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“I won’t,” he said. His hands slid off my arms and I stepped in the shower.
Robotically, I cleaned while my mind spiraled. That moment on the roadway, with bloody bodies and broken cars in a silent street, was the last time I had with Theo. My last words were …I can’t, when really, all Theo did wascan.
I couldn’t be weak. After all I’d been through, now wasn’t the time to fall apart. I’d leave to keep my family out of trouble, to keep attention away from Verily. If I were considered dead, Gordon would have no reason to come after them. Maybe Theo’s reach went to DNA tampering, possibly Kai would be involved.
But then, Mom and Dad would have to think me dead. Verily would have to be at peace with the fact that she could never save me.
Could I do that to them? What was the alternative—have Gordon exact revenge through their torture?
There was no right choice.
Just as there was no rhyme or reason for me to still be in love with Theo.
Lifehad no treasure map.
A strange calm washed over me when I turned off the tap. My movements were lithe and smooth as I combed my hair into a ponytail and pulled on Kai’s clothing. I’d been appearing as someone else for years. Wearing others’ clothing, donning opposite personalities, multiple hair colors, walking like a dame and hiding the true peasant underneath. It all started with the car crash and my sister, and it wasn’t about to end here and now.
I desperately wished time would stop moving forward, so I could have time to process, to mourn. I blew out a long, drawn out breath, staring at myself in the mirror for a few precious seconds, allowing myself to say good-bye, for the last time, to Scarlet Rhodes.
Maybe she’d been gone for a long time before this.
Sifting through Kai’s bathroom cabinet, I found what I needed. Kai was the type to play Sudoku while on the can, or do crosswords, or brainstorm active cases. With the small notepad and pen, I scribbled out a note, smearing the tears that stained the page with the palm of my right hand.
The squeak of the shower taps must have clued Kai in that I was done, because he was standing in the living room when I exited the bathroom, a full duffel bag at his feet, and—
And—
Theo at his side.
* * *
“Theo, I…”
“Don’t,” he said, then turned and paced the apartment.
“I’m gonna get some ice for your head, Scar,” Kai said quietly.
I lifted my fingers to my temple. They came back sticky and red. “I’m fine.”
“You’re definitely not. Sit down before I slide a pillow near you in case you fall,” Kai replied.
I rolled my eyes, then covered the dizziness that caused by jutting out a hip. “I’m not a damsel in dis—”
“Sit down, Scarlet.”
Theo’s snap drew both Kai’s and my attention.
“You’re hurt,” he continued. Theo was a looming presence in the middle of the small main room, the windows behind him putting his form in blurred shadow. But I didn’t need to see him in high definition to know his hands were burned, he was covered in ash. “And all your posturing will make it worse. We’re already narrowly alive. Don’t lessen our chances by becoming weaker.”
“Weak?” I asked, shock turning my body rigid. “You think I’m some kind of liability?”
A finger twitch. That was all I received in answer.
I stalked over to the couch and sat, and hell if I was going to show any sort of pain by doing so.
“If you’re mad at me, just say so,” I seethed at him. “But don’t cover it by tossing out lies, or statements that would make me so angry I’d forget the purpose of your smoke screen. That’s right, Sax. I know you better than you think. Even after all this time.”
Kai came around the side, gently laying ice covered in a dishtowel on my head until I took over.
