But why would they wait this long to kill her?
It’s too risky. This could all be part of Vonnegut’s plan to track down the rest of us. What if they’re using Naeva—without her knowledge of it—to find us? No, that doesn’t make sense, either. Like Victor said, The Order has known where we were for a while; they wouldn’t need Naeva for that. OK, so that still leaves the question: Why would they wait this long to kill her?
Then she says, “If they don’t kill me soon, they’ll probably use me to get my brothers to give themselves up. I had to report something to The Order about the night Brant died. They already knew that Brant was hot on Victor’s trail, and probably closing in on him; not to mention, they know I’m always with him, so I had to tell them the truth about you and Victor getting away, about Victor killing Brant. They wouldn’t have believed anything else. The only thing I didn’t tell them was that I helped you and Victor.”
Warily, I cut in and ask, “And what exactly did you tell them about your role in what happened?”
“I lied, of course,” she says. “I told them that Victor almost killed me too, but that he spared me when I told him I was his sister. I said Victor let me go. And I think that’s the only reason I’m alive right now to tell you any of this.”
“They want to keep you as a backup,” I say, “in case they need to use you to lure Victor in.”
“Possibly,” she says. “Only thing I can figure is that since they think Victor spared me, that he might try to save me later because of our blood ties.” She starts to gesture her hands. “But Sarai, I don’t know if any of this is true. It’s all speculation. And believe me when I say I’ve been worried maybe they followed me here, even though I took every precaution before coming.” She shakes her head. “I have a lot of fears, and just as many theories, but the only thing I know about any of this that is concrete, is that everything I’ve told you is true. I know you don’t have any reason to believe me—I wouldn’t believe me, either—but this is all I have.” She lowers her head again, and folds her hands gently on her lap. “All I care about is getting to Mexico. Vonnegut, The Order, my life hanging in the balance—I don’t care about any of that.” A sadness suddenly fills her features. “And I love my brothers, but not even they are as important to me as me getting to Mexico.”
“You still haven’t told me, Naeva—why Mexico?”
When she raises her head this time, there are tears trapped in her eyes. “Leo Moreno,” she says, and her lips begin to quiver. And just like that time long ago when she cried out for the life of this man, I can’t escape the feelings of pain and heartache she infects me with.
I swallow, and I place my free hand on her wrist. I want to say something to her, to comfort her, though I don’t know what to say. But I do know that believe I her. The heart never lies, whether it’s telling you something you want to know or not—the heart is incapable of deceit. Sometimes, I admit, I get my mind and heart mixed up, but in times like this, when you feel the truth deep in your core, you know that it can only be your heart talking.
Taking her hand, I place my gun into it and close her fingers around the cold steel. She sniffles and raises her head slowly. She looks down at the gun in her hand, then back up at me; her pale, rosy features perplexed.
I glance at the gun. “Here’s your chance,” I offer. “If that’s why you’re here, you can do what you came here to do. I won’t stop you.”
Her eyebrows drawing inward, Naeva begins to shake her head, slowly at first, until realization fully dawns on her and then she shakes it more rapidly. “No,” she rejects the opportunity, and shoves the gun back into my hand, practically pushing me away with it. “That’s not why I’m here—please, you have to believe me.”
Either she’s the best actress in the world, or she’s telling the truth. And since she’s clearly not Charlize Theron…
“I do believe you, Naeva,” I say, and then I stand and reach out my hand to her. “But it’s not because I believe you, or because I feel the pain you feel for this Leo, that I’m…choosing to let you go with me.”
Her face lights up just enough to show how relieved she is by my decision, and then she stands, gripping my hand.
“Then why?” she asks. “I thought it’d be harder to convince you than this. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d say yes at all. I’m grateful, Sarai, but why are you going to help me?”