Here I am,in a car with a man I don’t even know, who has five thousand dollars in cash and a bunch of guns, being pursued by a government conspiracy.Because I’m a freak—only he calls it psionic.And Dad… and Hilary.How did I get here?
She’d never used thetouchon a normal person before.But then, he wasn’t exactly… well,normal, was he?His mind was ordered, clean, not like the scattered wash of sensation and impression regular people gave off into the air or the screaming chaos of her patients’ minds.
She blinked in the late-morning sunlight.Two lattes stood steaming gently between them, in the cup holders.The car was new, a dark-blue Ford Taurus, without even an air-freshener.It was as bare and utilitarian as everything else these people seemed to have.
He glanced at her, checking.“You all right?”
The lunacy of the question taunted her.“No.I’m not.My family’s dead and gone and all this… I’m not all right.I’mnot.”
“I’m sorry.If I could have done this quietly—made contact with you, told you about the Society—I would have.I didn’t want this.”
That made a sharp acrid bite of guilt chew at her breastbone.She believed him.“I know.”
“We need to get you some clothes.We’ll probably stay in a hotel tonight, if that’s all right with you.Just keep focusing on the next thing for right now, Rowan.”
There it was again.He kept saying her name, lingering over it.
“Why do you keep saying my name?Are you trying to calm me down?”
“It’s a pretty name,” he said, and she stole another glance at him.He watched the road.She picked up her latte—nonfat, double hazelnut—and took a sip.It had cooled down considerably.
“My mother named me.”Her eyes filled with tears.She put the latte back in the cup holder and stared out the windshield.
His cell phone rang.Rowan almost flinched.
He fished in his jacket pocket and brought the phone out, flipped it open, glancing at the Caller ID.“Delgado.”
Silence.Two tears tracked down Rowan’s cheeks.
“Fuck.”He glanced at her.“You’re kidding.That’s going to make it difficult.”
Another long pause.He sounds so calm.She wiped away more tears.She’d promised herself she wouldn’t cry again.
“No,” he said.“I haven’t yet.What do you suggest?”
Rowan could hear the faint sound of a male voice from the phone.Delgado laughed, but it was a short, bitter sound.“I’ll get her there, General.Go ahead, don’t worry about me.IthinkI can handle one extraction, even with—what?”There was a note of worry in his voice now, and that alarmed Rowan more than she would have thought possible.“Good Christ,” he finally said.“Okay.”
Then he shrugged, even though the person on the other end couldn’t see him.“Okay.Be careful.OfcourseI’ll get her there.I’ve been outwitting Sigs for years; I won’t let them have her.”Another bitter little laugh.“Ten-four.Be safe, old man.”
Then he hung up.“Henderson and the crew were surprised by a squad of Sigs at the house.”
Rowan gasped.
“Don’t worry.”He reached into the back seat, snagging a box of tissues.“Here.Anyway, everything was already packed, they dealt with it and got out of there.They’ll meet us at Headquarters, but it might take awhile for us to get there.We’ll have to go a lot further and faster than I thought, because the Sigs have put out an APB on both of us through civilian channels.Someone must have identified me in the Shop’N’Save parking lot.”
Rowan took the box and pulled out two tissues with numb fingers.She mopped at her cheeks and blew her nose.“What does that mean?”she whispered, stuffing the wadded tissue in the litter bag.
“It means they’re really serious about acquiring you.It also means they’ll use anything—up to and including deadly force—to do so.And it means they’re kicking themselves for killing your father and friend, getting rid of valuable leverage.Last of all, it means we can’t take a plane, so we’ll have to drive.That’ll take some time.”
“Leverage?”
“Applied pressure,” he said, grimly.“Works a lot of the time.We’ll drive for a few hours to get out of immediate danger and get you some lunch, and then we’ll shop for some clothes.”
Rowan felt her stomach somersault.“I don’t think I can eat.”
“I need you to try, Rowan.I need you strong.You’re going to have to watch my back.”He still gazed at the road ahead of them, but she had the strange idea that he was paying attention to her instead of his driving.
All the breath left her.She actually gasped.“You don’tneedme.”She sounded shocked even to herself.
