm, unaware that within these walls, something rare and precious had been claimed—not just from Knox, but from the fears that had kept them both isolated for so long.

Tomorrow would bring grand juries and federal agents, testimony and rebuilding. But tonight, in this moment, there was only this: two women who had found each other against impossible odds, and chosen to build something new from the ruins of what had tried to destroy them.

Something unbreakable.

EPILOGUE

5 YEARS LATER

Julia woke the way she always did—seconds before the alarm, her internal clock as precise as it had been during her years on the Phoenix Ridge police force. But unlike five years ago, she no longer lunged for her weapon or scanned for threats in the early morning shadows. Her hand moved instead to the warm space beside her where Ivy slept, honey-blonde hair spilling across the pillow, face soft with dreams.

The sound of waves against the cliffs filtered through their bedroom window, a constant rhythm that had become as familiar as her own heartbeat. Their beachfront home,chosen by Ivy but fortified by Julia, stood as testament to the lives they'd built—practical security measures softened by touches of warmth. The original beach cottage had been transformed, its bones strengthened with reinforced foundations while maintaining the charm that had captured Ivy's imagination.

Julia let herself linger, drinking in the sight of her sleeping wife: the freckles scattered across Ivy's shoulders, the small scar at her temple that had long since healed to a silver line, the gold band that matched her own. Five years, and the fierce protectiveness that had driven her to break every rule in the department manual had evolved into something deeper, more lasting.

The digital clock read 5:42 a.m., and Julia silenced the alarm before it could sound before slipping from bed, her movements practiced and silent. The hardwood floor, salvaged from an old ship and installed by Ivy's insistence, felt cool beneath her feet as she padded to the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the ocean.

Phoenix Ridge stretched along the coastline below, its distinctive red cliffs catchingthe first hint of dawn. The city had changed since the Seraphim Syndicate's dissolution—corruption purged through systematic reform, infrastructure strengthened under new oversight. But what Julia noticed most was the quiet. The tension that had gripped the city for years had eased, replaced by something that felt almost like hope.

She moved through her morning routine with the same efficiency that had marked her detective career, though the edges had softened. In the kitchen, she ground coffee beans—a habit she'd adopted from Ivy, who insisted good coffee required fresh grounds. The rich aroma filled the space, mingling with the salt air that seeped through the cracked windows.

Their kitchen walls held evidence of their shared life: photographs from their wedding at Lavender's Café, commendations from the department mingled with Ivy's forensic accounting certificates, and a framed newspaper clipping announcing the formation of the Anti-Corruption Task Force. Julia's fingers brushed the edge of that last frame. The task force had been her professional rebirth after the Seraphim case, achance to build something new from the ashes of the department's compromised reputation.

The coffee maker burbled as Julia pulled files from her briefcase: testimony preparation for Knox's final sentencing hearing that afternoon. Five years of appeals, five years of meticulous legal work, and today would see the last chapter closed on the man who had nearly destroyed Phoenix Ridge from within.

"You're doing it again," Ivy's voice came from the doorway, husky with sleep.

Julia looked up from the files to find her wife wrapped in one of her old PRPD shirts, the navy fabric hanging loose on her smaller frame. Even after five years, the sight still sent a warm flutter through her chest.

"Doing what?" Julia asked, though she knew.

"Working before caffeine." Ivy crossed to the counter, accepting the mug Julia had already prepared—two sugars, splash of cream, exactly how she liked it. "Some habits die harder than others."

"Old detectives and their routines." Julia smiled, allowing Ivy to draw her into a goodmorning kiss that tasted of sleep and promise.

They settled into their morning rhythm: Julia reviewing case notes while Ivy scanned financial reports on her tablet, both preparing for what would be a significant day. The sun crept higher, casting diamond patterns across the water visible through their kitchen windows.

"The forensic team confirmed the last of Knox's offshore accounts," Ivy said, scrolling through a document. "Twenty-seven million dollars recovered and redistributed to city infrastructure projects."

Julia nodded, making a note. "Diana mentioned they're renaming the water treatment facility as The Marie Scott Memorial Plant."

"Your grandmother would have appreciated the irony," Ivy smiled. "The woman who rejected Vincent Knox's police academy application having her name on the facility he tried to control."

The mention of her grandmother still brought a surge of pride. Marie Scott: Phoenix Ridge's first female detective, the woman who had set standards that threegenerations had upheld. Even in retirement, she'd maintained her principles, denying Knox entry to the force based on what she'd called "a fundamental lack of moral character."

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