She nodded. “That’s what we do.”

“Sandy?” Ricky said brokenly. He turned to Kelsey. “Sandy?”

“Yes. I’m sorry, Ricky.”

There were tears in his eyes. Ricky had really cared about Sandy. But then so had she, Kelsey thought. Sandy had been her friend, her childhood companion, a woman she’d loved. A woman she hadn’t actually known. Whose depths of evil—there was no other word—she hadn’t understood. The grief she felt now was for the Sandy who had never truly existed… .

Bernie Firestone was waving his hands in the air. “What the hell is it with all the birds?” he muttered. “Shoo, shoo…let’s get them out of here!”

“I rather like birds,” Logan said. “In fact, I’m very fond of them!”

Epilogue

Kelsey left the Longhorn, aware that Rose Langley was at her side. She smiled to herself as she walked.

They reached the Alamo plaza, and she saw Logan immediately—just as she saw Zachary Chase.

Both men stood as they approached. Kelsey nodded at Logan, but then gave her attention to Zachary and Rose.

At first, they simply stared at each other. Zachary took off his hat, and worked the brim anxiously between his fingers as he watched Rose, adoration in his eyes. Rose hesitated.

“Come on, he’s waiting for you,” Kelsey whispered.

“It’s been so long, and…I don’t know how he ever loved me,” Rose said.

“Because your soul is beautiful,” Kelsey told her. “Rose, you forgot how worthy you were of love. How worthy you are. Go to Zachary now. Go to him. He still loves you.”

Rose stepped ahead of her, until she stood in front of Zachary Chase. He took her hands and gazed down into her eyes. His voice was choked as he said, “Rose.”

She stroked his cheek. “Zachary.”

“Oh, Rose!”

Neither of them noticed as Kelsey joined Logan. Still gazing at each other, Rose and Zachary turned and walked toward the Alamo.

“Have they gone off into the light, do you think?” Kelsey asked.

“Maybe, and maybe they’ll stay around for a while.” He glanced down at her. “Rose was very happy, you know. You found her grave, and the diamond, and you saw that she was given a fine funeral and buried next to Zachary. It was really lovely.”

“It was, wasn’t it? And Kat was so respectful when she opened the box of Rose’s bones and took out the diamond. It’ll do wonders for the children in Haiti.”

They’d all had quite a discussion about the diamond. At first they’d thought they should leave it with Rose, but then decided there might be other fortune hunters who’d kill for the stone. So they’d decided it had to come out, and that it needed to go to a good cause. They’d all agreed it should be donated to a charity.

“Sierra has moved on,” Kelsey said. “She said goodbye to me that night, and she smiled, and I think I saw her wave. Then she was gone.”

Logan looked in the direction of Zachary and Rose. “That’s good,” he said. “Zachary and Rose, they might stay on for a bit. They’ve just found each other after a very long time. I don’t have all the answers.” He smiled at her. “Neither of us does.”

“But we have some of them,” she said.

He nodded, still smiling. “Yes, we have some of them. And by the way, ma’am, there’s far more to San Antonio than you’ve seen so far. I thought we could do a little sightseeing here, and then you could show me around Key West.”

“Oh?”

“We’ll have to head to Virginia for some training soon, and exchange our old badges for new ones. But I figured that since we’ll have a few days—now that it’s settled and the second Krewe will be Sean, Kat, Tyler, Jane and the two of us—we should enjoy some time in the sun, near the sea… . I want to go to Key West and see your home. What do you think?”

They were professionals, of course, and they always acted like professionals. They were standing in front of the Alamo, one of the most sacred shrines in the country. But she had a feeling that all the ghosts of the Alamo and every one of her professional associates would approve.

She stepped closer and rose on tiptoe and kissed him.

“Sounds like a plan,” she said lightly. “And I can’t begin to tell you how many truly beautiful birds we have in the Keys.”

“I do love birds,” he told her, and hand in hand, much like Rose and Zachary before them, they ambled along the plaza, eyes only for each other.