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“Yes,” I wail. “He doesn’t know.”
There’s a sudden crack of multiple gunshots. A scream rips from my throat. Distantly, I hear Conner tell Uncle Josh that Gage has already stormed inside.
“Tess.” My uncle’s voice has changed to something decisive and strict. “I’ll go in there after Micah if you swear you’ll stay right in here with Conner.” He opens the back door of his car. “Promise.”
“I promise.” There’s nothing I wouldn’t have agreed to.
“Conner,” Josh barks. “She doesn’t leave your sight.”
With that, he draws his gun and launches into a full sprint. I try to crane my neck, desperate for any glimpse of Micah. There’s nothing but my uncle’s distantly running figure and clouds of dust that were kicked up by all the turmoil.
Conner tucks me into the backseat and climbs in beside me. He gives me a look that makes it clear he’s not going to allow me to stray more than a few inches.
We regard each other in the dark, desperate silence. If not for me, Micah would never have locked himself in there. He wouldn’t have forced Conner to leave him behind.
I wonder if Conner hates me for that.
There are more sirens bleating but I see no other emergency vehicles yet.
Conner’s broad chest rises and falls. He leans back into the seat with a bleak stare. “Is it true?”
I don’t need to ask what he means. “It’s true.”
Conner coughs out a sound of agony that mirrors the tortured state of my heart.
A tear rolls down my cheek and I turn my face toward The Catacombs. “I was going to tell him tonight, after the fight.”
Conner says nothing.
The sudden glare of lights is sharp enough to hurt my eyes. Then I realize I’m staring into the high beams of an approaching vehicle.
Conner freezes. “Gage’s car.”
Even a great quarterback can’t stop me from lunging out the door and straight into the headlight beams.
The front of Gage’s car is severely dented from crashing through the gate. It stops and the passenger door opens. My eyeballs wince from the light and I can’t draw a breath. But then Micah emerges from the car and I gasp so sharply it hurts.
No matter. I’m racing to him. And then I’m holding him, wrapping my arms around his neck and celebrating the solid feel of his body.
His face is even more battered than before and his bloody shirt is draped over his right arm but he’s upright and he’s saying my name so he can’t be hurt that badly.
A few feet away, Gage mutters something to Conner and from the way Conner’s head drops, the news must be bad.
The threat of a different kind of grief smacks into me. “Uncle Josh, where is he?”
Gage gives me a strange look. “He’s fine.”
“I’m going to help search,” Conner says and I don’t know what this means but Gage knows because he nods.
Conner runs away at full speed, back to The Catacombs. Behind us, emergency lights flash.
“Get in,” Gage says. “We’re going to the hospital.”
He doesn’t sound panicked. Only grim.
Micah is still dazed but he makes sure I’m safely inside the car before following.
Gage glances back to confirm we’re both secure in the backseat before he takes off, bypassing the fleet of oncoming emergency vehicles.
