“And what about Ford?” Reed’s tone grated on my nerves. The dad tone. The wise I’m-trying-to-get-you-to-think-about-this tone.
I was doing thisforFord. He might hate me for it. He might never talk to me again. He might think this a line crossed too far.
I might be giving him up to save him.
But it really wasn’t a choice. I didn’t want to lose him, but giving him what he needed mattered more than my wants.
I felt a sting hit my chest. A pain I couldn’t explain.
“Get me an address,” I said as I turned and walked past Reed to leave the room.
I tiptoed into the guest room and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Ford still sound asleep. His relaxed face was mashed into the pillow I’d been using.
It was so tempting to answer the call to crawl back into bed with him.
I held strong, grabbing a pair of boots and a hat before sneaking back out.
Reed stood at the entrance to the living room.
“You’re not changing my mind,” I told him.
“Remy is going to meet you at the chopper.”
My brows pulled together before I said, “That’s not necessary.”
“I’m not letting you do this alone,” Reed told me when I looked up to meet his eyes. “Remy agrees with me. And so does everyone else.”
I blinked at him, a little stunned.
I knew my teammates were good people. I’d seen them be there for each other time and time again. I just hadn’t ever thought I’d be on the receiving end of it.
I’d spent the last ten years trying to forget my family and denying who they were. I made up lies so it seemed like I had a better one. But as I stood there too stunned to speak with tears threatening to spring from my eyes, I realized that I had that perfect family. I had the one I’d been wishing for.
“Just be careful,” he said. “And come back to Ford. I think he needs you.”
I shook my head, nearly laughing at the idea that Ford neededme. That was almost the funniest joke I’d ever heard.
If anything, it was me who needed him.
“And, you know, come back to me too,” Reed slipped in there. “Just stay alive, okay?”
I nodded, too choked up to speak.
It was chaos as I made my way to the chopper, then loaded up with Remy, Roland, and Sawyer. There wasn’t much said on the trip to Charlotte where Lipton and his family lived. Or when we landed. Or when Keller picked us up.
“I don’t think we should all ambush her,” I said as the reality of what we were about to do set in.
I’d planned on this being a one-man army, but now, I had more than enough backup. Granted, I figured most of them were either for support more than anything.
“This is it,” Keller said as he parked on the side of the street and pointed at a house a little up the way.
It didn’t look anything special. A colonial-style house painted light blue with white shudders. The door was navy blue. There wasn’t a thing about it that screamed ‘a monster lives here.’
But the house I grew up in looked much the same. Yet, it had been hiding a monster. And a family that had no idea about the monster that lived among them.
I didn’t want to hurt or even scare Mrs. Lipton.
“I’m going to go in alone,” I started.
