Isaac’s mouth twisted, but warmth bubbled in my chest, and I shot a smile Devon’s way.
“So was I right?” Adam asked. “About what they wanted?”
I nodded. “Extortion.”
He winced. “I wish I’d been wrong.”
“See?” I said to Lucas. “He’s on our side.”
He threw me a pitying expression. “He’s onyourside, Juliet.”
“Yours too. I’m officially Adam.” He reached out a hand, and Lucas fixed his diamond-bright gaze on that invitation. His hesitation was likely only evident to me, but as he raised his hand to shake Adam’s, Lucas’s rolled sleeve revealed the Brotherhood Crosses branded into his arm, pink and shiny.
Adam missed a beat, but fell right back into character, pasting a friendly expression on his face. “I was there for the first attempts to cross the Ohio River. We hemorrhaged soldiers. Your intel was priceless. Saved a lot of lives.”
“The prisoner rescue too,” Isaac said, voice low and begrudging. “That was?—”
“Game-changing,” Devon said.
Lucas scratched his neck, then peered closer at Adam. “I think I recognize you. You show up on a lot of combat missions. You fight like a grizzly bear.”
“Ha. Yeah. I’ve seen you too. Iavoidyou.”
Lucas hummed and looked at me. “See? That’s what sane people do. Avoid.”
I glared at him.
Suppressing his laughter, Adam turned for the door. “We’ll leave you alone. I know it’s been a rough week. I’m taking the first guard shift.”
Dev kissed my cheek while Isaac sped away without saying goodbye.
“Don’t worry about him. He’s on our side,” Dev whispered. “He’s just grumpy about it. Dr. Akbari said to tell you hi. She’d like to check on you both tomorrow and bring your stuff, if that’s okay with you.”
I nodded, and in a whirl, Lucas and I were alone again. Tension leaked from his body.
“This is going to be a long few days,” he said.
Reaching for him, I slipped into his arms, right where I belonged, and set my head against his chest. “At least we’re together.”
He kissed my crown. “At least you’re safe.”
That night, I sank into the softness of the musty bed while Lucas lay beside me, reading a book he’d found in a bedside drawer. With him at my side once more, I was finally safe to explore the awful memories that had threatened to drown me for days. I examined them one by one, then purged them from my mind.
When I remembered the way Jack Miller’s whiskers scratched my skin, I imprinted the image on photo paper in my mind and set fire to it, letting it curl and blacken. When I thought of the pain, I etched the memory into metal and melted it. I destroyed them all, hoping to permanently disrupt the neural pathways in my head. I had a headache by the time I finished and settled back into the pillows.
I turned onto my side. Lucas wasn’t reading beside me like I thought. He regarded me with deep creases between his brows, his eyes bright with concern. “You’ve been staring at the wall without moving for twenty-seven minutes.”
“I’m fine.”
Dark, tousled waves fell into his eyes as he picked at the abandoned book in his lap. He started to say something, but stopped himself. He massaged the bridge of his nose. “Sophia…”
“Yes?”
“It’s okay to not be fine. Especially with me.”
I shrugged. “You’re probably right. But it doesn’t matter because I’m fine.”
Shuttering his expression, he opened his arms. “Come here.”
