“They’ll hunt you.”
“Yes. I’m growing stronger though; my training with him has honed my powers more.”
She bit her lip as she studied me. “Is that a good thing?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted, “but it’s happening.”
I hated the uneasiness in her eyes. She was still mad and disappointed in me, but I had no doubt she loved me deeply.
“I’m sorry about this,” I whispered. “Really,reallysorry. When I started this, I never imagined it would spiral so far out of control. I intended to help feed the hungry and get back at our oppressors a little. I never thought through the consequences of my actions.”
“But those things brought you to Ryker.”
“Yes.”
“And you wouldn’t change them because of him.”
“I shouldwantto change them, but I don’t, even if he does hate me now. Maybe I would have met him another way, or something else would have happened between us if I hadn’t been the Hooded Robber. I doubt it, though.”
“Even if you had met another way and somehow come together, his father still would have ensured it never lasted.”
“I know, but he wouldn’t have hated me as much as he does now.”
“I don’t think he hates you.”
“I do.”
“There’s a fine line between love and hate, Ellery. You got on the wrong side of it for a while, butnoman spends this much time with a woman he hates.”
“He wants something from me.”
“They all do, but that doesn’t mean they have to spend time with you.”
My eyebrows rose at my usually prim and proper mother saying such a thing. “This is different.”
“Maybe or maybe not.”
When she looked at me again, she sighed. “You’re wrong, Ler Bear. Ididraise you to be like this. Maybe not a thief, but I raised you to care for others and to stand up for what you believe in, and that’s what you’re doing. You’ve always gone your own way; it’s what I admire most about you. I can’t deny that I’m stunned by your choices and terrified something will happen to you, but I understand your reasons. You’re fiercely independent; I would never change that about you. You also have one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever encountered.”
“I got that from you.”
My mother smiled wanly before crossing the room and embracing me. She was shorter than me, so I had to bend to hug her, but her arms were strong.
She couldn’t pick me up and swing me around like she had when I was a child, but she could still make me feel safe and cherished. Stepping back, she gripped my face between her palms and kissed my cheeks.
“You come home to me,” she said.
“I will. I promise you, Iwillreturn.”
If we failed to get the money, then it would be fine, but I wouldn’t break my mother’s heart again.
She drew me down and kissed my forehead before releasing me. “Do Scarlet’s parents know what she’s doing?”
“I don’t know. I left that decision up to her.”
When Scarlet learned we would commit the robbery, she insisted on going with me. She’d accompanied me on every robbery I’d completed before and refused to miss this one.
At first, Ryker wasn’t sure about having her join us until I reminded him that she had more experience with stealing than he did. While she’d never been involved in actually taking any money, she was a great lookout. She could also defend herself.
