“I didn’t ask him. But he’ll notice eventually.” His voice had a hard edge to it but softened for his next words. He had defied Major—for me? “My god, Tessa, I was so worried. You shouldn’t be here alone. You have no clue how dangerous it is out here.”
“Dangerous?”
“I overheard Major talking to Summers. Abel’s Army has a spy in town who kept an eye on Ryan and the investigations. They know far more than we realized. And do you think they would pass up the chance to kidnap you?”
“But why would they pay any attention to me?”
“Major thinks that Abel’s Army realized the FEA sent you to pose as Madison and now they want you for themselves. He’s been discussing ways to protect you. They want to keep you on lockdown in headquarters until this whole thing blows over.”
I was still in shock. “But why would Abel’s Army want me?”
“You are far more valuable than you think.” For a moment, he looked like he wanted to take the words back. Was there more? “Your Variation would be very useful to them. You can be whoever you want to be, whoever they want you to be. Just imagine the possibilities for someone as ruthless as Abel. Believe me, Abel’s Army would be crazy not to target you.”
I felt cold all over. Of course, I knew how dangerous my Variation could be in the right hands. If I impersonated the right people, I could eventually work my way up to someone close to the president and turn into him. But I’d never felt the sort of power hunger necessary for such an endeavor.
My eyes searched the crowd for the spot where the man with the sunglasses had stood but he was gone. He hadn’t worn the glasses to hide his crying—he’d worn them to hide his eyes.
“There was a man with sunglasses. He was watching me.”
Alec gripped my shoulders. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know. He was there a minute ago, but he’s gone.”
“Are you sure he was looking at your face? That he saw your eyes?” His grip tightened until it was almost painful.
“I think so. His sunglasses blocked my view. But if they already know about me, it doesn’t really matter that he saw my eyes, right?”
He let go. “Right.”
That didn’t sound convincing.
“Look, we don’t know who the man was. Maybe he wasn’t even Abel’s Army. And I’m safe in headquarters.” I didn’t feel the certainty my voice conveyed.
“You’re right. They won’t get you. I won’t let them. I’ll do anything to keep you safe.” He sounded fierce, as if he’d do anything for me.
I didn’t look at him because then he’d have seen it all in my eyes.
“You mean too much to me, Tess. I hope you know it. What happened between us in the swimming hall, I want it to be only the beginning.”
Those words ignited a hope I wanted to trample down with my FEA-assigned boots before someone else could, before he could.
“The beginning of what?” I asked, not able to keep my voice firm and controlled. The shakiness gave it all away, laid me bare to him, made me vulnerable, but I couldn’t help it.
He squeezed my hand before he took my face into his hands and tipped my head back until his lips were inches from mine.
“I want you to be mine and I want to be yours. I want us to be together because we both know that’s how it’s meant to be,” he murmured.
My eyes grew wide and for a moment I couldn’t breathe.
“I should have broken up with Kate a long time ago. I always knew she wasn’t the right woman for me. We’ve been doing nothing but argue. Our relationship has always been a matter of reason, never of emotion. But with you, it’s always about pure emotion. When I realized how close I’d come to losing you . . .” He shook his head, as if it scared him just thinking about it. “I’ve tried to fight my feelings for you because I thought you were too young and because of Major . . . but I just don’t care anymore. I’m tired of resisting, tired of fearing the consequences.”
His thumb brushed across my cheek and then his lips pressed against me, warm and soft. I melted into the kiss, relaxing against him. This wasn’t the passion explosion from the pool but this filled me with another form of satisfaction that was just as rewarding. After a moment, he pulled back and exhaled. “I want to do this every day.”
I smiled against his mouth. “Then do it.”
He pulled back and scanned the area. “We should leave now. I want to get you back to headquarters as soon as possible.”
Alec led me down the hill toward the entrance of the cemetery and past the mourners. Devon looked up. Our eyes met, and for the briefest moment I felt a twinge of emotion I couldn’t explain. Part of me was glad that he would join the FEA soon, before he could be targeted by Abel’s Army, but the other part worried how we would act around each other. Would it be awkward? Or would we try to help each other deal with everything that had happened?