Beware of Mr. Chu, the Voice commanded like a foghorn booming inside my head. And maybe Brigid.
Maybe? I asked the Voice, incredulous. I would say, definitely.
Wouldn't you?
Epilogue
JUST LIKE HEAVEN
THE WIND SWEPT through my hair, and I closed my eyes, coasting on a thermal current, feeling the sun warming my face and my feathers.
Fang was above me, moving his wings in perfect unison with mine. We were holding hands: his was reaching down, and mine was reaching up.
Most of the flock was swimming in the ocean below us, in the shallow bay off the coast of Oahu. Some dolphins had joined them, no doubt lured by Angel. I could hear the flock's laughter, hear the cheerful chirping of the dolphins as they leaped out of the water.
"I'm glad Mom and Ella are home again safe. And I guess Jeb is—somewhere else." I didn't know whether Jeb was evil or not. He was totally confusing. Maybe I would never know.
"And I hear Total's off planning his and Akila's upcoming wedding," Fang added with a slight grin. "Guess what? You're maid of honor. Can't wait to see you in a poufy dress."
I ignored the jab. "Here's a more interesting piece of information: Brigid's at a news conference," I said. "I confronted her after I spotted her earlier. She said she was going to expose Mr. Chu."
"We'll see," said Fang, sounding somewhat disinterested, to my surprise and delight. "I guess we're finally alone"—a tiny smile curved his lips—"for the immediate future."
"Huh," I said, my heart kicking into high gear. "Huh. That's… nice."
Very, very carefully, Fang lowered himself even closer to me. I could almost feel his breath in my ear. We'd never flown this close to each other before. A delicate electric quiver ran down my spine.
Below us, a small golden head bobbed up and down in the water. I loved seeing Angel so happy, so carefree, not doing anything particularly evil at the moment.
"She really is special, isn't she?" I mused.
"Yes," he said. Fang switched hands, and I shook mine, trying to get some blood back into it.
"Maybe she really is the key to everything," I said, "whatever everything is. She keeps saying it's all about her. Maybe it really is."
"Max." Fang let go of my hand. "Right now, it's really all about—us."
He swooped down to the right in a big semicircle, ending facing me. Slowly we climbed upward, until we were almost vertical, flying straight up to the sun.
While carefully synchronizing our wings—they almost touched—Fang leaned in, gently put one hand behind my neck, and kissed me. It was just about as close to heaven as I'll ever get, I guess. I closed my eyes, lost in the feeling of flying and kissing and being with the one person in the world I completely, utterly trusted.
When we finally broke apart, we looked down at the others, who were way far below us now. Angel was shading her eyes, looking up at us with a big smile. She was sitting on a dolphin's back, and I hoped soon someone would explain to the dolphin that he shouldn't let Angel take advantage of his good nature.
Still looking up at us, Angel gave us a big thumbs-up.
"She approves," Fang said with a hint of amusement.
"Jeez," I wondered aloud. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
About the Author
After initially being turned down by twenty-six publishers, Patterson's first novel, The Thomas Berryman Number (1976), was published and went on to win the Edgar Award for Best First Mystery Novel. However, it was not until the success of Along Came A Spider (1992) that the former chairman of advertising company J. W. Thompson left to take up writing full time.
As of 2006 it is estimated that he has sold about 130 million books worldwide. In North America alone he sold 12 million copies in 2006. In 2005 he had five consecutive #1 New York Times bestselling hardcovers and is the first author to simultaneously hold the #1 spot on both the New York Times adult and children's bestseller lists.
A prolific author, he has written 14 books in his Alex Cross series (including Cross Country, 2008), seven books in the Women's Murder Club series (including 7th Heaven, 2008), four in the Maximum Ride series (including Final Warning, 2008), plus over 20 stand along novels. Increasingly he writes with coauthors, most notably Maxine Paetro and Andrew Gross.
He also founded the James Patterson PageTurner Awards and, as of 2007, has personally given away over $600,000 to reward "people, companies, schools, and other institutions who find original and effective ways to spread the excitement of books and reading."
He lives in Palm Beach, Florida with his wife, Susan, and son, Jack.
Other Books by James Patterson
The Maximum Ride Novels
The Angel Experiment
School's Out—Forever
Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
The Final Warning
MAX
The Daniel X Novels
The Dangerous Days of Daniel X (with Michael Ledwidge)
Daniel X: Watch the Skies (with Ned Rust)
Also by James Patterson
When the Wind Blows
The Lake House
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