by Leigh Walker
The general nodded. “I understand.”
“You’ll do it, then? All of it?”
The older man sighed. “I don’t know if we can sever the connection to your monitors completely. No one on the team’s figured out how to shut it down yet. But I’m willing to release you now, if you’re ready to go.”
Finn nodded. “We are, sir.”
“Are my mother and Finn’s sister really better?” That’s what they’d told us, but I needed to hear it again.
“They were both administered the antidote and are expected to make a full recovery,” the general said. “You have my word.”
“Thank you, and thank you for sending for our families. I thought we were going to have to beg. Or fight some more.”
The general smiled briefly. “Not everyone in the upper echelons of our government is the bad guy, soldier. Some of us got into this for the right reasons, and we’ve never wavered.”
Finn reached for my hand. “I know that, sir. But forgive me if recent events have made it harder to hope for the best. I’ve gotten used to expecting the worst.”
The general reached out to shake Finn’s hand, then mine. “You’ve both served your country. I’m forever grateful. I hope our paths cross again, someday.”
Finn smiled tightly. “Unless you’re planning a vacation, that probably won’t happen.”
“Well I just might, soldier. I just might.”
25
Lost…And Found
Everyone filed into the small passenger area of the plane and secured their seat belts.
Cranston glared at the cockpit. “Does he actually know what the hell he’s doing?”
“I just flew a frickin’ helicopter—I’m pretty sure I can figure it out!” Finn barked from the front. “And besides, I’m only the co-pilot. Travis has this locked up.”
Travis, the paramedic-pilot who’d saved Finn and Emma, poked his head out of the cockpit and waved.
“And Trey can help them. He was working on getting his private pilot’s license before the world ended.” Nicole smiled at Cranston, trying to calm him. “I’m sure everything’s going to be just fine.”
“So Trey’s talented, not just gorgeous?” Emma sighed, pushing her bangs to the side with obvious annoyance.
Nicole laughed. “Yes, and don’t forget, we’re picking up his parents and his grandmother on the way because he takes care of them.”
“So he’s got a heart of gold, too.” Emma scowled. “A trifecta of perfection.”
Nicole nudged her, grinning. “Don’t be sour. Maybe there’s a hot surfer in your future.”
Emma’s face softened. “A girl can always hope.”
“Everybody buckle up!” Finn hollered.
Maya climbed in next to me. Kyan and Micah sat in front of us. Cranston sat by himself in the back. My mother, Tess, and Finn’s mother were in the row in front of him, along with Beth, Ed and Jennifer. My mother and Tess had made quick, full recoveries. My mom kept crying and hugging me, so I’d sat a few rows away from her. Since it appeared that we were going to live, I had the luxury of being vaguely annoyed by her sappiness.
Still, I turned back and caught her eye. Love you, Mom, I mouthed.
She put her hand over her heart. I love you too, honey.
The rest of our family members filled the next few rows. They all laughed and talked. Having spent the last few months locked up together, they’d bonded.
I had a weird feeling just then. Déjà vu. This was what it felt like to have a family. In my heart, I knew that Dad and Katie were here, too.
Nicole and Emma were on my right. Two rows ahead, Josh and Rachel sat together, their hands entwined. On the other side of the row, Morgan and Dave happily chatted, and Kyan made a muscle as he looked hopefully in Emma’s direction. “Since you’re whining about being single, I just want you to know I’m still available.”
“I am literally nauseous right now.” Emma made a choking noise. “Please stop.”
Kyan flopped his bangs over to the side, just the way he liked it. “You’ll come around. Once we’re on a deserted island for a few weeks, and this skin gets all bronze and glisteny, I predict all sorts of romantic connections in your future, and I’m not even psychic. Just confident.” He winked at her. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Emma grabbed one of the barf bags and opened it. She glared at Kyan. “Please don’t say ‘glisteny’ or ‘romantic’ in my presence. Ever. Again.”
I couldn’t help it—I giggled behind her.
She looked back at me. “You’re seriously the worst best friend ever.”
Maya winked at her. “You are going to be seeing a lot of him in that tank top. You might as well stop fighting it now.” She dissolved into a fit of silent laughter, punctuated by snorts.
Emma muttered something under her breath, which sounded suspiciously like “tweedle-douche” and “tweedle-doucher.”
Travis and Finn finalized the flight arrangements. They sent Trey out to make the safety announcement, walking us through where the flotation devices and the emergency exits were. He showed us how to fasten the oxygen masks over our faces.
Nicole watched him, a dreamy expression on her face. “Is anyone here a justice of the peace?”
“I am,” Kyan’s dad piped up from the back.
“Good.” Nicole’s eyes never left Trey’s face. “Because I am going to marry that man once we get to the island.”
“Aw,” we all said.
Emma said nothing. She just rolled her eyes and clutched her barf bag.
We prepared for the flight. And then we took off, one big, happy family.
We stopped in California to pick up Trey’s family and refuel. Then we took off again, a few short hours from our destination.
