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She put her hand over mine. “Are you going to be okay?”
I kept my eyes on the road. “Of course. Because nothing bad is going to happen.”
“Everything is going to be okay because Hannah is coming home today,” Lauren said, “and because I love you. You know that, right?”
I tore my eyes from the road just long enough to glare at her. “Don’t do that.”
“What?”
“Act like you might not come back. I will lock you up before I let that happen, babe.”
“You have to stop threatening me—you need to be an adult about this. I will do everything in my power to make this go smoothly. But Hannah comes first.” Her voice broke. “Do you understand?”
“I understand. Do you understand that I can’t live without you?”
“I can’t live without you either.”
“Great. Then it’s settled—you’re not going.”
“Yes, I am—”
My phone rang, interrupting us. Levi’s voice boomed through the Bluetooth speaker. “Are you guys almost here? We have a lot to go through.”
“Lauren’s not cooperating,” I said.
“Gabe’s not listening to me, and you need to do something about it!” Lauren snapped.
“Let’s get one thing clear,” Levi said, sounding as if he were an exhausted parent about to ground the both of us. “I am running this operation today, and you both need to do what
I say. And right now I say, shut it. This is a big day, and I understand that there’s a lot of anxiety—but we’re going to bring Hannah home and give you both some options for dealing with Zhao going forward. So stop fighting and get back here.”
He hung up and I got off the exit, closing in on home. “I don’t want to fight with you.”
“So don’t.” Lauren’s voice was hoarse.
Was it only hours ago that I’d held her in my arms, our bodies completely entwined, as close as I’d ever been to anyone? And now, the space between us felt impenetrable, as though she were in another country rather than sitting right next to me.
I put my hand over hers, trying to close the distance.
LAUREN
I got another text from Li Na as we pulled up to Gabe’s house.
Please remember to bring your passport, clothing, computer, and passcodes, it read. NO WEAPONS. No other electronics. If anyone else is at the site, this transaction will not occur.
My nerves, already stretched thin, were fraying. “I got another text.”
Gabe threw the car into Park and reached for my phone. He read it silently, the expression on his face tightly controlled. He handed the phone back to me and stared straight ahead.
“Gabe. Please, look at me.”
He didn’t move. “I can’t do this.”
“Just come inside. Let’s go talk to Levi…everything’s going to be okay.”
He nodded, clearly not wanting to fight. He even held my hand as we walked inside, but it felt leaden and cold beneath my fingertips.
I didn’t want to do this to him—to us. But my sister…
