And in fact, she'd stopped because there was a figure standing in the swirling, thick air in front of her.

A woman.

And Jim knew exactly ... who ... it ... was.

Shutting his eyes, he sagged in his own skin, his bones all but caving in. When he opened his lids again and discovered that the presence was still there, he felt as though he couldn't walk. And yet he did.

He had to slap his palm over his mouth to keep himself from weeping.

Finally, he, too, was in front of the figure.

Dropping his hand, he said in a choked breath, "Momma."

His mother was not crying. She was smiling bright as the sun that he and Sissy had left behind ... she was smiling, and she was whole and healthy, her body repaired, her hair gleaming, her eyes sparkling.

"I've been waiting for you, Jimmy." With that, she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight, even though his was the bigger body. "Oh, son ... it's all right. You're okay ... everything is okay."

He totally. Fucking. Lost. It.

But she held him up off the ground, and Sissy was there as well, stroking his back, supporting him.

And then the most miraculous thing happened.

All at once, all the suffering was gone, all the sadness and the pain was taken from him, and he became light and buoyant as the mist around them.

Easing back, he touched his mother's face, her shoulders, her hands ... just to make sure she was real. And she was.

Then he turned to Sissy and pulled her in against him. "Ah, Momma, this is my Sissy."

"Hi," Sissy said offering her hand. "I'm so-"

His mother was just the same as she always had been, pulling Sissy in close and hugging her. "I know you're separated from your kin, but when you realize this is waiting for them? It makes the distance so much easier to bear."

For the first time in about thirty years, Jim took a deep, easing breath.

"Come on, you two," his mom said, falling in on his other side. "Let's get you settled. You're going to love it here."

At his mom's urging, he and Sissy walked forward into the mist. And as they went along, he glanced over at his woman, giving her a squeeze before kissing her on the mouth-and when she smiled back at him?

Well, now, as they said back home, that was just proof that God truly existed.

"It's all about love," his momma was saying. "No matter what side you're on, it's all about love."

Amen, he thought as he entered Heaven with the two people who mattered most to him.

Amen to that.

By J. R. Ward.

THE BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD SERIES.

Dark Lover.

Lover Eternal.

Lover Awakened Lover Revealed Lover Unbound Lover Enshrined.

Lover Avenged Lover Mine.

Lover Unleashed Lover Reborn Lover at Last.

The King.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide.

FALLEN ANGELS SERIES:.

Covet.

Crave Envy.

Rapture Possession.

Immortal.