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“Why are you here?” I asked.
“I’m looking to improve myself,” she said. “How about you? Anything new in your life? Anybody special?”
“You mean you’re not surveilling me?”
“I lost my camera.”
“Well,” I said, “to quote somebody I used to know—I have only myself.”
She smiled. Just a little. “Coffee?” she asked.
There was no way I could say no, and she knew it.
“Okay,” I said. “Let’s go off campus.”
“Agreed,” she said. “To be honest, school gives me the creeps.”
CHAPTER 108
THE CHILLY AIR hit us as we exited Cobb Hall. It was only September, but the Chicago wind was already kicking up.
We headed up East 59th. The coffee shop was a few blocks away. The sidewalk was crowded with college folk hurrying to and from campus. We weren’t talking. Just walking. I didn’t quite know what to say, and I don’t think she did either. But it felt good just to be near her again. In the middle of the next block, I slowed down, then stopped. Kira went on for a few steps then turned around. I just stood there. I wondered if she’d remember.
“Why are we stopping?” she asked. “Don’t tell me you’re out of breath already.”
“This is it,” I said. “This is the exact spot.”
“Whatexact spot?”
“The exact spot where you kidnapped me.”
Kira looked around.
“Damn,” she said, “you’re right. I staked out this street for a solid week.”
Suddenly, all the feelings from that day came rushing back. Confusion. Terror. Panic. Along with my first impressions of Kira—her face, her hair, her voice, her power. That day was the first of many times I thought she was about to kill me. We stood there for a long, awkward moment as pedestrians moved past us.
“Are you sorry it happened?” she said finally. She was dead serious now. “Are you sorry I took you?”
I glanced over at the curb where her van had been parked. I’d asked myself the same questions for a year, every time I’d walked up this block. I’d thought about everything I’d been through, and tried like hell to get past it.
But being with her again, justseeingher again, made it all crystal clear. Even after having my whole world ripped apart—I realized that I would do it all again.Allof it. I’d do it for her. And I couldn’t hide it.
“No,” I said. “I’m not sorry.”
“Good,” she replied. “Me neither.”
Then she grabbed my arm, pulled me close, and kissed me on the mouth. It was like an electric shock shooting through me. For a second, I was so stunned I couldn’t move. Then I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her right back. I couldn’t believe it was happening.
It was a serious kiss. When it was over, she leaned her head against my chest and just held it there, syncing her breathing with mine. We stayed like that for a long time, just breathing. Then she spoke up again.
“They’re still out there, you know—thousandsof them. Everywhere.”
I knew who she meant. And I knewwhatit meant. I hugged her tighter. And I realized that I didn’t want to lose her again. Ever.
“Exactly how many times do I need to save your life?” I asked.
Kira took a small step back and pushed her curls away from her face.
“Probably not as many times as I’ll need to save yours,” she said.
Suddenly, something shifted. Her eyes widened. Her whole body tensed. She was staring past me, over my shoulder.
“Starting right now,” she said.
I turned around and saw the pack heading toward us. Mid-20s. Athletic. Clean-cut. With strange, unnatural smiles.
I turned back toward Kira. I gave her a little smile of my own. We planted our feet and got ready, side by side.
Savage and Sunlight versus the world.