A hush settled over the seats as the minutes ticked past. Finally, we descended enough to see the ocean. And then we saw the islands.
Oh, the glorious islands!
Micah leaned over, looking out the window at the big island below. Our destination was Hawaii, just like Finn had promised.
Kyan furrowed his brow as the plane dropped lower. “Did any of you ever see Lost?” he asked innocently.
Rachel huffed. “Shut it, Kyan!”
Cranston mumbled something from the back. It sounded suspiciously like “asshat.”
“I heard that,” Kyan said. But still, he couldn’t stop laughing.
Later that night, I sat up straight on my bed. “Wait! What’s that?”
Finn squinted one eye open at me. “What’s the matter, babe?”
I scrubbed my hands across my face. “I guess I was just dreaming.”
He put his arm around me and kissed my shoulder. “What was the dream?”
“I had a dream we lived happily ever after.” I laughed and snuggled back against him.
Then I sat straight up again. “But wait a minute—we made it. We’re in Hawaii. We’re free. This is happily ever after. Maybe I am psychic, after all.”
“Maybe you should go to sleep.” But Finn chuckled. “You are talented. I’ll give you that.”
“I know.” The grin didn’t leave my face. “And thank you.”
“I still can’t believe you literally flew us to Hawaii.” I traced a pattern in the sand with my toe. “We’re in Hawaii. You made it happen.”
“We made it happen. And yeah, it’s pretty awesome. Nice choice to top your bucket list, Hanover.” Finn looked out at the waves, which were a blue-green I’d never seen before.
I didn’t even miss New Hampshire anymore. And I loved New Hampshire.
“Do you think…” I’d been too scared to voice my concerns, afraid to jinx what looked like our first stroke of good luck. “Do you think they’ll really let us stay?” I rubbed the back of my neck.
“You can keep us safe from them if they don’t.” Finn reached for my hand and laced his fingers through mine. “You’re strong, Riley. Seriously strong. If you need to run interference for all of us, I know you could do it
.”
“I guess the trick is to not get too comfortable. We have to keep training to stay sharp.”
He nodded, his handsome face turned toward the ocean. “We’ve got plenty of time for that.”
“Right. We do.” We had a year’s supply of food from the government, but we would have to start hunting and fishing. We’d chosen a remote part of the island. No one else lived within miles of us, and there were no stores or other infrastructures. We wanted it that way.
We wanted to start over, just like the rest of the world.
“You know,” Finn said, tugging on my hand. “Nicole and Trey are making it official tomorrow.”
I looked at him as if he were crazy. “Uh, of course I know. That’s all everyone’s been talking about for weeks!”
They had decided to wait until we got settled. They’d planned a proper wedding on the beach, complete with Trey’s suit that Nicole had given him years ago—his mother had packed it for him. Nicole had a white sundress that showed off her killer curves and muscles. We’d been picking flowers and making centerpieces and bouquets all week. Nicole was so excited, it was infectious.
I grinned at Finn. “It’s so wonderful. I can’t believe they get a fairytale ending.”
He tugged on my hand. “Speaking of fairytale endings…” He pulled me closer and leaned down. His eyes sparkled in the sunlight.
“You’re making me dizzy.”
He smiled, his dimples at full wattage.
“Do you want me to pass out?”
But he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. “I was thinking. Since Kyan’s dad is a JP…”
I cleared my throat, which turned into a cough, which turned into spluttering and hacking as tears leaked out of my eyes.
“Yes?” I asked when I finally calmed down. My voice came out tiny.
He kissed my knuckles, and my heart did a double-somersault. “I was thinking that we could make it official. Someday. Like, when we’re older.”
“You mean, make our genetic predisposition toward each other officially official?”
He smiled at me, and I saw that he was nervous. My own nerves dissipated. I reached up and kissed him gently on the lips. “I’d be honored. And if you wanted, we could discuss Goldendoodles. I would totally want to have Goldendoodles with you. When we’re older, though. Being a teen bride is so MTV’s 16 and Pregnant.”
“Right?” he said. “I would never ask you to do that.”
“Never, as in never ever?”
He rested his forehead against mine. “Never ever, babe.”
Maybe I was psychic. This was my happily ever after. And I knew with my whole heart, mind, body, and soul—the pieces of me that made me me, and weren’t possible to genetically engineer—that I loved him. Forever.
Afterword
Thank you so much for reading this book! It means everything to me! I hope you enjoyed it. I love these characters so much—I hope you do, too.
If you enjoyed DIVINATION, please consider leaving a review here: Amazon-DIVINATION. Short or long, reviews help other readers find books they’ll enjoy. Even a few short words saying you liked reading the book help. Thank you for considering it!
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Thank you again. It is THRILLING for me to have you read my book.
xxoo
Leigh Walker
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my readers for joining me and for loving The Division! Your support means everything. This series was so much fun for me to write. I love these characters. I love their friendship, I love their loyalty, I love their talents. I am rooting for them, always.
