“Maybe. But not Reyes.”
They stood in silence then. He pulled her back for a long hug, and she leaned in, loving his warmth and the spicy male scent clinging to him. They’d been friends since before her parents had made her disappear, each hiding a secret from the world. Ace had come to terms with who he was long ago, and screw anyone who had an issue with him. But he still always made time for Lena and her struggle to exist. Her brother helped her out of a sense of duty. Danny loved her, but putting himself on the line? That he did for the memory of their father. Ace had no reason to drive out to the middle of nowhere to get her except that Ace had chosen her. And she’d be damned if she put him in danger, too.
Except Reyes had shown up at their favorite club to find him. They’d somehow made the connection. Ace was already in danger.
How long until he isn’t the only one?
She pulled away, staring up at him, stricken. “They found you already.”
Ace shook his head. “I can handle me.”
Her breath creaked out of her throat. “How long until they find my family? I thought if I ran away, everyone would be safe. But if they found you, they already know who I am. No one is safe.” Her hands tightened into fists. “They’ll go after my mother!”
It was her father all over again. He had tried to protect her, keep her hidden. After she’d messed up the first week of school, they’d never sent her back. They’d told everyone she had a terrible fever. A week later, she had officially died. It wasn’t a difficult lie. Disease was a constant danger; even hardy Spark children sometimes died. Lena had ceased to exist. Her father used his position to make it happen.
When the Councilor had discovered her father had secrets, had been hiding things, they’d taken him. Whatever they suspected he was doing, they’d never been able to discover what he’d really been up to. He took her existence with him to the grave.
The night they came to tell her mother, Lena had been helping Danny work on a circuit breaker for school. With the knock at the door, she’d hopped up and hustled to her hiding hole behind a loose board in the closet. She’d risked slipping back out into the closet and peeking through the crack, though, when she’d heard her mother begin to wail. Lena stood in the dark, alone, and watched as her family grieved. Danny sat in shock, one hand poised over the electric panel, head bowed. Teresa went to their mother and wrapped her arms around her. Over their mother’s shoulder, she’d stared with venomous hate at the closet where Lena hid. Teresa blamed her and had never made a secret of it. Lena had cost them their father.
Would she cost them their lives, now, too?
Ace shook his head. “I’ll protect Mercedes. I work for Dragonfly House. You go find somewhere safe to live, and I’ll get her to another zone—”
“But Teresa would never leave. My mother couldn’t leave Joseph behind.” After all of the loss in their lives, the birth of Lena’s nephew had brought joy back to her mother’s life. She shook her head. “I have to go back. I have to convince them. I can’t lose my mom.”
“Are you going to talk to Reyes, then? See if he can protect you all?”
Back to Reyes again.
She grimaced. “I don’t know. But I have to go somewhere. And I have to protect my family. I’m going to have to go back and figure it out.”
She looked down at her hands, fisted on the sides of his shirt, and then back up at him. “Except…it’s kind of a long walk. Can I have a ride?”
Ace nodded, face grave. “Yes. But you’re a wanted woman. You don’t mind riding in the trunk, do you?”
She blinked.
A broad smile spread across Ace’s face.
Lena rolled her eyes. “This is serious, Ace. You’re such a jerk.”
He chuckled.
“Seriously.”
“Mm-hmm.”
***
Before they could leave, Lena had to ground. Whether agents still lurked out there or not, putting it off would be dangerous. She couldn’t go into the city glowing this bright. She tried to get Ace to stay behind, just in case, but he would have none of it. He’d go with her into the desert, or she’d take her chances going back without grounding.