“Your what?” A vee formed over Luca’s eyebrows. It added years to his very young face.
“Our Alpha. I’m not sure how else to explain it.”
“Do you at least know how he got there?” Luca tugged on the seatbelt. “He was commuting to and from college every week before he was killed. Or before I was told he was killed.”
“I don’t know. Or at least I don’t remember.” Nox’s chest ached from the sadness radiating from Luca.
“Why did they tell us he was dead?”
Nox flexed his hands on the steering wheel. “Because he was. We all were.”
Luca stared at Nox. It was the same expression he’d worn the other night when Nox told him his brother had been alive. Luca had the pieces, but like any rational person, he couldn’t fit them together. Nox knew because it had taken him a long time to accept the truth. And he had it inside him.
“I don’t understand.”
“They used something—” Nox thought a moment. “—ichor. That’s what they called it. They used it to bring us back.”
“Bring you back?”
Small shops popped up along the side of the road. Neighborhoods fed more cars onto the street.
“Yes.”
“You’re saying you and my brother were brought back from the dead?”
“Yeah.”
Luca shook his head. “That’s not possible.”
“It’s what happened.”
“No, no. You’re just confused. You can’t even remember your real name, there’s no way you seriously believe you came back from the dead.” Luca laid his head against the passenger window. “You’re wrong. You have to be wrong.” There was the barest hint of hope in his voice.
The neighborhoods melted away, and the businesses expanded. There were quite a number of car dealers, all with acres of shiny vehicles.
“I thought we were going to stop and get a car.” Luca still stared out the window. Nox didn’t know if it was to hide his sorrow or his anger. Both saturated the air around him.
“We need somewhere when you pay cash, they won’t report the sale. Or at least not all of the sale.”
“Why does that matter?”
“When a person makes a certain sized deposit, the bank alerts the IRS. When it’s cash, they don’t have to deposit it.”
“A mom-and-pop type dealer.”
“Exactly.”
“What if they sell us a lemon?”
“They won’t. At least not on purpose.”
“How do you know?”
“I won’t let them.”
Luca gave him a confused expression.
Nox tapped his nose. “I can smell it when someone lies or is at least being dishonest.”