Valerian, Juniper
Nolan Kane refused to leave the bunker. "Don't sell me out," was all he said.
We dragged the inflated kayak toward the sea, Major trotting alongside. The night was moonless. Waves crashed ahead—our only compass.
Juniper adjusted the straps. Canned goods lashed tight. Water bottles half-drained for buoyancy, caps loose—so they'd float if the raft flipped.
"I'll walk you to the water," Cassian Vance said. I could barely see him in the dark, just the outline of his wound, the pale of his shirt.
"Sister," Juniper said suddenly, "if we were normal people, we'd be on vacation right now. I'd be a detective. You'd be a housewife. Valerian would be an office worker. And we'd go fishing together."
"I'd make you fish soup," I said. "Grilled fish too. I can cook a lot of things, given the chance."
"I'd prep all the vegetables. Valerian would clean the fish."
"I'm scared of fish," Valerian mumbled.
"I'll kill them," Cassian Vance said quietly.
We all turned.
He was smiling. Just barely. "Hope we get along, when this is over. I always wanted to be a doctor."
Warmth bloomed in my chest despite everything. What a life that would be.
Then a voice cut through the dark.
"Shame real life isn't a dream. I wanted to be a doctor too—ended up a detective. Same with Rafe Morrow. Wanted to be a good cop, became the first Sin Hunter instead."
A match flared. Lit half a face.
Adrian Cross.
Standing between us and the sea.
Major trotted over and wagged his tail.
Stupid dog.
"How did you find us?" I asked.
"Something you treasured."
My hand flew to my bag. The wedding photo. I cracked the frame open and found it—a microchip, tiny and cold.
Planted in my home. In the last memento I had of Ethan Cole. Even that—he'd turned into a tool.
"Early in the investigation," he said. "You kept it by your bed. I figured you'd grab it when you ran." He paused. "This whole operation exhausted me. Vacation's overdue. As for you—likely death sentence reprieve if you surrender. Him?" A glance at Cassian Vance. "Immediate execution."
Fury surged. "That photograph—Ethan Cole was your friend!"
"He was. His glory is his, not yours."
"Adrian Cross, without him—death sentence is better than a life without him. I couldn't survive it."
Something flickered in his face. His fists tightened. "You people," he said, voice cracking. "You throw lives away like they're nothing. Other people's lives, then your own. Why can't you just live?"
"You don't know what it's like to lose everything."
"You used to think that too. Now you're clinging to life again, aren't you?" He stepped closer. "Don't give me that. Since Ethan Cole died—has your life really meant nothing? Nothing worth fighting for?"
I couldn't answer.
Cassian Vance spoke: "You came without a gun. You're blocking five people?"
"Handful of nobodies. Especially you—always injured every time we meet." Adrian Cross exhaled smoke. "I always suspected a mole. That's why I kept this case classified. Maya Chen—one question, for old times' sake."
"What?"
"How do you keep getting police intel? Who's your contact?"
The time-crossing phone. He'd never known.
And I'd never tell him.
"That secret dies with me. You'll wander in the fog forever. That's my revenge."
He sighed. "Surrender. A wanted fugitive hiding forever—what's the point?"
"I want to run."
His voice dropped. Heavy. Hollow. "If he'd run too... if he'd just run... I wouldn't be living a fate worse than death. Dying in the line of duty was the only way to redeem myself. But you're too weak. Can't even kill me."
Waves swallowed his words.
He stood alone in the dark. The loneliest man I'd ever seen.
"I'll fight you!"
Juniper flung herself at Adrian Cross. Never thrown a punch in her life—she just grabbed on. "Sister, run! Valerian and I will hold him—we'll only get two more years!"
Valerian tackled his leg. Adrian Cross kicked him in the ribs. Valerian hit the ground, scrambled back, clung to Adrian Cross's other leg.
"Run!" he screamed. Fumbled for his stun baton. Adrian Cross kicked it into the darkness.
Another kick to Valerian's head. His face contorted with pain. But he held on.
"I never protected anyone in my life. This one time—unless I'm dead, you're not touching her!"
Juniper, slight and trembling, had wrapped both arms around Adrian Cross's neck. He grabbed her collar and threw her aside.
I grabbed the kayak. Dragged it toward the surf. Major bit down on Adrian Cross's coat, refusing to let go. Adrian Cross tried to shake him off but couldn't bring himself to strike a dog.
"On that raft, you're almost certainly dead!" he shouted. "Surrender—better odds!"
I didn't care. Nine-tenths dead at sea with Cassian Vance versus decades alone in a cell.
I shoved the raft into the waves. Got Cassian Vance aboard. Paddled until the island disappeared.
Darkness. Waves. His hand in mine.
"I love you," I said. "You made living worth it."
He managed a faint smile. "Don't pounce—I'm really hurt."
I kissed him. Gently. In the dark, there was nothing but waves and crying.
When dawn came, his face was pale as paper. I propped him up, gave him sips of water, gazed at the horizon.
"Remember when you climbed into my attic to sleep?"
"And stole a kiss. I ate a whole tube of toothpaste first. My tongue burned for days."
I laughed. He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a ring box. The diamond ring he'd confiscated from Valerian.
"Now... may I give this on his behalf?"
One carat. Juniper had really splurged.
He slid it onto my finger. "In sickness and health, in this finite life and infinite journey—my greatest fortune was meeting you. Maya Chen, I want to be your husband."
"I'm a twice-married woman, you know."
"Doesn't matter."
"Then I want to be your wife. Always."
Our hearts pounded like teenagers' first love. I kissed him, deep and long—trying to make up for five lost years.
He coughed blood. I wiped his lips. "Tell me about our life," he whispered. "The one we should have had."
I described it: his university, my factory job. A tiny apartment with air conditioning. Egg fried rice. Saving up, little by little. A home.
"Where does the kid sleep?" he asked.
"With your mom."
He laughed, then coughed more blood. "The dead don't stay in graves," he whispered. "We become stars. Wind. Rain. Life and death can't part love."
His stitching had bled through. I peeled off my top, pressed it against his wound, held his face to mine. "I spent five years getting over you before Ethan Cole. I'm a terrible woman. But I love you more than any moment of my life."
Land appeared on the horizon. I paddled furiously.
Phone signal. I called with shaking hands. "It's me. I surrender... please save him. Adrian Cross—I'm begging you."
"Send your location."
The ambulance came. I held Cassian Vance, calling his name over and over. This name—I wanted to say it millions of times. Like "I love you"—never enough.
At the hospital, Adrian Cross sat beside me and handcuffed me to the chair.
"You didn't drift far," he said. "Told you that raft wouldn't make it."
"Valerian? Juniper?"
"Arrested. The guy's in the hospital—three kicks and he's down. He'll live." A pause. "I'm adopting Major."
The surgery light went dark. The door opened.