Epilogue

The red-haired woman stood in an observation room, watching the young man on the other side of the glass take tentative steps in the walker with the help of a broad-shouldered therapist. The patient walked toward a short woman in an immaculately styled red dress. Her chin, like his, was set at a stubborn angle.

He finished five steps and was breathing heavily with the effort. "I feel like a fucking old man."

"Language, nene. Just a few more please," the mother said. "A few more steps, and then we'll stretch."

The physical therapist was standing by the young man and adjusting his grip. "Let's go, Dani. You want to get back on that soccer field or what?"

"Fuck you, Greg." The young man huffed out as he took another step. "I told you it's called football."

"Dani, language!"

The physical therapist laughed. "It's cool, Miss Isabel. You know I like that attitude."

The young man's skin was still wan and he'd lost weight, but Daniel Uriarte was clearly a fighter. She could smell the chemicals around her, the scents of chemical cleaners, the pervasive smell of sickness.

"He's working very hard." The man next to the red-haired woman spoke. "We expect a full recovery."

Natalie turned to Daniel's father. "That's wonderful to hear. When do you leave for Mexico City?"

"Next week," he said. "The doctors say he's stable enough for air travel. He hasn't needed oxygen for over a week now, and his ribs are completely healed."

"I'm so glad."

"Miss Ellis—"

"Call me Natalie."

"I spoke to my wife after your cousin came to visit." Pablo Uriarte was clearly conflicted. "Please know that Isabel was not her usual self after Daniel went missing. She wasn't thinking clearly, and she needed a target for that anger."

Natalie's eyebrows went up. "So she decided the right target for that anger was a traumatized young woman who'd escaped from her captors less than twenty-four hours before and had been tricked into thinking her boyfriend was dead?"

He looked suitably ashamed. "How is your cousin?"

Natalie took her time to respond because there was no easy answer. "Being kidnapped was…" She pressed her lips together. "Let's just say she'll never be the same. Like Dani."

"I am thinking about my son. I know this young woman risked her life to get them away from that farm, that she is the only reason he's still alive, according to the doctors who examined his shoulder. He asks about her all the time. If you could just give me a contact number for Summer—"

"That's really not a good idea right now." She softened her voice. "You're thinking about your son, but I have to think about my cousin."

Pablo Uriarte clearly wasn't a man accustomed to hearing the word no. "All I'm asking for is a number. Surely she doesn't blame Daniel for his mother's—"

"It has nothing to do with Dani. Please know that. Summer loves him…" Natalie took a deep breath. "Summer loves him very much. But she's going through a lot right now. Her life has completely changed, and she's had to drop out of school. She needs time to heal."

Pablo nodded. "I do understand, but Miss Ellis—"

"Please call me Natalie."

"Dani has tried to call her so many times, but it only goes to voice mail. I think it would be good for them to talk, don't you? For both of them?"

Natalie looked at the young man who was barely recognizable from the pictures Summer had shown her. Daniel was intent on his feet, taking one step in front of the other, probably weaker than he'd ever felt in his life.

There was no way of knowing how he would react to Summer's choice.

"Maybe after a while." She held out her hand. "Thank you for letting me see him. Summer wanted to be sure he was recovering before she left."

"We'd like the same assurances for Daniel. He would like to speak to her, even if it's just on the phone."

"I'm sorry; as I said, it's not a good idea right now." She glanced at Daniel one more time. "Maybe after she's had some time."

"If you won't give me Summer's number, will you at least give me yours? That way we have a way to contact you when we're back home."

Natalie offered the man a smile as she walked toward the door. "You don't know much about Summer's family, do you?" She paused at the door. "Don't worry. When she's ready, Summer will find you."

"Do I have your word on that, Miss Ellis?"

Natalie took a deep breath. "No. If you knew Summer, you'd know that no one makes her decisions for her. If and when she's ready, she'll call you."

Natalie opened the door behind the driver and slid inside the sedan. Summer and Raven were waiting for her.

"How is he?"

"Walking now," Natalie said. "According to the nurses, he's making slow but very steady progress."

"But did you see him?"

"Yes. He's clearly still weak and he has to use a walker, but I can tell he's getting better. They're going back to Mexico City next week."

Summer stared straight ahead and nodded woodenly. "You talked to his parents?"

"His father." Natalie tapped on the driver's window, and the car started slowly inching its way through the hospital parking lot. "I think Dani's father knows that his mom was out of line, but I don't think he knows exactly what she said."

"You didn't tell him, did you?"

"Of course not, Summer." Natalie reached for her hand. "He asked to see you, but I told him you needed time to heal too."

Summer tried not to think about the year ahead. She'd be going to one of Katya's homes in the Cascades, completely isolated from humans. Even their driver that day was a vampire, which was why none of the electric locks or windows worked. Raven had offered to come with her for moral support and also to keep her from breaking out of the car if they passed a particularly tasty-smelling human while they were stopped at a red light.

This was her life now.

The wound around Raven's neck was only a thin, wine-colored line now, and seeing it was one of the few things that kept Summer from walking straight into the sun most mornings.

She could still do something with her life. She could still have a purpose.

And eventually her father would start speaking to her again.

Eventually.

"Did you talk to your grandpa last night?"

"Yeah. Mom too." Summer blinked hard. "They're cool. It was good to see them. Mom was kind of emotional."

"Not your grandfather?"

Summer shook her head. "He was really… I don't know. Just kind of matter-of-fact. Like he wanted to say stuff, but he didn't want to start a fight or anything, you know?"

"Yeah, I know that kind." Natalie winked at her. "I'm married to that kind."

"Right." Summer was drawn to Baojia, and maybe that was why. His personality did remind her of her steady grandfather, not her hot-blooded father.

"Your dad will get over it." Raven reached over and patted Summer's hand. "And hey. Remember, you have your family. Some new vampires aren't so lucky."

"Yeah." She squeezed Raven's hand. "I know. Thanks for the reminder though. Keep reminding me when I'm being an asshole, okay?"

Raven smiled. "Done."

Summer kept her eyes on the hospital as the driver pulled away, feeling as if her heart were stretching thinner and thinner every second they drove away.

Her skin ached. Her body ached. Her throat ached.

She wanted Dani, and she couldn't have him. Maybe she never would again.

"He asks about you every day," Natalie said softly. "That's what his dad said. He asks about you every day."

Summer blinked hard, but she couldn't speak past the pain in her throat.

"I'm just saying," Natalie said, "when you fall in love with someone, sometimes it doesn't matter much if they have fangs."

Maybe someday…?

Someday.

I promise…

I'll see you again, Dani. I promise.

Summer made up her mind then and there. Her life was going to be long, and she was going to live it to the fullest. After all, that was what Ivan had tried to steal from her: her life, her future, and her joy.

Forget that, Summer decided. And forget them. She was going to learn to love her life and her future again. She was going to love again, if for no other reason than out of pure spite.

She'd survive. She'd thrive. And somehow she'd be happy.

It was another promise, but this one was to herself.