I should also thank the music artist Sia, who has no idea I exist, but whose song “Elastic Heart” I played on repeat fifty bajillion times while I wrote this entire series. Thank you, Sia! :) Oh, and I must thank the website WebMD. I’m always googling the effects of what I do to my poor characters and reading symptoms on that website! They probably have me listed as a hypochondriac or someone to put on a government watch list because I look up things like “central nervous system shutdown” and “bullet wound aftercare” on an alarmingly regular basis. I hope they can reverse-look me up sometime and see I’m a writer/sports-mom, at home in my sweats, dreaming up stories and wrangling my over-active imagination!
I always need to thank my husband and my boys. Love you guys! Thanks for putting up with me, my blank stares, and my crazy ideas. Love, love, love you!
Thanks to my mom, who always fiercely supports and helps me. She is my rock. Love you, Mom!
And finally, thank you to the characters in this book, especially Riley and Finn, who showed up in my imagination one day and have kept me company ever since. Love, love, love you. You will always have a special place in my heart. Thank you for everything.
About the Author
Leigh Walker lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three adorable, brilliant, talented children, who play almost every sport on the planet and only help clean the house when direct threats are issued.
In her pre-author life, Leigh had many different jobs. She worked in advertising at Boston Magazine and was a copy editor at Chadwick’s, a women’s fashion catalog. She was also a barback, waitress, barista, receptionist, and lawyer. She loves being a full-time writer and sports-mom best.
Outside of writing and family, her priorities include kindness, maintaining a sense of humor, caffeine, chocolate, Grey's Anatomy, Jessica Jones, and Chris Rock: Tamborine.
She loves to hear from readers! Email her at [email protected], and sign up for her mailing list at www.leighwalkerbooks.com.
www.leighwalkerbooks.com
[email protected]
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
If You Enjoyed This Book, You Might Like:
If you enjoy The Division, you might also like my other series, Vampire Royals!
Here’s a sneak peek of the first three chapters of Vampire Royals 1: The Pageant. I like to think of it as The Selection meets Twilight—a gripping vampire romance. Enjoy!
The Fifth Wedding
“You’re not supposed to dress like that at a wedding.” Lyra looked at me in disapproval. “All your pieces and bits are hanging out. You’re supposed to be here in support of our friend.”
I leaned toward Lyra. “My mother made me wear this,” I whispered. I adjusted the bodice of my tight-fitting gown, but nothing could stop me from spilling out of it. “She thinks they’re watching us and every public outing is an opportunity to win points.”
Lyra rolled her eyes. “Your mother is disgusting. I can’t believe she wants you to enter that thing and marry that filthy beast!”
I sighed. “She’s ambitious. She also doesn’t like starving.”
“Who does? Just pull that thing up, Gwyn.”
I grimaced and pulled the dress up. Lyra had a point. The female guests around me were covered from their necks to their wrists. This was the fifth wedding I’d attended in as many weeks. I should have known better.
I did know better, and so did my mother. But she wanted me to get invited to the Pageant, and I didn’t want her and my younger siblings to die of malnutrition.
I shivered, cutting off the thought, and turned my gaze toward the front of the old-fashioned church. It was one of the few that remained from before the Great War. The stained glass above the pulpit was miraculously intact. The late-afternoon sun splashed through, splaying multicolored lights across the gleaming wooden floor.
The groom, adolescent acne flaring across his cheeks, nervously adjusted his suit as the music began to play.
Tavi, my friend since childhood, took her first halting steps down the aisle. She looked beautiful in her white lace dress, but her skin was pale, and her eyes were wild beneath her veil. Her hand shook, and her father grasped it, urging her forward.
Tavi barely knew her fiancé. She’d firs
t met him three weeks ago.
Lyra frowned then crossed herself. “Here we go again.”
“How was the ceremony?” My mother poured a thin soup into my bowl.
I scowled at the watery broth. One lone carrot sank hopelessly to the bottom. “Awkward. Tavi looked petrified.”
My mother snorted then remembered herself. She smoothed her complexion into its usual mask of attractive superiority. “Tavi should be petrified. That boy is a bony disaster. Her parents spent every last dime on that stupid wedding, as if it’s going to help anything. The only thing that boy will give her is a baby they won’t be able to feed.”
“It might be better than the alternative.”
Mom scoffed. “Really, Gwyneth? Being a princess is a worse fate?”
I put down my spoon. “You’ve seen the prince, right? And heard all the stories about him and his family?” It was a rhetorical question. My mother knew all about how King and Queen Black, together with their one son, had come down from the North to “save” the settlements. The tale had been shoved down our throats every day since they’d conquered us.
My older brother, Balkyn, and my father had never come back from the Great War. And still, my mother was oh-so-eager to marry me off to the prince. Ridiculous.
“Mommy!” my younger sister, Winifred, screeched from the living room. “It’s on. Come quick!”
I groaned and followed my mother to the television. It was the only electronic device that still worked, and that was because the government wanted it that way.
Winifred and my younger brother, Remy, were seated next to each other on the love seat. I ruffled Remy’s hair as he clutched his blanket, his wide eyes fixed on the screen.
