“This is déjà vu,” Marner said dryly.

I was on my couch instead of his, but he was tucking blankets around me and handing me my painkillers again. It was being hit by a car, the redux. Except this time, I was certain it was the end of all this nonsense. I was getting concerned with how unconcerned I was with facing death now. I had been scared, but mostly about my grandmother, not me.

“Yeah, but one, they caught the bad guy.” Daniel had been picked up almost immediately. “Two, I have you here to take care of me.”

“Bailey?” His look was earnest and I felt the pang of alarm.

Oh my God, he was going to break up with me. “Yes?” I suddenly felt more terrified then when Daniel Wozniak had a knife in my face. I realized that there was no doubt about it. I loved Jake. Like, a lot. The real love. The squishy “you complete me” love.

His rough hand cupped my cheek. “I love you.”

Relief washed over me, followed by instant happiness. My chest swelled with emotion. “I love you too.” I could have sworn in the background I actually heard violins and angels singing.

“Seriously?” he murmured.

I never heard Marner express doubt or vulnerability. That he looked genuinely in awe of my declaration made him approximately one thousand times more adorable than he already was, and he was right up there, let me tell you.

“Seriously. As serious as a heart attack.”

He gave a soft laugh. “No joking about that. With you, anything is possible.” He gave me a soft kiss. “I’m going to take care of you. It might be a full-time job, but I’m going to take care of you, Bailey Burke.”

“You already do.”

His dark eyes spoke to me even more than his words did.

When Tigger does his “bouncy, bouncy” dance in Winnie the Pooh? That’s how I felt then. Bouncy, bouncy.

“I wish we could cuddle,” he said.

“Me too.”

“I wish we could cuddle too,” Ryan said, walking into the living room.

I fell back against my pillow. “Ryan is here,” I told Marner.

He sighed. “Can you tell him his timing sucks?” Marner stood and waved vaguely to the air. “Hey, Conroy, what’s up?” Then he went into the kitchen. Probably to pour himself a drink.

“Your timing sucks,” I conveyed to Ryan. “And I know you did that on purpose.”

Ryan jumped up on the couch by my feet and bounced up and down. “Look, I’m in love. Let me jump on a couch like an idiot.”

“Ha. Ha.” He was just so hilarious. But I was in a great mood, so he wasn’t going to drag me down. “Did you need something or are you just here to be jealous?”

That made him snort. “Nope. I came to say goodbye.”

“What do you mean?” I struggled to sit up, feeling alarmed.

“I’m out. This is your last time hanging out with me. I’m going next level.” He pointed upward.

“Is this my fault? I didn’t smudge, I swear. I was going to skip that step.” I wasn’t sure I was ready for Ryan to go. I had gotten used to seeing him, intermittent though it was.

“What the hell are you talking about? No, I mean I got my papers. Heaven, baby. First class ticket.” He mimicked swinging a bat. “Score.”

For a second, I was flabbergasted. But then I realized this was a good thing. The best thing. “I’m happy for you, Ryan. That’s awesome. Why now, did they say?”

He sat back down onto the couch and gave me a grin. “Let’s just say that maybe my mission was never to find my killer. Maybe my mission was you.”

That made me frown. “What do you mean? There’s nothing wrong with me.”

“There was though. You weren’t looking so good when I came back around.”

There was truth to that, but I would have been fine, given time. Grief is a tricky little bitch. “I’m glad I had more time with you.”

“Ditto. And even though it makes me want to puke in my mouth, I’m glad you and Marner are, you know. Together.” He made a gesture that was not exactly warm and fuzzy.

I rolled my eyes. “Mature until the very end.” But I wasn’t annoyed, not really. I was sad. But a good sad. It was truly the end of our time together. Me, Ryan, and Marner. Now it would just be me and Marner. Life moving on. “But thanks, Ryan. It’s a good thing, me and Jake.”

He nodded, the grin sliding off his face. He cleared his throat. “Yeah.” He gave me a mock salute. “See you on the other side.”

I was about to reach out, say something, I don’t know what, but he was gone.

Jake came back and I was right—he had a glass of whiskey in his hand. “Everything okay?”

There was a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes, but I nodded. “Yeah. It’s okay.”

“Can I get you anything?” He came over and sat on the coffee table, watching me carefully.

I shook my head. “No. We’re good. Though I wouldn’t object to going to the pumpkin patch tomorrow. It’s almost Halloween.”

Life is short.

Take the trip.

Buy the shoes.

Eat the cake.

He smiled, the corner of his mouth turning up.

Love the cop.