"I was tailed on my way to the school," I said briefly. "Don't know which faction sent them yet. I'll have Marco look into it. We'll have answers soon."
Her breathing quickened. "What are you going to do until then?"
"I'll beef up security at the school, send more people. They won't get a chance while he's there." I glanced at her. The worry in her eyes made my chest ache. "You and Olei will be fine. I promise."
She was quiet for a moment, then nodded gently.
I turned onto a quiet side street, eyes flicking to the rearview mirror again. The van was still there. I accelerated, took several sharp turns, shot into a one-way street, then came out another exit. The van got stuck in the one-way. By the time they figured out how to get around, I was already blocks away.
"Lost them," I said.
Anthea exhaled, her tense shoulders finally relaxing.
By the time we reached Oak Street, it was getting dark.
"Do they... know where I live?" she asked.
"Not yet." I killed the engine and parked beneath her building. "They've been tailing me. Haven't found your place. You're safe here for now."
She looked at me with complicated eyes, like she wanted to say something, but finally just nodded.
"I'll assign you some security. Just live normally—they'll protect you from the shadows." I knew what was making her uneasy.
Her expression improved.
"...Thank you." The gratitude came hard.
I raised an eyebrow, looking at her. She avoided my gaze, glanced into the back seat. Olei had fallen asleep. Probably realizing we were talking business, the little guy stayed quiet the whole ride and dozed off out of boredom.
Anthea's eyes went soft.
After watching Olei for a moment, she reached for the door handle. "I should go."
Click.
The door locked, didn't budge. She whipped around, eyes full of wariness. "What are you doing?"
I didn't answer. Leaned across the center console toward her. She shrank back, spine pressed against the door. But in this enclosed space, she had nowhere to go. My fingertips touched her hair. She tensed like she'd been electrocuted.
Then I plucked a tiny piece of cardboard from the top of her head. Gold, star-shaped, almost invisible.
"You had something in your hair." I held the little scrap up in front of her.
Anthea stared at the glittering fragment, her wariness turning to embarrassment. She opened her mouth but couldn't speak.
I leaned in again. This time, she didn't flinch, just froze as my hand reached past her side.
The seatbelt clicked open, loud in the quiet car.
"There." I straightened up and looked at her. "You can go now if you want."
She didn't move, like she hadn't recovered from what just happened. After a moment, she finally pushed the door open.
"...Must've been from art class. We were doing crafts with the kids."
She got out quickly and hurried toward the building entrance. Her back looked flustered, steps rushed, like something was chasing her. I lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, acrid smoke filling my lungs.
Chapter Seventeen
