She pulled her chin away and scoffed at him. “What? Whatever you think you’re seeing…no. I don’t want him.” She crossed her arms over her chest and hugged herself against the dropping temperature. “He’s an agent. He works for the Council.”
“Screw being an agent. And screw the Council, too. The man is dangerous. You think you’re tough, playing with little boys. This is not the kind of man who plays games. He will eat your soul and make you like it.”
“Well, if I’ll like it, then what’s the problem?” She tossed the words back lightly.
“Lena.”
“He’s an asshole. Whatever you think you’re seeing, you’re not. I promise. And by the way, I am tough. I kicked his dangerous ass today, thank you very much! So don’t be underestimating me.” She scowled up at him. “And don’t go thinking he’s interested in anything but my kilowatt per hour output. The only thing I am to Reyes is a check on his monthly quota.”
“Yeah? Then why did he tell me to warn you that they’re not interested in hooking you up to a power plant? That you need to come in to him so he can get you someplace safe and keep you away from the Council?”
“I—what?” She stared at him.
“Yeah. He said you had their attention now. They’re going to ship you away and do Dust knows what to you. Don’t look at me like that!”
“Ace, he was playing you. It’s what they do. He’s just better at it than the rest of them.”
He leaned down and gripped her slight shoulders. “He wasn’t playing. He was pissed. And worried. He said he wasn’t sure he could get you someplace safe now, and the sooner you get back, the safer you’ll be.” He released her shoulders, but he kept his hands on her arms. “He knows you’re different. They do, too. The secret’s out. Agent or not, this guy wants to take you someplace safe. Maybe you can have a real life, one where you’re not hiding who you are. It’s hard, but it’s worth it.”
She stared up at him, fear beating inside her chest. No one was allowed to know what she could do. That was the rule. It had been the rule for as long as she could remember. “You don’t understand.”
“I don’t understand? You’re funny, little girl. I am the one person in this world who definitely understands.” He gestured at the car next to them. “I dropped everything and came out here to get you because I understand.” He smiled at her. “Jimmy’s pissed, too. He thinks I left to go meet up with your agent somewhere.”
A quick bark of laughter erupted from her. “What? He’s not even your type!”
Ace raised his brow again. “That man is everybody’s type.”
“Shut up.” She rubbed her arms and tilted her head back to stare up at the stars. Their brilliance took her breath away but gave her nothing in return. She had to find her own answers. “I don’t buy it, Ace.”
“You don’t think he’s everybody’s type? You going blind out here with the sun in your eyes?”
“No, and you know what I mean. I don’t buy this concern. There’s some magical safe place? I don’t buy it.” She tucked her hair back behind her ears, smoothing it down as she bit her lip. “I don’t buy it,” she repeated.
“Are you trying to convince me or you? Come back with me. I didn’t drive all the way out here for nothing. Guy like him gets worried, you pay attention.”
“I just—you didn’t see him when he came in today. He was totally convincing as a bored rich boy. And then as the good-citizen agent trying to talk me down. I don’t buy that he’s scared of the Council or something. I think it’s a trap.” It didn’t matter how beautiful the man was. She’d seen him be two different people already. How could she trust this new double agent role he’d sold to Ace?
Lies. He told them—became them—very well. He’s an agent, for Dust’s sake.
She gave voice to the fear simmering inside since she realized she’d somehow brought attention to Ace. “I go back with you, and then they take us both, me for the power plants and you to the work farms for helping me. I can’t be the reason you—” She swallowed the heat back and blinked away welling tears.
“I don’t think it’s a trap.” He lifted his hand to gently brush away from her face the hair the wind fluttered. “It’s hard to play a player. I looked into his eyes. He’s spooked for you. That’s not a lie. It was real.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe it. I love that you came out here to get me. But I can’t come back with you. I won’t put you at risk.”
“You have to trust somebody sometime, girlie.”