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Damn, so much for the relief of him picking up. Everyone was alive, which was great. They hadn’t confronted anyone, fantastic. But how had it gone down? Was Jagg okay or still angry? What concession—
“Swerve?”
Damnit. Lachlan.
Glancing over her shoulder led to her turning around. She hadn’t been thinking.
“Forget it.”
“You know I expect Sersha to keep things from me. I expect her to jump in headfirst. It’s not like you to take risks like this.”
“People are dying—”
“I know.”
“And you denied recognizing Swerve when I showed you his picture, but you did, didn’t you?”
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t take risks. You’re right, that would be hypocritical. I take risks. My sister does, though I worry about her too.”
“All my life I’ve played it safe. Going with my mom. College close to home. The Chronicler close to home in the easy local section. Even us, both of us, being together, we played it safe.”
“You wanted it to be riskier?”
“No, I mean I… We made sense. From the outside, it made complete sense. And I love you, I’ll always love you. It’s just…”
“You want more,” he said. “I get it. Settling down was next for us. Home, car, kids. The dog and the annual vacations. Normal was next. And we’d have done it because it was what was expected.”
“You can’t want to live that way. Just fulfilling others’ expectations. What about you? What do you want?”
He sighed. “I don’t know, Im. It’s one day to the next, one foot in front of the other, you know? I haven’t thought about the big picture.”
“You should. You’re a big picture kind of guy.”
“I put it aside and focus on others because it’s easier.”
“And because you’ve always done it,” she said. “With your dad, your grandfather, you knew what they expected of you, and you do it. You followed in their footsteps without stopping to wonder if it was what you wanted.”
“I wanted you. Our life together, us, that was the purpose to my day.”
“We were good together, Lach. We weren’t incredible. Don’t you want incredible?”
“I want you to be safe. Pay attention to what’s up ahead.”
“What are you saying, Lachlan?”
“Look both ways,” he said, certain in his confidence. “Don’t let your family’s objection to what you do blind you to danger. Swerve can be brutal and doesn’t think twice. Some say he’s worse than Vex. At least Vex plays with people, which gives them time to dig themselves out. Swerve doesn’t. Once he decides that’s it, then that’s it. No time or hesitation.”
“How do you know him?”
“Through work. Through legend. Swerve’s one of those guys who pops up now and then. He’s never around all the time. He’ll disappear for a while and then show up from nowhere linked to some kind of mess. Swerve isn’t diplomatic but can put on an array of faces depending on his mood. He gets what he wants.”
“So the rest of us shouldn’t? He can’t keep getting away with what he’s doing. Just because he wants it doesn’t make it a foregone conclusion.”
“What you see is not always the truth of him. Does Sersha know he’s involved?”
“Yes.” Because what was the point of lying? “Your sister is not what I expected. When we were together, we only hung out a few times. Always for a reason and with other people, we didn’t have the opportunity to really talk. I had no idea she was so close to Vex Manzani.”
“Not as close as he’d like.” The same thing her father said. “They have history.”
