“Okay...”
“Darling, didn’t you wonder how they could find someone who so carefully didn’t want to be found?”
“Of course, I wondered, but...”
What’s he trying to say?
Then he taps his nose and I realize that the answer has been here this entire time. Obviously, things weren’t as they seemed. There was more to the situation than I could have possibly understood.
“They’re shifters,” I say, realizing what he’s trying to tell me. “And someone smelled her. They sniffed out her location. Literally.”
“It’s the only explanation that makes sense. I don’t know what set them off on her trail or why they so desperately wanted Alexis, but if they’re coming after Brandon, and they’re coming after you, well, all they have to do is follow your scent.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
Does it mean I’m never going to escape?
Does it mean there’s no way I’m ever getting out of this?
Does it mean that despite everything else, I’m going to be totally screwed?
What does it mean?
What?
“Think about it,” he repeats. “Alexis’ father isn’t a shifter. If he was, she would be, too. The boyfriend, though?”
“He was never her boyfriend.”
“Her dad wanted her to marry this guy, right? Maybe that person is a shifter of some sort.”
“You think Andrew is a shifter?”
“Don’t you?”
“But that means he’s been hiding in plain sight.”
“That’s the best place to hide,” Jace tells me. “Because that’s where nobody’s looking for you, love. That’s where nobody’s going to find you.”
I run my hands anxiously through my hair. I feel like I’m going to throw up. No, I’m definitely going to throw up. Definitely. How could I have missed this?
“I never would have thought.”
“I could be wrong,” he says. “But I doubt it.”
“Ho
w are you so confident all the time?” I ask Jace, looking up at him sharply. “It’s just not fair.”
“Life’s not fair, Polly. Never has been.”
He paces for a minute. He sets baby Brandon down in his makeshift bassinet and instantly, Brandon starts to wiggle around. He’s trying so hard to learn how to roll over, how to start scooting. Soon he’ll be crawling everything.
And Alexis won’t be here to see it.
“When the storm clears,” he says. “They’re probably going to be here. They’re going to show up, and we need to be ready.”
I don’t want that.