“That was me keeping your big mouth shut,” I said as medicals drove away. “You of all people know how it is with the Houses. Rule number one: don’t ask questions. Asking questions gets you noticed, and getting noticed leads to rule number two: don’t get noticed.”
“How about rule number three?” Left Ned said. “Don’t kiss a man when he’s told you he doesn’t like to touch things like you?”
He was angry. Trying to get a fight out of me.
“It was an emergency. But, yes. I made a mistake,” I said calmly. “It wasn’t right of me to do that to you. I’m sorry.”
“You kissed me,” he sputtered.
“You were about to tell Medical about the stranger.”
He shut his mouth and rethought his answer. I was not wrong. Both of us knew it.
“Medical already knows he’s here,” Left Ned said. “The second you let him into your kitchen it was already too late to hide him.”
“No,” Right Ned cut in. “I don’t think House White knows he’s here. They would have just shot us to get to him. The blockers were up. I think we’re sunny side for now.” He tugged the purple strips off his arms. “No need to apologize, Matilda,” he said. “We understand why you did it.”
Right Ned hadn’t looked at me once since we’d come into the room. But he did now.
He was hurt. Maybe because I’d fought with his brother, but more likely because I’d kissed him. The idea of making Right Ned feel bad made my guts twist.
“Ned,” I said to him, “I’m sorry about what I did out there.”
“Don’t be.” There was no forgiveness in his eyes. Just a calm sort of anger that I’d never seen before. “You were trying to keep the things you care about safe. I get that.”
Lord, the boy knew how to make soft words sting.
“Not at the cost of our friendship,” I said. “Are we settled?”
Right Ned nodded curtly. “We’re settled.”
Why didn’t I believe him?
“I’ll go check Lizard and the beasts, then,” Right Ned said. “Make sure House White didn’t detour out into any of the fields.”
“No,” a voice said from the hallway. “We need to leave now.”
“Black hell,” Left Ned swore.
Right Ned gave me the same startled look I was giving him. That had been enough tranquilizer to drop Lizard for a day. It should keep an average person out for two. But not, apparently, the galvanized.
He stepped out of the shadows, shoulders nearly touching each side of the hall, head tipped down so his hair curled toward his eyes. Pale and sweating, he looked like something that had woken up dead in the middle of the road and gone wandering in a daze.
“Good to see you’re awake,” I said. “But you shouldn’t be out of bed. I haven’t had the chance to sew you up proper.”
“I know how to use a needle.” He had his jacket on, his arm tucked against his gut, his eyes still that troubling pain-red.
I glanced at Neds. He had backed into the room to stand closer to me, just the way he did when we got caught unawares by a mutated feral patrolling the edge of the property. Except he didn’t have his tranq gun, and I didn’t have my knives.
“We have no time,” the man said. “We must go, Matilda Case.”
He had a sincere and commanding way about him, like he was used to saying things and having folk follow without question or comment.
Yeah, about that: I’d never been much of a follower.
“No.”
He frowned and his whole body straightened, as if he’d never heard that word before.
