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Wrapping his arm tighter around me, he went back to massaging my legs and ankles and feet with his free hand.

I leaned into him, and that relief sharpened on both of us.

I thought about my private practice in San Francisco.

It was the first time my mind wandered tothatin over a year.

I remembered Nick saying how he might be returning to the force.

I wasn’t sure if he could still pull that off now, not now that vampires were no longer considered “real,” and he had real impediments to working side by side with humans. I imagined he could still find a way to work it if he really wanted to. He’d have to work nights mostly, and maybe in a different precinct to account for his changed looks. He’d definitely have to wear contact lenses, and be careful of the sun…

Actually, maybe being a cop wasn’t all that workable for Nick now, come to think of it.

Maybe he’d have to get a P.I. license instead.

Well, assuming he didn’t just go back to work for Black.

I knew Nick wouldn’t be able to stay away from police work insomeform, though. He was a cop, through and through. He always had been.

Even when he’d been in the military, Nick had been a cop.

“I think we’ll be able to keep Nick busy, doc.” Black gave me another half-smile, rubbing my foot with one hand, making my eyes close. “We might all be floundering for a little while, figuring out what to do with ourselves. I haven’t done ‘normal’ P.I. work for years. Even in the beginning, it’s always been somewhat of a cover so I could hunt down other seers. It was also a way to keep an eye on Charles.” Pausing, he studied my gaze. “Are you really thinking you might start up your private practice again?”

Looking at him, I shrugged.

“Maybe. Dunno. I really haven’t given it much thought yet.”

He nodded, frowning slightly. “There’s still Archangel to deal with.”

“They helped Brick with all of this. That human mercenary group… they wanted things to go back to normal, too.” I thought about that. “Is there really anything to ‘deal’ with there? I mean, they pretty much stay off the radar. And we don’t have any reason to poke the bear on that one, do we? Not unless they get into child trafficking or something.”

Black nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah.”

Still thinking, Black added, “Honestly Archangel being involved is what makes me think Brick’s crazy plan will probably work. That’s why I’m pretty sure it’ll stick at least, doc. They seem to have a lot of control over how things go behind the scenes.”

“Which means we can’t trust them for shit,” I grunted.

“Which means weabsolutelycan’t trust them for shit,” Black agreed.

We looked at each other and laughed.

The plane was pulling away from the jet bridge now.

I could hear one of the stewards up front closing the front hatch.

Strangely, I felt tears coming to my eyes.

I realized a whole new page of our lives was about to start.

It felt like it was going to be a good page, though.

It felt like it might even be a really, really good page.

I wasn’t crying because it felt like it would be bad.

I was sad about a few things.

Cal, my sister, even my Uncle Charles. Even Ian, the man I’d thought I would marry when I first met Black. I was sad about my parents’ lives ending the way they did, and all the others who’d died along the way, seer and human. I was sad I’d never see Allie or Revik again, or any of the others in that seer world. I didn’t like that a giant damned dark portal opened by a serial killer witch still churned out badness under a mansion in New York City.