Nova and Elliot come around the side of the ship right behind him, both of them wearing relieved smiles.
Knowing my dog is safe too, I stand and turn toward Silas. “So which mutual friend do I have to thank for our rescue?” I ask, right as a man I never thought I’d see again steps into view.
His blonde hair is mostly covered by a worn baseball cap with an anchor on the front. He’s wearing a black sweater and holds out his hand when I cross toward him. “Dylan Hunt. It’s good to see you—alive.”
“Captain Knox,” I say, taking his offered hand. Zane Knox was lead of the SEAL team I trained with years ago, back when I was still in the service. He and Silas served together for a short period of time before my cousin was reassigned. “Thank you.”
“I’m just glad we got here in time,” he replies.
“Me too. Thank you,” I say again as I meet his blue gaze with my own. “Seriously.”
“God is the only One who gets the thanks. He cleared the skies for us,” he replies.
I tip my face to the sky and close my eyes. Thank You, God. When I open my eyes again, it’s to look at Emma. Nova is beside her, talking calmly to her as she rubs her arms on Emma’s shoulders. She’s shaking—but there’s a smile on her face.
Needing to hold her, I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around her. She leans into me, resting her head on my chest.
“We need to redo that kiss-s-s,” she stammers.
“Anytime.” I cup her cheeks and tilt her face up to mine. “See, I told you He had us.”
She smiles. “He did.”
Leaning in, I capture her lips with mine.
It took nearly dying—again—for me to fully surrender to God. But I see now that He was always there. Waiting for me to accept Him and forgive myself for surviving when I lost all of my friends. I’d turned into the pain instead of laying it down at His feet.
A mistake I’m going to try really, really hard not to make again.
But even if I do, I know He will still be right there—waiting for me.
Because He is always good.
And if it’s not good, then He’s not done yet.
Chapter 28
Emma
It feels surreal to be standing in my living room again. To be back here, in this place that’s been my home since I was a baby.
Everything looks the same—but I feel so different.
The broken glass that was all over the kitchen has been swept up, and the floor has been mopped, courtesy of Talia, who called me this morning to let me know she’s expecting me at the diner in an hour for a makeup birthday dinner.
Ash is already lying in his favorite spot on the back of the couch, and I smile over at him before shifting my attention back to the box I’d left on the coffee table. I breathe a sigh of relief when I look inside and see the photograph of Dylan and me, alongside the corsage he’d given me all those years ago, sitting on top.
I’m not sure who took them out of the trash can, but I’m so glad they didn’t end up getting thrown out.
Dylan.
He’d told me I could stay in his guest room as long as I wanted, but I needed to be back in my space. Even though I’m genuinely afraid to be back in the place it was so easy for Mattheus to get to. As it always does whenever I think about him, my pulse kicks up a notch. A nice dose of fear left behind by everything I’ve been through the past couple of weeks.
He’s in prison.
After we delivered Heath, Mattheus, Tori, and the other armed guards to Frank Loyotta’s contact in the FBI, they finally had what they needed to get a warrant for both the Slater and Karver estates. And with Harlow’s testimony, Heath and Mattheus will both be going away for a long, long time.
We’ve been assured they’ll never breathe oxygen as free men again.
