James Patterson - I, Alex Cross

"What did I miss?" she asked.

"Nothing much. Hardly a thing. The world stopped spinning without you."

"Very funny," she said, although I was kind of serious. Everything else could wait.

Zadie and one of the cardiologists, Dr. Steig, were in the room monitoring Nana's condition. " Regina 's going to need what we call an LVAD," the doctor said. "A left ventricular assist device. It's the next best thing to a transplant, and it'll help get her home sooner rather than later." He put a hand on Nana's shoulder and spoke up a little. "Looking forward to anything in particular, Regina?"

She nodded groggily. "To not being dead yet," she said, and I laughed with everyone else.

Her eyes fluttered closed again.

"She'll be in and out for at least a few days," Steig said. "Nothing to worry about."

He took a few more minutes to go over the care plan with Bree and me, and then gave us some time alone in the room.

As we sat together by the bed, Bree told me she'd seen the overnight news. All the major channels were broadcasting live from the Kennedy Center, the White House, and the Vances' home in Philadelphia. Already, a kind of awkward mourning had begun and was spreading around the country.

"So, is that really it?" Bree asked. "Is it over?"

"Yeah," I said, thinking more about Nana than about Teddy Vance. "As much as anything ever is. Zeus is dead. That much we know for sure."

THE HOLIDAY SEASON flew by this year, and I'm not kidding. Damon came home for Christmas break, and by New Year's Eve, Nana was mobile enough to do a whole crown roast for the family, with a little help from her friends. It was a perfect way to say good-bye to the year, just the six of us – even if Ali and Nana didn't quite make it to midnight.

New Year's Day started quietly too. I listened to a few chapters of Ha Jin's A Free Life with Nana in her room, made brunch for the kids, and then asked Bree if she'd take a drive with me in the afternoon.

"A drive in the country would be perfect," she said. "Good idea. I'm in."

It was just below freezing out, but perfectly climate controlled inside the car. I put on some John Legend, pointed north, and watched the world sail by for an hour or so.

Bree didn't even notice where we were headed until I got off 270 in Maryland.

"Oh, goody."

"Oh, goody? "

"You heard me. Oh, goody. Goody, goody gumdrops. I love this place!"

Catoctin Mountain Park is something of a sentimental favorite for us. It was the first place Bree and I ever went away together, and we'd gone camping there a few times since, with the kids and just the two of us. It's beautiful year round – and closed on New Year's Day, as it turned out.

"No big deal, Alex," Bree said. "It's a beautiful drive here, anyway."

I pulled over at the big stone gate outside the main entrance and turned off the car's engine.

"Let's go for our walk. What are they going to do, arrest us?

A FEW MINUTES later, Bree and I had the Cunningham Falls trail all to ourselves, as alone as we were going to get in the course of an afternoon. The snow was fresh; the sky was bright blue – one of nature's perfect days.

"Got any resolutions?" I asked her.

"Sure," she said. "Work too much, stop going to the gym, and eat until I'm fat. How about you?"

"I'm going to stop recycling."

"Good plan."

"Maybe spend a little less time with the kids."

"Definitely that. Great idea."

"And I want to see if I can't get the woman I love to marry me."

Bree stopped short – I would have hoped for no less. I took advantage of the moment and pulled the ring out of my pocket.

"It was Nana's," I said. "She'd like you to have it too."

"Oh, my God." Bree was smiling and shaking her head; I couldn't quite read the expression. "Alex, so much has just gone down in your life. Are you sure this is the right time for you?"

If this were some other woman, I might have thought it was code for letting me down easy. But this was Bree, and she doesn't do code.

"Bree, do you remember the night of my birthday?" I asked her.

"Sure," she said, a little confused. "When everything started. All the gunk. That's the night you first heard about Caroline."

"And up until that phone call from Davies, it was supposed to be the night I asked you to marry me. So if we can't have that back, I'd say right now is just about perfect. Will you marry me, Bree? I love you so much I can't stand it."

The wind kicked up, and she reached inside my coat to put her arms around me. Then we kissed for a long time. "I love you too," Bree whispered.

"Then yes, Alex," she finally said. "I do love you so much. Yes to you. Yes to your amazing family -"

"Our amazing family," I said, and kissed her again.

She nodded, close in against me, shutting out the cold. "Yes to all of it."

WE CELEBRATED AGAIN that night, Szechuan takeout this time, and then a bottle of champagne with Sampson and Billie over at the house to hear the big news. No one could have been more excited than I was, but Sampson and Billie came pretty close. I didn't hear a single crack about how crazy Bree was for marrying me.

Much later, we were lying in bed – just Bree and me, that is – and already talking about a summer wedding, when my cell phone rang in the nightstand.

"No, no, no." I pulled a pillow over my head. " This is my New Year's resolution. No more phones. Maybe ever."

We were both due back at work the next morning – but that wasn't for another eight hours.

"Sweetie" – Bree climbed over me to take the phone out of the drawer – " I'm marrying a cop. Cops answer their calls. Get over it." She handed it to me with another kiss and rolled off again.

"Alex Cross," I said.

"I wanted to be among the first to congratulate you, Alex. You and Bree. What a happy ending this is."

I sat up. The voice wasn't just familiar. It was a stone-cold live nightmare.

Most of the world knew Kyle Craig as the Mastermind. I knew him as an old friend who was now my worst enemy.

"Kyle, why are you really calling me?"

"I'm bored, Alex. Nobody plays with me the way you do. Nobody knows me like you do. Might be a good time for some more fun. Just the two of us."

"I don't think we define that word in the same way," I said.

He laughed softly. "I'm sure you're right. Besides, even I can see you need a little break after Zeus. Consider it my wedding present to you. Just don't get too comfortable, my friend. Nothing lasts forever. But then, you already knew that, didn't you? All my best wishes to Bree, to Nana, and of course the kids. And Alex – here's to fun ."

James Patterson is one of the best-known and biggest selling writers of all time. He is the author of some of the bestselling series of the past decade: the Women's Murder Club, the Alex Cross novels and Maximum Ride, and he has written many other number one bestsellers including romance novels and stand alone thrillers. He has won an Edgar award, the mystery world's highest honour. He lives in Florida with his wife and son.