Once, the sight of Bones clasping his former lover would have filled me with jealousy. Now, I only felt bad for Annette. She’d loved him since the two of them were human, and while Bones had great affection for her, he’d never felt the same way. I hoped one day, she’d find someone to love who’d love her back. Despite her flaws—and one very memorable incident the day we met—Annette had proved to be fiercely loyal. That’s why Bones trusted her with this, his greatest secret.

“You’ll make a wonderful father,” I heard her whisper when she let him go.

“He already has,” I said, smiling at Bones.

Then I embraced Annette, meaning it when I said, “We had a rocky start, but you turned out to be good people.”

Her snort was somehow ladylike. “What’s one attempt to kill each other between friends, right, darling?”

I laughed as I let her go. “My thoughts exactly.”

“Can we move this along?” a bored voice stated. “I have places to be and people to shag.”

“Ian, I’m not going to hug you,” I stated as I approached him. “I know you like this better.”

With that, I slapped him hard enough to rock his head to the side. When he’d straightened, he flashed me a wicked grin.

“Finally, you give me what I want. Knew you loved me, Reaper.”

“Oh, from the first,” I assured him, rolling my eyes.

Bones grabbed Ian, hugging him while the two exchanged man-slaps on the back.

“See you soon, cousin,” Bones stated when they were done.

“Indeed you will,” Ian replied, winking at me.

I got bear hugs from Juan, Dave, and Cooper next. Changing over had eradicated most of the damage Madigan had done, but Cooper would always look on the wiry side of thin instead of his normal, bulky build.

“I’ll miss you guys so much,” I told them. “Stay safe, will you?”

Cooper let out an amused grunt. “Bones is having Mencheres watch our backs while you’re gone, so how could we not?” Then his expression became serious. “I’ve been locked away learning how to control my hunger, so tell me one thing, Cat: Is he dead?”

“Yes,” I said steadily. “Madigan’s dead.”

I hadn’t been there to see it. Neither had Bones. Mencheres had executed our former nemesis, taking his head off with a burst of that incredible power. Madigan never knew what hit him, Don had said. One moment, he’d been babbling about crayon colors he liked; the next, he was no more.

The Madigan who’d destroyed so many lives didn’t deserve such an easy end, but all we’d had left was his shell. Making that shell pay for the other’s crimes didn’t seem fair. Granting the mercy of a quick, painless death did. Even the shell knew too much for Katie to be safe.