Ripper caught my face in his hands and tilted it up to meet his. “I love you, Mackenzie Dunwitty. You’re mine and I’m yours, and I swear to God that nothing this fucked-up world throws at us will ever keep us apart again.”
And Ripper always keeps his promises. I heard my dead cousin’s voice in my head and could almost sense him smiling at us from the great beyond.
I nodded, too overcome to speak.
What was that Bible verse that Pastor Derek had quoted? Weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning.
Not exactly in my case. My morning—spent preparing for a wedding to a man I despised—had absolutely sucked. I couldn’t have imagined then that my future held any prospect for joy. Yet despite the bloody mayhem of the past few minutes, safe in the arms of the outlaw biker who’d just told me that he loved me, happiness once again took root in my heart.
Joy comes in the late afternoon. It didn’t have quite the ring of the Bible verse, but it would do.
Ripper kept his arms around my waist when I turned around to look at Kyle, Sahdev, and Levi. I smiled at them, my heart brimming over with that once-elusive joy.
“I’m glad to see you in the land of the living, Kenz.” Kyle grinned.
I nodded. “Me, too. I missed you all so much. Where’s Hector?”
“He’s with Hannah,” Sahdev said. “It’s good to see you, Kenzie.”
“What happens now?” Ripper asked Pastor Derek.
“Now we pick up the pieces and help these people heal from the damage caused by Bill and his henchmen.”
Pastor Derek turned to face the congregation.
“In the book of Matthew, we’re told, ‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.’”
He glanced pointedly over his shoulder at the bodies of Bill, Morris, and Gary. “You were deceived by a false prophet, a man who perverted God’s word to manipulate you and achieve his own ends. And just what did he achieve? What were the fruits of his labors? Fire and flood. The deaths of countless innocent people.”
“We didn’t know.” Ruth rose to her feet. “We had no idea about the bombs or the fires. We didn’t know you were being held prisoner in the basement. He didn’t tell us anything about that.”
Pastor Derek nodded. “Maybe not, but you all saw him parade his Eves through the camp. You all saw a petty tyrant indulge his carnal desires at the expense of unwilling young women. Did you honestly think those were the actions of a godly man?”
“He told us we were building a new Eden, and that we had to repopulate the world with righteous people,” Ruth argued. “We didn’t know they were unwilling.”
Around her, people bobbed their heads in agreement.
“Maybe you had blinders on. Maybe you chose not to see. Whatever the reason, now that the blinders are off and Pastor Bill’s been exposed as a murderer and false prophet, we all have to ask ourselves what Ripper just asked me. What happens now?”
“We’ve all lost people,” Nicole spoke up. “I was desperate to believe that there was a reason for it all. That God had a plan that would make the suffering worthwhile. Pastor Bill seemed so certain... It was easy to get swept up and to look the other way when things didn’t jibe with what I knew was right.”
“I understand,” Pastor Derek said. “But the question remains: What happens now?”
Rebecca stood and wiped Bill’s blood on her skirt. “Let me tell you what happens now. I don’t want to have anything to do with this place without Bill. I’m out of here.”
Nobody said a word as the former first Eve made her way toward the chapel door.
“I want to stay here,” Ruth said.
“Me, too,” a man called.
“I don’t want to be alone again,” Nicole said. “I think we can rebuild on what we have here, but do it right this time.”
“Looks like we can leave them to work out the details,” Ripper whispered in my ear. “I wanna put this place behind us.”
“Yes, please.”
Ripper strode up to Pastor Derek and extended his hand. “We’re gonna be on our way. Best of luck to you. I hope you can turn the place around.”
“With God’s help, we will. If you’re ever in these parts again, I hope you’ll stop by and see how we’re doing.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks for the pep talk when we were locked up.” I offered the pastor my hand. “It helped.”
His teeth flashed white when he smiled and squeezed my hand. “I’m glad things worked out for you.”
“You told me to have faith, but I never saw my happy ending coming. I’m so lucky.” I glanced at Justine, who was still rocking back and forth in Nicole’s arms. “You’ll take care of Justine, won’t you? I mean, she shot Gary, but under the circumstances...”
“I can’t imagine that Justine poses a threat to anybody else. Nicole and I will keep an eye on her.”
“Good.”
Nicole extricated herself from Justine’s arms and hurried up to us.
“I lost myself for a while.” Tears filled her blue eyes as she looked up at her dead husband’s friend. “I’m sorry, Ripper.”
“Hey.” He touched her cheek. “You’re only human. Maybe you got lost, but you found your way back. If you hadn’t helped Hannah escape, I wouldn’t have known to stop the wedding. We’re good, sweetheart.”
She threw herself into his arms, and he hugged her tight. “Thanks, Ripper.”
“Would you like to come with us?” I asked. Kyle was the last link to my past. It might be good for both Ripper and Nicole to keep alive a connection to their old lives, a bond with a friend who remembered who they were before the pandemic.
“No.” She wiped at her eyes, then glanced at Derek. “I think I can make a place for myself here. Do some good.”
Ripper kissed her forehead. “All right. We might just stop by and check on you all someday.”
“I’d like that...oh...and Ripper, since I’ll be staying at the camp, if there’s anything you want at the cabin, take it. In fact, take my car. I don’t think I’ll ever want to drive the car I used to carry my boys around in.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“All right. Thanks. Hannah and Levi will need a vehicle.”
I took both her hands in mine.
“Bye, Nicole. When it counted, you saved the day. I hope you remember that.”
Nicole looked alive again, her eyes bright and alert, and her cheeks touched with color.
“Bye, Kenzie. Be happy.”
I ran toward the door and threw my arms around Kyle.
“Never again.” He hugged me back and whispered in my ear “My heart can’t take it, Kenz.”
“Mine, either.”
I turned toward Sahdev, uncertain whether I should offer him a hug. He smiled, opened his arms, and I stepped in.
“Were you hurt?” He pulled back to scan my neck.
“Nope. This ugly collar was good for something.”
Over Sahdev’s shoulder, I met the eyes of the grinning teenage boy who had captured Hannah’s heart.