Dredyn’s standing outside the car, hand on the roof, and for a moment, he doesn’t answer. When he does, his voice is flat.
“One out of three. James’s dead. Edmund and Marcus escaped.”
“So, they’re still out there. Still hunting us.”
Dredyn finally meets my eyes. “Yes. We wounded the Syndicate—cut off one head, but two remain. And now they know exactly who we are and what we’re capable of.”
Rook appears at Dredyn’s shoulder. “Then we stick to the plan. Get you all out of the country, let things cool down, and figure out the next move from a distance.”
“There won’t be a next move for us. We’re done. Someone else can finish what we started.”
“Dredyn—” I start.
He cuts me off. “No. We tried. We killed one—that’s more than anyone else has managed. But we’re not soldiers, we’re not assassins. We’re college kids who got in over our heads, and Talon almost died because of it.” His hand clenches on the car roof. “I’m not risking any of you again. Not for revenge, not for justice, not for anything. We get out, we stay out. That’s the deal.”
Jasper finishes bandaging Talon’s shoulder.“He says we did what we came to do—we fought back. That matters, even if it’s not finished.”
“Does it? Does it matter if we spend the rest of our lives running? If Edmund and the stranger rebuild? If the Syndicate continues?”
“It matters that we’re alive.”
CJ clears his throat. “Hate to interrupt the philosophical debate, but we really need to move. I’m getting reports of security checkpoints being established. We have maybe a ten-minute window before this gets complicated.”
Rook steps forward. “This is where I leave you. I’ll stay, talk to campus security, tell them I saw three guys heading east toward the highway. Buy you time to get west.”
“Rook—” Dredyn starts.
“No arguments. You three saved my life once. It’s time I returned the favor.” He pauses. “Besides, I’m not the one they want. I’m just a brother who helped some friends move some furniture. Nothing suspicious about that.”
Dredyn pulls him into a brief, fierce hug. “Thank you.”
“Thank me by staying alive. And take care of each other.”
Rook steps back, looking at me.
“And, Mara? They’re good men. Stupid as hell sometimes, but good.”
“I know.”
He nods once, then walks away, toward campus, with CJ.
I watch them both go until they disappear into the darkness.
Beck gets into the driver’s seat. “Dredyn, you navigate. Jasper, keep pressure on that wound. Mara, keep him conscious—talk to him. Don’t let him sleep.”
“I’m not concussed, just shot,” Talon protests weakly.
“Humor me. Blood loss can mimic head trauma symptoms.”
Beck starts the engine then pulls out of the lot with the headlights off until we’re a block away.
“Tell me about the island Jasper’s dad is flying us to,” Talon says.
Beck glances in the rearview mirror. “Private island. Southeast Asia. Small staff, very discrete. You’ll have a villa, and access to everything you need. Internet’s monitored but secure. You can stay as long as necessary.”
“How long is necessary?”
“Until the Syndicate stops actively looking. Could be months. Could be years.”
