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Had it really been so long since I’d lived in the real world that I’d forgotten basic things like compassion? I sighed and did as he wanted, rising from the couch and going over to her. When I neared her, she all but threw herself from the chair and against me, wrapping her arms tightly around me.
Tears muffled her words. “I missed you so much. I didn’t even know if you were still alive. I just kept thinking about everything that could have happened, about where you were, about what I could have done differently. If I hadn’t gone home, if I’d kept an eye on you, maybe it all would have been different.”
I rubbed her back, unable to respond. Even if I could have spoken, what would I have said? I had no idea. In all my thoughts, each time I’d focused on my own pain, on what I suffered, I’d never really considered anyone else.
I hadn’t thought about Moa hurting, hadn’t thought about those left behind without answers, especially after my parents hadn’t seemed to give a damn.
“Why don’t we step out?” Wade rose to his feet, an unbearable kindness in his tone. “You two can have a minute to yourselves.”
“She doesn’t speak ASL,”I signed quickly as I looked away from Moa.
Deacon held out a writing pad and pencil, as if he’d been prepared for such a situation. I gave him a tense smile in thanks as I took them. The five men left, heading back into the general store, leaving Moa and I alone.
Her gaze followed them, locked on the door after it closed. “Are you safe with them?”
I scribbled on the first page of the writing pad. “I thought you didn’t judge shades like that.”
“I’m not judging shades—I’m judging five men I don’t know who are following you around. I want to make sure you’re safe.”
That made me pause. I hadn’t had to consider it much. Larkwood was so twisted, so strange, that the idea of having a relationship with five men hadn’t fazed me. Nothing about my life was normal, so why would my relationships be?
Yet, it seemed more difficult to explain. It was like losing my virginity. Doing it was easy but admitting to it was far more difficult.
Still, I trusted Moa, knew her like no one else, so I gave her the truth I could. “They’re the only reason I’m alive. We escaped together, and I’d be dead or still in Larkwood if they hadn’t been there to help me.”
“So it’s just convenience? Because you seem a lot closer to them than just that…”
I took a deep breath, then put it all out in the open for her. “I love them.”
Her eyes went wide. “All of them?”
I nodded because that was clear enough to me. I had no reason to pretend it wasn’t true. My life was a mess, but I knew damn well I loved them all, each for a different reason.
She blew out a slow breath, then nodded as if coming to terms with it. “Okay then. I can’t say I understand it, but I trust you.”
“So will you help us?”
“Of course I will.”
“How does this all work?”
“That depends on the shades. Most I’ve dealt with are low level and no one is looking for them, so it’s not that hard. We make sure their bands are removed, then we get them out of the area. Usually another state is more than enough. You, though? You all are a different story. Not only are some of your faces plastered all over the news, but I’ve heard a lot of troubling rumors.”
“Like what?”
“Like soldiers without identification showing up randomly at a few of our other meeting places, the sort of shadowy people backed by money and power who don’t answer to anyone. The escape from Larkwood has put people on edge, and even regular citizens who normally would stand up for shades are quick to call in anything suspicious. Moving shades is a lot more difficult right now, and you all are sitting at the top of the list of problematic.”
I sighed, my shoulders dropping. “I don’t want to put you in danger. We can go.”
I pulled back, ready to go, to figure it out on our own. I risk Moa or to force her into anything she didn’t want to do. I couldn’t use our connection like that.
She wrapped her hand around my arm, pulling me to a stop. “I didn’t say no, Hera. Do you really think I’d send you away? That I’d leave you on your own? If I’m willing to risk my life and my freedom for any shade, what do you think I’d do for my best friend?”
I gulped at the honesty of her voice, unable to stop the way her words reached into me. The men were one thing. We had passion between us, romance, but Moa?
She was my friend. She’d known me most of my life. Her standing by my side made me want to hug her again, to thank her for being a rock when I’d drifted for so long.
Except, before I could say anything else, the back door opened and someone else rushed in who I wasn’t in the least bit prepared to deal with.
