Micah grimaces as he shifts, blood on his lips. “What if I could get you to the chemist who cooks the Euphoria? If they can’t make it, they can’t sell it, right? You want to end this, you start at the lab.”
Reaper steps forward, his shadow falling over all of us, voice hard as steel. “We’re listening.”
Micah nods, the fire in his eyes brightening. “I know where she is. I can get you in. But you’ll need me. You’ll need proof you are not there to kill her. She won’t talk to anyone else, but me.”
The air between us crackles with something new—hope, bitter and wild.
Phantom glances at Reaper, then at me. His hand covers mine, warm and certain. “Then we end this. For good.”
A long silence falls, broken only by the moan of distant train wheels and the soft sigh of wind through broken windows. The snow is falling heavier now. The white flakes cover the spilledblood and the bodies. I wish it could wash this dirty world clean of the evil.
For a second, the war fades and all I feel is him. Phantom’s arms come around me, lifting me up, carrying me to the edge of the platform where the storm is thickest. I raise my face to feel the soft flakes of snow drift against my heated cheeks for a moment before I bury my face in his shoulder. I let him take my weight, letting the last of the fear leave me.
His mouth finds my temple, his voice low and fierce. “You’re mine, Everly. You always have been. And I’m never letting you go again. I will protect you with my life now, tomorrow, and forever.”
The words sink into my bones, warm and sure.
Tears slip down my cheeks, not for what we lost, but for what we survived.
“We’re alive,” I whisper, the taste of hope is bittersweet after the events of tonight. I look back at Chloe, saddened by her stubborn choice to stay behind. I can only hop her granddaughter was already with her mom by the time my father caught up with Chloe.
“You, me, Kaylee. Micah. We are all safe. No one else was hurt, right? None of your brothers, I mean.”
His lips brush my ear. “We’re all alive. And I’m going to make sure you stay that way, too. No one touches what’s mine.”
I laugh, the sound comes out a bit broken but soft. I cling to him as the Savages close in around us, forming a wall of safety, of family. The blood and violence of the night can’t touch the space we’ve made for ourselves here. In the middle of all thisruin, there is something fierce and indestructible growing—love, loyalty, a future.
Reaper claps Phantom on the shoulder. “Let’s get out of here. We’ve got work to do. I called in some help. The men of Genesis will be here to clean up for us. They called it a Christmas gift.”
Micah leans on Storm, his body battered but his spirit rising, the spark of rebellion bright in his gaze.
I hold up the book, offering it to Phantom. My hands shake as he takes it, our fingers brushing, the contact sending a fresh wave of warmth through my chest.
He slides it into his jacket, pulling me close again. His eyes search mine, voice rough. “It’s not done, Everly. Not for us, not for New Orleans. But we’re not running anymore. We fight. Together.”
I nod, my heart so full it aches. “Together.”
The snow falls heavier, the world transformed into something new. Phantom lifts me into his arms, carrying me away from the blood and broken glass, into the future we’ll fight for, step by step, night after night.
In his arms, I am safe.
In his arms, I am home.
For the first time in forever, I believe in happy endings.
And I know, with everything in me, I’m going to take this second chance with my new family and hold it close to my heart. This is our new beginning.
EPILOGUE
EVERLY, TWO WEEKS LATER
It’s been two weeks and the guilt Phantom said that would come from being a part of my father’s death hasn’t hit. Does that make me broken inside? Maybe. I wouldn’t be surprised.
It’s Christmas Eve and the Savage compound smells like cinnamon, pine, and frankly, home. The great room is alive with twinkle lights, the tree glittering gold and white, casting its glow over everyone I love most in this world. Somewhere in the kitchen, someone’s spilled nutmeg, and the laughter echoing down the hall reminds me how long it’s been since I let myself believe in peace.
There’s a fire crackling in the hearth, flames dancing in the low light, throwing shadows up the stone and filling the room with warmth I never knew I needed. I’m standing a few feet from the tree, absently twirling the ring on the chain around my neck, letting the metal slide over my fingers the way it always does when my mind spins out with worry.
Charli is in her element, passing around a battered paperback with a swooning couple on the cover. I take the book from thesmiling woman and I can’t help but love the happiness in her eyes.
