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“You’re safe now,” he whispers into my hair.

“Will—” I can’t get it out. I can’t share this trauma with anyone. Does he know? Does anyone? Why hasn’t anyone found his body? Is he alone? He shouldn’t be alone.

“He’s at the hospital.” Luke pulls back a little and smiles. “MacKenzie was able to give him medicine and save his life. He’s worried about you.”

What? My pulse races. My brain can’t process the words.

“No.” I shake my head and pull away from Luke. It has to be a lie. “His heart. It stopped. He was dead.”

I felt it. I felt his cold, lifeless body. Saw the life slip from his eyes. He was gone.

“Come with me. I’ll go with you to the hospital, and we’ll see him together.” Luke stands and helps me to my feet.

My hands itch with the drying blood. I stare at my bagged hands. What have I done? What did I become when I thought I’d lost him? Who am I now?

Will he still want me like this?

CHAPTER 27

Essential Care

Nico

I hold onto Harper in the backseat while Kenz drives the car to the hospital. Harper is shaking and panting like she can’t catch her breath. I don’t know what Zach gave her, but it’s not good.

She’s curled up against me, burrowed into my lap.

“How’s she doing?” Kenz meets my gaze in the rearview mirror. Angela is in the passenger seat, and Will sits on the other side of the back seat. I can’t imagine what they’ve all gone through.

“Not great,” I admit.

Harper’s dress is damp and I’m pretty sure it’s sweat causing it. She’s wearing Luke’s jacket, but she shivers like she can’t get warm. We pass a couple of ambulances heading the way we came from.

“Not much farther,” I whisper into her hair.

We could have lost her tonight.

It bounces around my head. If they’d changed any of their plans? If they went somewhere else when Alex got captured. Fuck. We got lucky. Once her tracker was in that house, she disappeared off the grid. Thankfully Luke caught Alex before he got away so we were confident the farm was where they were taking her.

We really should have let him out of the trunk.

When Kenz hits a bump, a heavy clunk sounds from the trunk. Angela turns around to look at me and asks, “What’s that?”

I shrug but smile. “Old car.”

She doesn’t need to know. That seems to appease her for the moment. But it reminds me, I owe her one for telling Eli about Harper.

I clear my throat, and she turns back to me. “This counts as your favor from the horsemen.”

She narrows her eyes and then turns back around to face front. “Not like I want anything to do with you guys and your creepy enemies anymore.”

“Sure, you don’t.” I shake my head. I don’t think that girl is going to give up her quest to sleep with all the horsemen. She might put it on the back burner for a while though.

Will stays quiet in the other corner. He hasn’t said much, but the boy’s been traumatized. I’m sure he’s ready to leave our bullshit behind too.

If I were on the outside, I might try to put as much distance as possible between me and the others. But I’m not and I wouldn’t.

“Nico?” Harper’s voice is so soft I almost miss it.