“I’m sorry,” he says softly. “But we have to check, and we have to do it now.”
Bastien runs alongside us. “Depending on the type, our scanners might have scrambled it.” He sounds agitated, and I want to apologize. My father, hell, the whole damn OC could be coming down on their heads right now because of me.
But Luc’s arms keep me from talking. It’s all I can do to breathe, to not freak out, so I stay silent. Luc looks down at me, and I give him a pleading look.
“Don’t worry,” he reassures me, and I want to scream. The government could be on its way to destroy his home and familyright fucking now, and he’s reassuring me?
“I’m not worried for me,” I choke out. His hands tighten, and I whimper.
Luc relaxes his grip immediately. “Sorry,” he apologizes quickly as he places me down on a table.
A metallic, sterile smell fills my nose, pulling me into dark memories and taking away from Luc’s aromatic sandalwood scent. My hand stays clutched on his arm as I fight to control my breathing. Luc starts to move away, but he stops when I whimper, my fingers clenching in his shirt. Everyone stops.
I don’t know what I want.No, that’s not right.
Stay with me.My fingers curl into the soft material, a low whine slipping out.
Luc doesn’t miss a beat before he scoops me back up and sits on the table with me in his arms.
“If you want me to move, squeeze my arm,” he says to me. I nod.
Max runs into the room, and I burrow a little more into Lucien. The number of stressed people in the enclosed space is enough to make me anxious.
He freezes when he sees me in Luc’s lap. “What’s the matter?”
His demanding tone makes me shrivel a little more. Oh god. Everything he’s done for me, and now I’ve ruined it all.
I can’t stop the sob from breaking free.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble into Luc’s chest. “I’m so sorry, Max.”
Max drops to his knees in front of me as Bastien appears with a device in his hand.
“Max, you need to shift out the way,” Bastien tells him. “We might have to move.”
Max rocks back on his heels. “They’re coming?”
The dread in his voice breaks my heart.
“I don’t know,” Bastien grits out. “I need to check Ava and you’rein my way.”
Max moves away, and Bastien stops in front of me. Leaning in, he traps my eyes with his silver-gray gaze.
“Ava,” he murmurs. “I need to scan you, love. Can you stand up for me?”
I nod, reluctantly sliding off Luc’s lap. His arms tighten around me for a second before he lets go.
His hand trails across my back, just once. It’s reassuring in the chaos around us, and I hold my breath as Bastien runs the scanner over me.
“I didn’t know they used trackers at the OC,” Max mutters. He’s beating himself up for not knowing, but this isn’t his fault. It’s mine.
“They don’t,” I say, and everyone snaps their attention to me. I swallow, hard.
“Stone did it. Years ago.”
When I was ten, to be precise. Max curses. “That asshole.”
I drop my eyes to the floor as Bastien’s scanner beeps over my neck, just above my right collarbone.
