He didn’t say anything at first. He rubbed Marna’s knee and thought.
“She knew something was coming. I don’t know how—intuition or something—but she made us separate. She kept hugging me and saying not to worry, she’d see me soon.”
He got choked up, and I felt my eyes burning all over again.
“So we separated. Then I got a text from Marna saying y’all were going to Vegas. That things were going down. I couldn’t get ahold of Patti, and I felt like I needed to be here, so I came. I’m sorry, Anna.”
I grabbed his hand. “You don’t need to be sorry.”
“I keep thinking if I didn’t leave her . . . if I made us stay together—”
“You wouldn’t have been able to stop them,” Kaidan said. “They would have killed you or tried to use you against Anna, as well. And if you’d been there, they would’ve seen your bond with Marna.”
Jay looked down and shook his head.
Marna put her arm around him and kissed his cheek. “I think it had to happen the way it did, luv.”
Her eyes darted to mine, a worried expression on her face about what she’d said. I nodded, because I no longer believed in coincidence.
Zania’s voice was soft when she said, “She is my hero.”
“Yes,” Ginger whispered.
I tucked my face in the crook of Kaidan’s neck, overcome.
“Hey, Kope,” said Blake. “What your dad did for you? That was awesome. You were gone, man.”
I lifted my eyes to see Kope incline his head.
“I cannot remember it. It was just . . . there was only pain and darkness, and then I was opening my eyes.”
Zania shifted next to him, as if the memory was too much. Kope laid his hand on top of hers. After another stretch of silence, Blake spoke again, relieving the room’s tension in the way only he could.
“So, how ’bout them exorcisms, Kaidan Rowe–style, eh?”
Kaidan huffed a laugh through his nose.
“Seriously, dude,” Blake went on. “When you hit Mammon in the eye . . . I was, like, dayum!”
The energy in the room rose.
“That was amazing,” Marna said.
“Good thinking with the holy water,” Kopano added.
“I wasn’t sure it would work,” Kaidan admitted. “Bloody good thing it did.”
We all angled toward one another, and for the next hour we talked about the events of the summit, rehashing every single detail, in awe at how things had turned out.
Caterina stayed put in her chair, trying to keep her head down, but periodically looking up with interest at something someone said before dropping her chin again. Ginger kept a close eye on her, seeming to study her and gauge her reactions and interests.
And then we began figuring out exactly which of the Dukes had chosen heaven. My father, Kopano’s father, and Jezebet. Melchom, Pharzuph, and Astaroth had not. It was a solemn conversation. No tears were shed. The twins and Zania had no sentimental attachments to their fathers, and were glad to see them go. Kaidan hadn’t said a word. I looked at him, but he kept his eyes averted.
“Your father showed interest in the beginning,” I said to Blake. “I was hopeful.”
“Yeah.” He shook his head. “If it was just a choice between going to heaven or hell, I think he would have chosen heaven. But choosing between heaven and earth, he’d definitely wanna stay here. He thought they could stop the prophecy and stay on earth. Bad move.”
I knew it bothered him, just like it bothered Kai. Kaidan leaned his head into my hand. His chest swelled and fell with a silent sigh.
“So, what’s everyone gonna do now?” asked Jay.
Kaidan spoke up right away. “I know the first thing I’m going to do.”
Surprised and curious, I leaned to the side so I could see his face better.
“I’m making an anonymous call to the police about Marissa and her trafficking ring.”
“Yes!” I said. I threw my arms around him. Those words made me fall a million times more in love with him. He could bust the madam now with no fear of having it traced back to him.
“Nice,” said Jay. “How ’bout you, Anna?”
Kaidan squeezed my hip. “Anna’s a uni girl now.”
I shook my head. “I’m already missing class by being here, and after all this, I think I need to take the semester off. I don’t really care where I go to school. If you want to stay in L.A.,” I said to Kaidan, “I’ll transfer to a school out there.”
He looked at me, his eyes all melty. “That’d be nice.”
I smiled. It’d be very nice.
“And what about you, Jay?” Kai asked him. “I could hook you up with some people in the recording business or radio shows in L.A. Maybe we could write more music together.”
“For real?” Jay’s aura lit up like an orange firework, and we all laughed. “Dude. I’m there! What do you think, Marna? Wanna live in L.A.?”
“Sounds brilliant to me,” she said. “As long and Blake and Ginger stay in California . . . at least until . . . you know, after the baby.”
The mood of the room sank again. Ginger took her sister’s hand and looked her in the eye.