It’s all familiar to me – I know the way she lifts her chin, the lines of her cheekbones.
We got our looks from our father.
The one behind all this is standing in clear view now.
And it’s my sister, Marguerite.
23.
CLEO
2 HOURS, 45 MINUTES REMAINING
HUNTER STARTS TO CRAWLbackward, away from the railing. When I glance over my shoulder at him, his golden-brown skin is pale, all the blood drained from his face.
Is this him going into shock? I think he’s going to throw up.
Wordlessly I force myself up to my hands and knees so I can crawl after him. My head is pounding, my muscles aching like I’ve run a marathon, let them cool down, and now been stupid enough to try to stand up again. The adrenaline of the suit rupture is killing me. The no-slip metal grid on the floor hurts the palms of my hands as they press into it, but I grit my teeth and keep crawling.
The conversation coming in over my headset has gone silent – they’re close enough to talk to each other now, and I’m sure the Pirate doesn’t want a live broadcast of him getting his ass handed to him.
Because holy shit, the Pirate has a boss, and that boss is Rover. I can’t believe how close we got to screwing ourselves by trusting her. I nearlydiedgetting here.
When we make it out to the corridor, Hunter continues on through the door to someone’s office, stopping just inside it and shifting to sit with his back against the wall, his arms wrapped around his knees.
Groaning under my breath, I slide the door closed behind us and settle in beside him, reaching out to rest my hand over one of his. His skin is cold for the first time, clammy.
‘It’s okay,’ I say softly. ‘We’ll figure this out. We’ll keep on surviving, and we’ll do it together.’
It’s so wrong that I want to kiss him again right now, but for sure I do. And this change of mind isn’t some unhealthy attachment because he didn’t leave me behind like my shitty family did.
This is … I saw who he is. Who he really is. And I like who he is. I trust that guy.
I want to tell him whoIam, and I’m going to.
Also, I want to kiss him again because I can. Because when I touch him, it’s like sparks fly between us, and the heady rush of being allowed to just touch him when I want to is almost enough to drown out theoh shit oh shit oh shitof nearly getting caught by Rover.
Hunter tries to speak, I think, but it’s as though the words get stuck in his throat. ‘Cleo, she …’
‘Hunter?’ I try, squeezing his hand. ‘What is it?’
He closes his eyes. ‘That’s my sister,’ he whispers.
‘What?’ I ask stupidly. ‘Who’s your sister?’
‘Rover,’ he chokes out. ‘She’s Marguerite. My twin sister.’
I feel like I’m underwater trying to swim toward the surface, but I can’t tell which way is up. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘She’s in charge. This is a Graves operation.’
‘No it’s not,’ I begin. ‘It’s—’ But I cut myself off. What can I say? That I spoke to Sabrina behind his back, and she told me they’re hacking the servers to legalize a whole bunch of hitchers?
‘That’s Marguerite,’ he insists. ‘She’s my mother’s right hand. There’s no way she’s here without my mother’s knowledge. And that means GravesUP attacked the United Nations.’
My voice is too high when I speak, strained. ‘Why? Why would they do that?’
‘How the hell should I know?’ he demands.
