Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER
OAKLEY
“Are you all set to host your first official Wimberley card game night?” Hedy asks, grinning.
“Yes. And you seem awfully excited about it,” I say, gathering my paperwork.
“Game nights are sort of sentimental for me,” she says, blushing under a field of freckles. “My first kiss with Edison was after one of our card games.”
“Yeah? And y’all have been together ever since?”
She chuckles. “It was a bit more complicated than that, but…yeah. We figured it out eventually.”
“You know, I never fully understood how y’all work. You’re so…you. And he’s so…him.”
Something awfully close to sentimentality crosses her face. “I think we work because he’s somebody I’d recognize in any lifetime,” she says softly.
I’ve never heard her talk that way about Uncle Eddie, and I realize there’s probably a large part of their relationship I don’t know anything about. And there’s something really romantic about that.
I nod along with the sentiment. “I have a feeling Sy and I are the same way.”
I’m not particularly into the metaphysical, but I can easily imagine a different version of Silas in another timeline, like an old-timey tin-type photograph.
I pop my brows. “Maybe this isn’t even the first lifetime we’ve spent together.”
“Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll remember your past lives.” She holds up a finger. “Don’t get too caught up in the gender of it all though.”
“Good point,” I say, still smiling as I head toward the door and she heads back to her office.
As I walk the path to our house, I realize I’ve been looking forward to this card game for over a month. As I’ve gotten to know the entire Wimberley crew, it’s clear they’re as much of a family as the Wildlings are.
I spent a lot of my initiation phase wondering if I made the right choice to come here. I had to have a few hard conversations with Hedy, and she’s shifted from aunt to trusted mentor and friend.
She didn’t even give me too much shit when I finally digitized all the testing.
The other thing I did as soon as Silas and I established our public relationship was to ask people to stop calling him a psycho, even jokingly. Hedy seemed to realize that had come from her and immediately apologized.
Having worked at Wimberley for a bit longer now, Maverick and I have a lot more insight into what a tough spot our fathers and siblings had been in.
We do believe they should have been more forthcoming, but some of the cases we’ve worked on in our short time here have been enough to give any parent pause.
I’m finding that I wouldn’t want to do anything else. I’m so grateful that I get to help these operatives work through their heavy moments. I also sometimes get to work with victims, which is an unexpected joy.
More than that, Hedy’s made good on getting me into the rooms I need to be in.
Actually, it’s Rami, as a state representative, who’s started making headway with mental healthcare reforms. He’s considering whether or not to run for mayor, and I can’t think of anything more Austin than a murderous mayor with a tattooed barber for a husband.
By the way, those two did elope, which, as it turns out, is kind of a family tradition. Maverick and Boone have a big wedding planned, mostly because Bailey will be the cutest flower girl ever.
And because Hopper would cry if they didn’t.
I haven’t yet figured out what Silas would prefer, but I know it’s coming. I can feel it in my bones. I wasn’t joking when I told Hedy that Silas feels like somebody I’ve known for several lifetimes. If I’m lucky, I’ll find him in every lifetime after this one.
We’re already building a life now that we’re both proud of. Our new house is exactly what each of us needs: sunshine and absolute dark.
We have lots of windows topside and a completely dark zone in the small cavern below. Silas is beautiful in the sunshine and devilish in the dark. He’s also stoked that the passage to the dungeon is almost complete.
There’s a man in the kill tank, as he calls it, that he’s been wanting to murder for weeks. Sometimes he’ll tell me what the people in the dungeon have done, but this one’s another one he and Hedy have refused to tell me about.
Given what I do know, I don’t mind when they keep those details to themselves.
As for the fallout from Blake’s attack, it’s ongoing. Once Jake had his phone, finding the lab where he’d been raised was dead simple.
Simple, but not easy.
I was watching the body cams when they went in, and it was awful. Some of the horror came from the eerie parallels with Wimberley, including holding cells and a well-used incinerator.
From the scientists’ notes, their progress, while slower than Silas’s, was eventually more successful. Depending, that is, on what you consider a success. Their surrogates had given birth to five kids: three boys and two girls. The children seemed to do well until they hit about twelve or thirteen.
From what we can tell, they picked off the scientists, one by one, then started going after each other. Blake was the last one standing and had been on his own since he was fifteen.
In the end, I felt more sadness than anything else for him. He figured out how to find Silas but didn’t know how to be anything but a killing machine.
We now know what to look for in these types of labs, and I’m confident we’ll begin to see better results if we ever find a lab like that again.
After he got home from that operation, Silas and I stayed in bed with Cupcake for an entire day. Then we kicked her out of the bedroom and made good use of the swing.
Speaking of, I should probably make sure that none of our toys are out for the card game tonight.
SILAS
I didn’t realize life could be this good.
If you had told five-year-old me that I would be living with the love of my life, doing meaningful work, directing my anger and rage into good, he would’ve never believed you.
Honestly, even a year ago, if you had told me that tonight I’d be going to Thane and Ronan’s house to have dinner with our two families, I would have called you a liar.
And now, I can’t think of anything more fun.
One of my favorite surprises from my relationship with Oakley is my new friendship with Amelia.
Oak made sure to tell me that Melia was relentless in the early days, insisting that he and I made for a good match.
She definitely softened the ground for the fathers, even when things looked really, really bleak.
Even better, last month, she moved back from Mexico to direct her charity here in Austin. She, Maya, and our cousin Dexter now live in the penthouse.
As important as my friendship with Amelia is, the relationship I am carefully building with Ronan and Thane is even more critical.
