There were no words of admonishment. Just soft, sympathetic expressions.
“Did you hear what I said?” I repeated. “Roman showing up was all my fault. I’m the one who brought him here.”
“We heard you,” said Colson. He bent back to the task at hand, and started zippering bags again.
My brow furrowed. “But—”
“So you called your sick father,” Peyton began slowly.
“Yes,” I admitted, adding a miserable nod.
“To make sure he was alright.”
I nodded again.
“And you’re apologizing to us for that?”
She moved on to folding a few things into her carry bag. Her nonchalance had me incredulous.
Behind her, Ripley actually laughed. “Are you serious right now?”
“I could’ve gotten us killed!” I protested.
“But you didn’t,” shrugged Ripley.
“I broke the one cardinal rule we made, the second we started running: No outside contact. Not ever.”
“You did what anybody would do,” explained Peyton.
“Yeah, seriously,” Ripley huffed. “You don’t get to be perfect.”
“I have to be perfect, though,” I countered. “Especially once we get to New York. Because if I’m not—”
Someone grabbed me by the shoulder. Colson’s voice cracked as he pulled me close.
“You’re the one who cracked the locket,” Colson said coolly. “You disabled the tracking device, enabling us to stay hidden. You’re the one who kept us alive.”
“Multiple times,” added Ripley.
“You called to make sure your sick father was okay,” Colson went on. “So fucking what? You took a chance.”
“An unnecessary chance,” I added miserably.
“Everything we’ve done has been one big chance,” Peyton piled on. She moved closer, and there was no doubt in her expression. Her pretty blue eyes held no judgment, only admiration.
Admiration, and love.
“Besides,” said Colson, “Roman showing up worked out for us.”
“Yeah,” agreed Ripley. He made a quick fist and then palmed it. “I got to put him right on his fucking ass.”
“That you did,” smirked Peyton.
“I just wish you hadn’t stopped me,” he nudged Colson. “At least not for another ten or twelve seconds. Itwould’ve been more fun to bloody him up a bit.”
“It’s probably better that you didn’t,” I agreed, finally cracking a smile. “But for what it’s worth, I won’t make any more mistakes.”
“Yeah, right,” Peyton chuckled. “This coming from the guy who smacked his head into the grotto’s ceiling.”
