My introduction to the state of Pennsylvania is a dingy clothing outlet store standing between two other big, boxy outlet stores just off the highway we’ve been driving down. Between the guys’ talents, they were able to commandeer a seven-seater SUV in a mundane shade of tan from, as Andreas described it, “the kind of people who aren’t going to be reporting their car stolen.”
He’s behind the wheel now as he pulls into the parking lot outside the store, a little more confident after his stint in the driver’s seat earlier today. Have they managed to practice their driving skills since I’ve been gone, maybe as a little detour on missions?
I want to ask but I have the uncomfortable suspicion that any questions about their activities will come across as digging for info for my supposed guardian allies.
“Okay,” Jacob says as Andreas parks at the far end of the mostly empty lot. “The three of us will go in and grab a few sets of low-profile clothes for all of us. Dom, you stay here with Riva.”
I raise my chin from where I’m tucked away in the back seat. “Why can’t I pick out my own clothes? I’m the one who brought the money you’re using.”
Jacob twists to shoot a glare at me. “You shouldn’t look strange with that hair on a university campus, but out here in the boonies? We’re trying to avoid getting noticed—at least, the four of us are.”
I make a face at him, but he does have a point. My gaze slides to Dominic in the middle row, to the left of my seat.
I don’t need to ask why the quietest of the guys is being left behind with me. Now that I’ve seen him by full daylight, I’ve realized that his posture isn’t perpetually hunched after all.
He’s got a small but noticeable lumpy area on his upper back, covered by the thin trench coat I haven’t seen him take off once. Did the guardians perform experiments on him that left him disfigured?
Another question I already know will only make them more pissed off with me. But it makes sense that they wouldn’t want bystanders noticing.
The other guys push open the car doors, letting a rush of cool fresh air waft over us. It’s early fall, the leaves on some of the trees we’ve raced by already sharpening to reds and oranges with the crisp weather.
Then the doors thump shut again, and Dominic and I are alone.
I squirm in my seat, my nerves twitching with restless exhaustion and overall discomfort. I ended up dozing off for a little while on the truck and again here in the backseat after we found the car, but not nearly enough to make up for the fact that I’ve been on the run all night and the better part of the day after.
And Jacob’s poison is gnawing away at me, setting off little aches in my joints and flashes of queasiness in my gut.
His strategy is so stupid. If we’re attacked—if I need my strength—
I close my eyes for a moment, gathering my focus. Freaking out won’t get me anywhere.
And the last thing I want is to provoke that sharp prickle in my chest again.
When I feel steady, I focus on Dominic, the sliver of his profile I can see from my current angle.
He’s pulled his shoulder-length waves back into his usual ponytail, the auburn strands dark against his light brown skin. In the past four years, the line of his jaw has broadened a little, but other than that and the bulges on his back, he looks the same as the unassumingly handsome guy I knew then.
Dom was always the most thoughtful of the six of us: taking his time to consider every angle, stating his opinions carefully and waiting for our feedback. He wouldn’t have jumped to conclusions or gotten caught up in righteous rage.
All the others had their silly nicknames for me, but he always called me exactly who I was.
I pull my legs up on the seat in front of me, hugging my knees. “You know this is ridiculous, right?”
His head turns a little, but he’s looking toward the store rather than at me. “Getting new clothes? You’ve got blood on yours.”
I wrinkle my nose at the stains not totally invisible in the black fabric and try again. “No. Treating me like I’m allied with the guardians.Yourealize I’d never screw the rest of you over, don’t you?”
There’s a moment of silence before he speaks again. “I don’t think we should talk about this.”
“I just need to know that someone here hasn’t gone totally crazy. We’reblood. I—”
Dominic swivels to meet my gaze then, the abruptness of the gesture cutting me off. His hazel eyes aren’t as cold as Jacob’s, but I don’t see any friendliness in them either.
“You have no idea about anything,” he says, quiet but terse. “You don’t even know what I’m already giving up just keeping you around. So don’t tell me I’m not doing enough.”
I blink at him—at the back of his head, which is all I have a moment later. “What do you mean? What are you giving up?”
Before he can answer, if he even would have, the other guys are hopping back into the SUV.