“Can you call Lacy Collins?”
“Dialing Lacy Collins.”
I smirk at the mirror.I could get used to having this kind of assistant.
“Lacy Collins is unavailable.Do you want to leave a message?”
“Yes, thank you,” I say, and Alfie cues me to leave a message at the beep.
“It’s me,” I say.I imagine Lacy’s face.In my mind’s eye she has more gray hair and deeper wrinkles around her eyes.I’ll have to tell her that in the heat of the moment when I faced BK, her advice saw me through.
Later.I can’t get through that right now.I still have to process everything I felt on that roof.For now, I tell her, “It’s done.He’s gone.Forever.”Simple, but it’ll get the message across.I wonder if she’ll be able to hear the emotion in my voice.Am I upset that I didn’t get to arrest BK for his crimes?
Not at all.I feel lighter, like the weight of the world has fallen off my shoulders.A burden I took on when I found Lacy’s murder book all those years ago.
Or maybe it was earlier, from the night BK came to murder my family.I think of that moment and what BK said about it on the roof, but the poison is gone, leached away.Because I survived.I went through hell, but I survived.And what’s more, I’ll be able to thrive.
The worst moments of our lives shape us but also fuel us.What happened to me made me develop my psychic abilities.What happened to Rex drove him to become a warrior.Tragedy shaped us, but because we are who we are, we’ve used it to fuel our growth.We were forged in fire and came out stronger.When the pain is gone, only the power remains.
When I step outside the bedroom, Alfie’s waiting.
“Take me to Rex,” I tell the little robot.
He leads me to Rex’s office.
Rex is there, leaning against his desk.He’s removed his body armor.His dark hair hangs spiky over his forehead, so he must have taken his own quick shower.
This is our first moment alone since yesterday.The flight here—first on the dark wings of Rex’s glider, then in a helicopter to the mansion—didn’t afford us much time to talk.
He doesn’t look up when I approach.He must still be processing.But I feel giddy, so I sidle up to him with a smile.
“We did it,” I say.
He’s got a hand over his mouth, rubbing as if in thought.It’s as if I’m not even here.
“Rex?Why won’t you look at me?”
He raises his head, and I see why.He’s furious.The heat of his anger hits me like the blast of a bomb.
“You left me,” he says.His voice is cold and dark, but I hear the sad little boy he was in his accusation.
He’s right.I did leave him.I shrug, accepting his censure.“I had to.I had to save them.”
“I—” He cuts himself off, looking away.The muscles in his jaw jump as he chews on what he wants to say.
I move in front of him.For such a big man, he can be fragile.I need to remember that just because someone looks big and bad doesn’t mean they don’t have feelings or can’t have their feelings hurt.
And Rex is hurting.He might not know how to say it, but I can tell.
“Talk to me,” I prompt softly and get another glare from under his thick brows.Then the mask slips, and he looks down at the ground.
“You didn’t even tell me.”
“I knew you’d be tracking me.”
His wet hair makes him look like a schoolboy.I want to stroke it back from his face.
So I do.
