“Where are you taking me?” Maddy murmured.
“To bed. You need to sleep.” I stepped into our bedroom and set her down on the mattress. I tugged off her shoes and pants and tucked her in.
“Nico?” she asked as she slid her legs under the sheets.
“Yeah?”
“You’ve got a weird look on your face.”
I smiled and shook my head. “Sorry. I feel guilty about all this.”
“If anyone gets to be guilty, it’s me,” Maddy said. “I’m the one who willingly put my arm in that damned vault. I caused all this. We should have fought harder or something. Now they have my blood, and they’ve made this poison, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“You can’t blame yourself. You had no idea they could even do that.”
“If I can’t, then why are you blaming yourself?”
“I shouldn’t have allowed you to get kidnapped in the first place. If I’d ensured your safety, they never would have gotten you. That’s why I feel guilty.”
Maddy sighed and snuggled into the pillows and blankets. “Sounds like we both need to get out of our heads.”
“We know what Viola is up to now. We can plan to stop her. You’re right. We both need to quit acting sorry for ourselves.”
“Mmm,” Maddy grunted, her eyes already closed. She was asleep before I got to the door.
I looked back at her. How could I get her to stop carrying so much weight on her shoulders? I was here for her, and I wanted to help. My own guilt and shortcomings were nothing compared to what she must have been going through. We were in this together. I promised myself I’d do better to try and be open and available for her. I needed her, and she needed me.
84
MADDY
When I went downstairs the next morning, I found Nico and Luis in the kitchen. Nico saw me coming down the stairs and smiled. “Morning. Sleep okay?”
Nodding and rubbing my eyes, I sat down with them. “What’s up?”
Luis and Nico looked at each other grimly before speaking. Nico took my hand in his. “Tonight. We’re leaving for Croatia tonight. Actually, very late tonight, before dawn.”
The entire world seemed to drop out from under me. We needed to go soon, but today? Tonight? “What’s changed? Did something else happen on the news?”
Nico shook his head. “It’s not the news, though I am worried there’s going to be a travel ban for shifters soon. So far, that hasn’t come into play. They’ll probably wait a week or two to see how many of us turn ourselves in before escalating to that. No, Luis got some information late last night.”
I jerked my head to Luis, who pulled out his phone. “I talked to my guy, Donatello. Told him we needed some more favors. Honestly, I was surprised at how willing he was. I think he saw the stuff on TV and understood what bullshit it was. Plus, he’snot big on the government. He told me the fake IDs he got us in New York are still good. He also said he put a call into a guy in Tampa who could make more. You’ll need one, Maddy, and anyone else who’s going with us.”
“Tiago volunteered,” Nico added.
Luis raised his eyebrows. “That’s fine. Get me some good headshots, and I’ll head out in an hour. I can probably be back by seven or eight o’clock tonight.”
“Wait.” I held my hands up for them to stop talking. “Are we seriously doing this? Is it happening?”
“It is,” Nico said, taking my hand. “Is that okay? I didn’t want to spring it on you, but we need to move fast before it’s completely impossible for us to get out of the country.”
I glanced over at Tiago. “Are you sure you want to go along? It’s…” I paused and thought about the last two times we’d gone across the ocean. There’d been lots of blood, some death, and a ton of fear. Did we really want to drag someone into that who had no true skin in the game? “Tiago, it’s going to be really dangerous. I… we can’t promise who will be coming home alive.”
Tiago gave me a solemn nod and looked over to Nico. Nico rubbed my back and said, “He wants to help. I trust him. I can see it in his eyes. Plus…” Nico shrugged. “It’ll be nice to have a big-ass black bear along for the ride.”
“It’s fine, girly. I’m a grown man, and I know what I’m getting into. I’ve seen my share of fights. Most of those were over stupid shit like territory or women. This?” He raised his eyebrows for emphasis. “This is important. We’re talking about the fate of the world. No way I’m standing on the sidelines.”
That cut off any other argument I might have made. If I’d had the chance to go along and help turn the tide of this war and someone told me to stay behind, I’d have been pissed. I would have gone regardless of what anyone—even Nico—had said. I reached forward and put my hand on Tiago’s arm. “Thank you.”
