Those other people aren’t my business.
They shouldn’t have fallen for the obvious traps.
But Rachel wasn’t an idiot. Rachel simply didn’t want to be at home. She wanted the fantasy of some older guy sweeping her off her feet and rescuing her from her shit life.
And she didn’t tell me about it because I’m not trustworthy.
“So you’re saying we can’t do anything at all?” I meet Blaze’s eyes. “You want me to sit here, knowing Samantha is in danger, and do nothing?”
Asch tightens his arm around my shoulder. “No,” he says. “We’re not entirely sure what to do yet, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to let it go.”
River grits his teeth. “It only means that we have to try harder to figure out what to do, that’s all. But we’ll get her back, Pandora.”
As long as she’s alive.
“Okay.” I take a deep breath, and finally smile properly. “But you do know, I’m not going to take prisoners. Uncle Slayer sent me a new knife, and it needs to be broken in.”
“A single knife isn’t going to be enough,” River says. He glances at Blaze. “Can’t you figure out how to pull some of those connections? They have to be worth something, right?”
“I’ll get us the location,” Blaze says. “I don’t want to go in without a plan, though, some way to ensure none of this blows up in all of our faces.”
I giggle. “Oh, Blaze. That’s cute.” I get up and lean down over him. I tap his nose. “The explosion is the point.”
His lips part, and his eyes go wider—not in fear, but in anticipation.
“Fuck, Pandora.” He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his lap. He immediately nuzzles my collar. “You’re something else.”
“Well, if I were anything else, you wouldn’t want me. That’s what you said!” I kiss the top of his head and glance at Asch. “What about you, boyfriend? Are you going to help me blow up the world?”
Asch watches me and Blaze. “Yeah. I can’t let the two of you go on doing something stupid without me, now can I?”
“I’m in,” River says. “I don’t care what it takes. We may not have been able to help Rachel, but we’ll get Samantha back.”
We will.
Samantha isn’t yesterday’s trash.
I refuse to let her be.
And maybe, once she’s back, I can fit all the pieces of me back into a single, coherent whole.
30
BLAZE
I hang my keys up on the hook by the front door and take my shoes off.
I’m completely exhausted. From the sex, from chasing Pandora around, from the idea of finding Pandora’s friend and rescuing her.
My dad will be furious if he finds out.
Samantha could destroy everything.
Shit.
“You okay?” Asch asks from behind me.
“Yeah,” I say. I hang up my coat and hold my hand out for Asch’s so I can hang his up too.
