The plan Kit and Antone proposed wasn’t much different than what I had in mind. It was better, actually—Kit had the legal experience to push harder, even if we were unlikely to win those concessions.

Partway through the meeting, the clinic called to say Daniel was out of surgery and awake. That made it easier for me to focus.

Finally, we came to an agreement. Was it perfect? No. Did I completely trust the Cabals to abide by it? No. But Kit seemed satisfied and I knew he had his children’s best interests at heart, which meant I had to trust his judgment.

The next step was to tell the others. Did they pat me on the back and say I’d done an amazing job? Of course not. I had to explain why we’d made certain concessions and what we’d tried—and failed—to win. Corey was most wholeheartedly behind the plan. Rafe knew I’d done my best and seemed satisfied. Hayley and Sam grudgingly agreed it seemed the best solution. The biggest surprise, though, came from Ash, who muttered that he wasn’t promising anything, but he’d stick around and see how it played out. And so, with the most lukewarm response to my endeavors, I got the most satisfying response, the one that truly told me I hadn’t totally screwed up. My brother would stay.

They took me to Daniel next. He was up already, trying to use his persuasive powers to convince the doctors to let him join us next door. As soon as I heard his voice, my heart jumped and I wanted to break into a run, like I had in the park when I’d seen him by the fire. I’d told myself then that I was just so happy and relieved to see he was okay, and of course that was part of it, but there was more. I always felt something when I saw him, whether we’d been apart for days or hours. My heart jumped and my pulse quickened and I felt myself grinning, the very sound of his voice making me happy and relaxed and centered in a way nothing else did. It was like the universe clicked into place when Daniel was there. It always had.

I stood there, outside the door where he couldn’t see me, and I tried to look at him. I could see him just fine, but I didn’t mean that. I meant look at him. As a guy. As soon as I tried, though, it was like my brain threw up a barrier. Off-limits. Taboo. I wasn’t supposed to look at him that way, because he was Serena’s and even now, a year after her death, I’d kept thinking that, kept feeling that. It had made things easier. Do not look at him like that, because if you do, you’ll have to face things you’re not ready to face, things you’ve been feeling since he really was Serena’s.

I’ve said that I let Serena win that game two years ago because I didn’t feel that way about Daniel. That wasn’t true. I let her win because I’d been starting to feel that way about Daniel, starting to watch him in the boxing ring, watch him stripping off his shirt and pants to swim with us, and I’d been feeling things I wasn’t ready to feel. It was all too confusing. And embarrassing. So I let Serena win, and then he was hers and I would never look at my best friend’s guy that way, so the problem was solved. Except it wasn’t. Not really. I just took what I was feeling and relabeled it as simple friendship. A really close friendship that no one was allowed to interfere with, not even a guy I genuinely liked.

So where did that leave me? The same place I was two years ago. Confused. Because now there was Rafe and he wasn’t just a substitute or a distraction.

Daniel noticed me then, and when he did, he broke into a grin. I froze there a second, before he called, “You coming in?” and I did. I went in and told him about the deal I’d brokered with the Cabals.

When I finished, he caught my hand and pulled me closer. “You okay?”

“I’m not the one who got shot.”

“Yes, but I think you might have had the harder ordeal. I know that wasn’t easy and I wish I could have been there, but obviously I didn’t need to be. You did great. Better than great.” He pulled me into a hug. “You did perfect.”

“This looks familiar,” I said as I looked around the helicopter, seated behind the pilot, Daniel beside me.

“Except this time, I’m not unconscious on the floor,” Rafe said from my other side.

“Just keep your seat belt on,” Daniel said. “Until this bullet wound heals, I’m in no shape to hang outside helicopter doors.”

“How many times are you planning to mention that bullet wound?” Corey called from the seat behind us.

“Um, I think this is the first time I brought it up.”

“Well, stop.” He shook his head. “Big damn hero.” He looked around. “Does anyone else think that putting us on a helicopter really doesn’t send the right message of peace?”

“Which is why they said we could wait for the private jet to come back from Vancouver.”

It was true—they’d fully understood that we might not want to climb into a helicopter after that fateful flight from Salmon Creek. But everyone was tired of waiting. So we’d agreed to the helicopters—two of them.

We tried to stay calm during the flight, but everyone was anxious. Excited and not sure we dared to be excited. The flight landed on schedule, at the airport they’d promised. Then we had to go through Customs.

“Canada?” Ash said. “You didn’t say it was in Canada.”

“I said Ontario.”

“I thought you meant Ontario, California.”

“Seriously?” Tori said, rolling her eyes. “A helicopter to California? You may be hot, but your sister clearly inherited all the brains in the family.”

“Did she call me hot?” Ash whispered to me, looking more annoyed than he ever did when someone called him a jerk.

“She hasn’t been on a date in six months,” Derek rumbled behind us. “No offense, but as long as you aren’t related to her, you’re fair game. Hell, even—”

Tori spun on him. “I didn’t know.”

“Um, wait a sec,” Corey said. “So Ash is hot and I’m seriously cute? Is there a difference?”

“Yes,” Hayley said, and propelled him through the line.

FORTY-EIGHT

THE VANS TOOK US deep into the wilderness outside of Algonquin Park. As I stared out at the forest I started to relax and started to think maybe, just maybe, this would all be okay.

We’d been getting updates through Sean on the fallout from everything. Dr. Inglis was in Cabal custody. Annie was still being treated, but they were bringing her out to join us tomorrow. Nicole was also undergoing treatment, but we had been assured that no matter how much progress she made, she’d never rejoin our group. As for my own regression issues, Antone said we could look at those right away.