We have completely bonded over the horses at my dads’ ranch.
My dads have also brought Thane in on their search-and-rescue work, and it’s cool to see them getting along.
Tonight, Thane is grilling steaks, and Amelia already warned him that I might bring the hot sauce.
When Oakley and I roll up to their house, I can’t help but smile.
Thane’s mid-century modern aesthetic definitely influenced our own house.
I love that Oakley was raised in such a beautiful spot.
It’s not the biggest house in the neighborhood, but it’s clearly full of love.
We’ve spent several weekends in the cove below with Oak’s family, floating on the lake, trading stories.
Tonight, we’ll be having dinner on the deck to the side of the house, just in time for one of the area’s perfect sunset views.
We walk in, and I set the hot sauce on the counter. Amelia takes one look and laughs at me, then makes her way from the kitchen to give me a hug. I haven’t always been the biggest hugger, but I don’t mind it so much now.
“Ready to get your ass handed to you at the card game this week?” she asks, elbowing me in my ribs.
“No,” I say with a pout. Hedy said Melia could join our card game nights, and we all regret that decision. She’s a card shark and a half.
“I can’t help it that people keep losing bets around me,” she says, sending Oakley a shit-eating grin.
He flips her the bird. “Yes. Yes. I’m in love with Silas. You were right.” He smiles and grabs a five-dollar bill from his wallet, sliding it across the counter to her. “Did I ever thank you for nudging me in that direction?”
Melia cackles as she snatches the bill. “Told ya.”
My hand goes to my chest. “Wait. You had to be nudged?”
See? I can learn the value of well-placed sarcasm.
Oakley kisses my temple, and Melia’s grin practically blinds us. Having a sister isn’t half bad.
Thane comes in from outside, smelling of smoke. He greets me with a big smile and a large hand clamped on my shoulder.
“How do you like your steaks again? And please tell me you’re not ruining all of my hard work with a well-done steak.”
“I would never.” I thumb a gesture over at my beloved. “This one though…”
Thane shakes his head. “I wash my hands of the entire thing.”
Oakley wrinkles his nose. “I like my steak how I like my steak. Shut up.”
“You can eat your steak however you want to, babe,” I’m quick to say. “It’s okay if you’re wrong.”
Ronan chuckles as he walks into the kitchen. “Oakley still prefers his shoe leather, I take it.”
I give him a weary sigh. “You do everything you can to raise them right, but then…”
“…they go off and fall in love with a genetically modified man anyway.”
Oakley lifts a shoulder as Ro and I exchange a brief but meaningful hug.
Ant and Erik pull up to the front door, and they’ve brought company.
“Mama and Papa!” I say, throwing my arms open for Anja and Georg.
They smile so big when they see me, every time. I’ve always felt that they loved me, but there’s a bit more pride in their eyes these days. Anja gives me a big hug, and Georg goes in for the half hug. They look bright, the way kids do at Christmas.
Ronan gets all of us set up with glasses of wine, and we make our way out onto the deck, just in time for sunset. It’s a beautiful evening, and Thane’s steaks are delicious. Mama and Papa Bash are as inappropriate as ever. They haven’t come back from the bathroom, and it’s been a while.
Honestly, I hope Oakley and I are half as randy as they are when we’re their age.
Finally, the night sky comes out to play, bright stars scattered across the black expanse. Oakley takes my hand, and we walk over to the balcony, where we can see the moon reflected in the lake.
“It’s a pretty good night out here,” Oak says.
“A perfect night,” I say, humming. Happy.
“Yeah? You feeling good?” he asks, wrapping his long, strong arms around me.
I lean my head back against his shoulder. “I feel great.”
“That’s good because I’ve got a real important question to ask you.”
I look down, realizing he’s holding a little velvet box in his hand. Pulling me in close, he opens the box with his thumb, revealing a ring.
“Silas Hernandez, will you marry me?”
I turn in the circle of his arms and throw my arms around his neck. I can’t help the tears, and I don’t want to.
“I’m already going to love you for the rest of my life, might as well make it official.”
“That a yes?” he asks, his smile bright.
“That’s a hell yes,” I answer with my entire heart.
He grins and kisses me, then pulls back and slides the ring on my finger.
Oh wow. I’m gonna marry this man.
Suddenly, there’s all sorts of laughter, clapping, and whistling. Far too loud for our dinner party. I look around and realize we’ve suddenly been joined by…everyone. All the Wildlings, all the parents, all the aunts and uncles, all the people we call cousins and friends.
Even Uncle Eddie is standing there, clapping and smiling with everyone else, proud tears in his eyes. We keep our distance, but I touch my hand to my chest, sending him a brief bow.
This doesn’t happen without you.
The Wildlings push everyone aside and surround us, kissing our cheeks, grabbing my hand to look at the ring, eyes shining with happiness.
“You were always one of us,” Oakley says, kissing the side of my head.
Those words, from this man, make my heart want to burst.
“You look like you wanna kill something,” Hopper says, giving me the biggest hug.
“You know it!” I bounce on the balls of my feet. “Wanna come to the dungeon with me tonight? The passage from my dark room was finished a couple of days ago.”
“I’m there, my friend.”
Nothing pairs quite like murder and love.
Oakley looks between me and Hop with a knowing grin, then grabs me and dips me, low and dramatic, in front of all our loved ones. We kiss until we’re both smiling too broadly, too full of love to do anything but stare into each other’s eyes, knowing we’re looking into our futures.
This lifetime and the next.
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