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“Yeah, well it only helps if I can figure out what to do with it.”
I thought of the prophecies again, how they had shifted when Emily was bound to Aern, how they were changing even now, the future in a horrible flux where every outcome was worse than the next.
“Maybe you’re trying too hard,” Emily said. “You’re strung tighter than a bobcat on a bowstring.”
I shot her a sidelong glance at the use of one of our more amusing foster family’s sayings, but the seriousness in her expression dragged a chuckle out of me. I threw a couch pillow at her. “Sit down. We have work to do.”
She complied, but eventually the exhaustion and constant worry caught up with me, making even my mental efforts useless. When it was clear I’d made absolutely no progress, we relaxed, sinking back into the couch. Emily was explaining that she had business with Aern and probably wouldn’t make it the next day, and I nodded my understanding as I closed my eyes against the letters and fibers and connections I’d been seeing all day. I wondered if they would be burned there, a constant swirl and glow that hazed over everything I would ever see again.
I dropped my head back and kicked off my boots. In my fatigue, I was no longer concerned about being carted barefoot out a window.
I must have dozed off, but when the scent of warm food hit my senses, I was jerked awake. I stretched, surveying the room to find two plates of chicken and rice with steamed vegetables on the table. Thinking it was odd that they’d left me alone, I crept silently toward it, realizing I probably resembled prey sniffing bait and not actually caring. And then I noticed my bedroom door had been shifted partially closed.
My bare feet were noiseless on the plush carpet, but Logan wasn’t surprised to find me peeking through the open door. His jaw was tight as he disassembled a small black box near my bureau. He didn’t explain what he was doing, but I could see by the collection of plastic fragments scattered over the cabinet’s top that he’d been breaking apart several electronic security devices while I slept. It didn’t take a genius to figure out they were Brendan’s.
When he dropped the last piece onto the dresser, he looked up at me with what appeared to be conflict in his eyes. Two heartbeats later, it changed to determination. He reached down to pick up a bag that lay at his feet and pulled out a few wires and tools before handing it to me. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. His expression left no doubt now. We were leaving.
I threw a pair of jeans, two sweatshirts, and a toothbrush into the bag while Logan stepped into the hall with his men. He didn’t speak as he led me to the car, and was still silent the first twenty miles of road. But when the traffic thinned and the Division house became more distant, his silence became less angry and more … Logan. The street lights, more and more infrequent, flashed through the darkened windows to illuminate his face.
There was no question he would be strong. Given his line, his position among Council, Logan would no doubt be as talented as any when it came to using his sway. He could have anything. It was so easy for them to take advantage, when a simple handshake and a smile, a brief word, could cause someone to do whatever they liked. To give whatever they wanted. I’d seen it among the ranks at Division. I’d seen the way Brendan’s select few had lived, the only thing keeping them in check Council and Morgan’s own designs on power and gain.
Morgan hadn’t settled on money, though. He’d wanted control. Not political power, but ultimate control. Reign. A return to the day they’d ruled as kings. As gods.
But the man beside me had no interest in any of that. He’d left his position at Council to save his people. He’d chosen to help me.
He’d chosen this.
“That’s very distracting,” Logan said, not taking his eyes off the road.
“What?” I asked.
“You.” His gaze met mine. “Staring at me.”
“Oh.” I didn’t look away.
The corner of his lips twitched.
“I don’t think he does it on purpose,” I said after a pause.
“It doesn’t matter,” Logan answered, knowing I was talking about Brendan’s poor decision making. “He put you in danger.” He glanced at the side mirror before changing lanes. “He put all of us in danger.”
He was right. After Morgan had placed sway on so many of the men, no one could be safely trusted unless I’d personally searched their connections, seen for myself they weren’t under his control. But that wasn’t Brendan’s fault. He was confident in his own men, allowed them access to all of the security systems.
Because we hadn’t told him everything.
I looked out the window then, the outskirts of the city passing by in a blur of shadow and light. Headlights reflected off darkened windows, everything closed down too early. I didn’t recognize the view. I opened my mouth to ask where we were going when he turned off the main road, taking a few scenic side streets before pulling into the drive of a three story apartment building. The path curved around the back where a second story parking garage was nestled between it and another building. Logan pulled the car between two similar looking sedans and got out, carrying my bag.
The closing door echoed across the walled-in garage as he placed a hand on my lower back and led me toward the elevator. It was sleek and stainless, and apparently private. No buttons or numbers lined the wall, merely a small touchscreen that Logan pressed a finger to before the doors sealed us in. On the top floor, we exited to a small foyer where Logan keyed in his passcode to the main door. As he released the lever, he looked back at me, expression unreadable as he paused for just a moment before finally opening the door. He took my hand, walking me forward as he dropped the bag onto a side table.
The apartment was beautiful. Not in the lavish way the Division houses were; there was no excess here. The furniture was all clean lines, centered in a large, open living space that led to a kitchen and dining area. Of the two doors, one remained open, revealing a single bedroom and private bath. The east wall was solid glass.
Logan noticed what caught my attention. “It’s one-way glass. It’s completely safe. No one even knows this place exists.”
I looked up at him. “No one?”
He pressed his lips. “Aern is the only one who knows where it is, but he wouldn’t expect me to bring you here.”
His words brought abrupt understanding, and my hand automatically went toward the flutter in my stomach. I stopped it halfway, smoothing the hem of my shirt before sliding the hand into a back pocket. Unable to face him, I stared straight ahead, across the empty apartment into the open door of a bedroom, Logan’s bedroom, and was only reminded we were entirely alone. In his home.
