Chapter 31
Seph
The car was filled with stony silence.
I glared out the window, refusing to be the one who spoke first.
Dev and Elliot sat in the front seat. Ash lay stretched across the rear bench. Sy had flown ahead.
Which left Kieran beside me.
I rolled my eyes. I could feel the rage radiating off him like heat.
Let them be angry. I didn’t care.
I watched Ash carefully from my seat, wishing I could trust myself to sit beside him.
He caught my eye and smiled, like he already knew what I was thinking.
“I’m okay,” he said finally.
“No, you aren’t,” I snapped. “You could have died, Ash.”
“I’m already healing.”
“I. Don’t. Care.” I bit out. “I’m mad at you.”
Kieran snorted beside me, like he thought my comment was funny. But there was nothing amused in his dark gaze. All I could see was pure hostility.
I met his eyes.
I wasn’t afraid of him.
“Baby,” Ash murmured, and tears pricked my eyes.
He reached his hand out to me. I pulled my hand into my sleeve and reached back. When he gripped it, I almost sobbed.
“Don’t,” Dev snapped from the front seat.
I glared at him. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t cry. Not now,” he growled. “You do not get to cry right now. Not after this crap you pulled.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!”
This time Kieran did start laughing.
“Tell you?” he said coldly. “No. Why would we bother? Why would anyone bother when you do whatever you want anyway?”
I glared at him. “I saved your goddamn life, Kieran Hawthorne. Maybe try saying thank you.”
“All you did was put yourself in danger!” Kieran shouted. “Georgina was bluffing!”
“How the hell do you know?” I demanded. “Her men had guns to your head. And I won’t apologise for trying to save you!”
“I know,” Elliot said finally. “And I could have told you if you’d asked.”
“Because you’re always so forthcoming, Elliot,” I sneered.
“I haven’t kept anything from you.”
“How about the fact you knew the Libertarians would be there? Why wouldn’t you tell us?”
“You didn’t ask.”
“So you admit it,” I growled. “You knew they were planning an attack.”
Even Dev snapped his eyes towards Elliot at this. Elliot just sighed.
“I knew something would happen. It wasn’t entirely clear, that’s true, until you showed up.” Elliot said, meeting my eyes in the rearview mirror.
I faltered, meeting his eyes. “So what, this is my fault?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You’re implying that.”
“This isn’t a game, Seph. People are dying out here. The Council will not let up until they have this whole goddamn world under their control. Including you. The Libertarians are just a symptom of the bigger cancer.”
I raised my chin. “I wasn’t worried about me. I can take care of myself. But I refuse to let her hurt anyone else.”
“You heard those soldiers. They came there for you. They knew you’d show up to protect Ash! You walked right into their goddamn trap like a moron,” Kieran growled.
“Don’t call her that!” Ash snarled from the back.
“Name-calling doesn’t help, K,” Dev snapped.
“I’ll call her whatever I want. Do you have any idea what could have happened to you out there?” Kieran demanded. “What would happen if those soldiers got their hands on you? For fuck’s sake, Seph, I had a plan to get us both out!”
I raised my fists, ready to swing. “I went there for both of you, Kieran! For you , and for Ash! Because no matter what you think of me—like I’m some stupid kid—I never once stopped caring for you!” I shot back. “So don’t you dare talk to me like that doesn’t matter!”
He flinched back in his seat, his hazel eyes wide and fractured.
“Can we rein this in for a minute? We have company. Elliot?” Dev shouted.
“I see them. Turn here.”
Dev yanked the wheel left, sending us down a long dirt road.
I twisted in my seat and looked out the back window. Three black SUVs were tearing after us.
A window slid down in the lead vehicle.
A masked man leaned out, a machine gun in his hands.
“Down!” Kieran yelled.
The back window of the car exploded.
We drove hard until the SUVs finally disappeared behind us.
The road led into a deserted industrial area.
“We’re going to have to find a second car and split up to draw their focus,” Elliot said.
“There.” Dev pointed to an empty mechanic's garage. A couple of cars sat abandoned in the lot.
“Seph’s with me,” Kieran snapped.
“What?” Dev exclaimed.
“No!” Ash protested.
“Elliot, take Ash and Dev back to the compound. Ash needs a healer. See if you can find Phantom.”
“Are you giving the orders now, Kieran?” Elliot asked.
Kieran just grinned back. “That’s why you need me.”
Elliot held his gaze for a moment.
“Fine. And Seph?”
“I don’t trust her anywhere I can’t see her.”
“I’m right here, jackass,” I said. “I can hear you.”
He ignored me. “We’ll take the back roads to draw them off our trail.”
“What about Sy? He’ll be tracking me.”
“Then he’ll find you soon enough,” Kieran shot back.
I glared at him.
Dev opened his mouth like he was about to say something. He looked at me, and I saw a flash of pain in his deep green eyes. It vanished as quickly as it came, swallowed by cold emptiness.
“Fine. Whatever.”
“K,” Ash pleaded. “I want to stay with Seph.”
“You’re not in any position to argue, Ash,” Kieran snapped.
I gaped at him.
“What he means,” I said quickly, “is that he’s worried you’ll get hurt again. It’s better if you get healed. I’ll be with Kieran. I’ll see you as soon as I can.”
“Seph – “
“We don’t have time to argue. They’ll be on us any second. Move,” Elliot said.
Kieran and I jumped out of the car.
Just as we did, Ash grabbed my hand again.
“Be safe,” he said.
I leaned over and kissed him on the lips.
Kieran growled.
But Dev looked away.
I don’t know which hurt more.
My breath hitched. I wanted him to look at me. To see me.
But he didn’t turn.
Whatever.
I shut the door behind me and followed Kieran. We slipped into the shadows as the car peeled out of the lot and back onto the road.
Then we waited.
Sure enough, the SUVs were still circling the area, searching for us.
We ducked lower behind the wall.
I hoped Dev managed to pull them away.
“Here.”
Kieran gestured to a plain red sedan that looked about thirty years old. He broke into the garage office and rummaged through the lockers until he found the right key.
Then we were off, heading the opposite direction down the highway.