Agents were chasing us. We got away, but now I’m sprawled on the ground. We must have crashed the bike. Toes, head, fingers, chest, all good. So, that can’t be right, because I don’t feel any pain.
Houses rushing by, zooming in and out of rush hour traffic, the long straight highway. Small parts of the escape flash back. I haven’t slept in twenty-four hours, so when the adrenaline faded, exhaustion must have closed in. The bike rests on its kickstand just outside the ring of shade. Yes, that’s what happened.
“Morning,” Jax chimes, his voice as light as the air around us.
I push myself up. He lazes against the tree trunk with his legs out in front of him crossed at the ankles, looking at me through half-closed eyes.
“We’re safe?” I ask.
“Of course,” he says. “You fell asleep and drooled all over my back.”
“Oh, sorry.” My cheeks burn. “You put me on the ground?”
He shrugs. “You slid off the bike, and mumbled something about sleep. I just helped get you to the ground.” He pulls at the long grass and snaps a piece off. “Nice move, knocking the agent out.”
“It was pretty basic, not like I actually fought.” Anything can be a weapon: an early self-defense lesson from Dad’s super protective phase. I hated the self-defense classes he forced me to take. I almost always fumbled the moves, made myself and my opponent crash to the ground, and caused more bruises and bumps to myself and my ego than achieving anything useful. Oh no, Dad.
“You did well.” Jax arches a single eyebrow.
“Were those men from The Collective?”
“Agents of The Collective,” he says. The man lying in a pool of blood flashes through my mind, the image burned there like a horrible nightmare.
“I hope he’s not dead.” My stomach churns, and an ill feeling creeps up my throat.
“If we didn’t take him out, they would’ve got us both.” He flicks at the grass with his finger, and it bounces straight back like an uncoiling spring. “They were sure as hell going to kill me. I think they wanted to capture you. Probably to get your tech and discover what happened to their scout.” His gaze slides over to me.
“They were waiting for me?”
“This is why you can’t go home, Anamae.” He twirls the piece of grass through his fingers. His eyes flicker across my face, hard and burning and intense.
I look away and poke at a rock half buried in the dirt.
“The Collective knows who you are. They know you have tech you can use. All of this is information they think you shouldn’t have. In their eyes, the tech needs to be confiscated, and you have to be eliminated.”
I look up to him still studying me.
“You’ve got no choice. You and Will both need to stay where they can’t find you.” He doesn’t say it, but I know what he means. Stay at the farm.
I meet his gaze, and I’m so empty, so lost, but I get it. “I understand.” My shoulders drop in time with my sinking heart. “Is Dad safe?”
There’s a pause while I wait for him to answer. But he doesn’t. Jax only looks at me through the dappled shade, shadows splashing his face.
“My dad, he thinks I’m dead.” A shiver runs through me, rattling every bone. “Why did he say those things? Is he trying to throw the agents off? He can’t really think I died as a child.” The tremble in my lip matches the uneven crack in my voice, a crack that threatens to cut right through me. If I’ve lost him… we’ll both be so alone.
“The Collective must have done something to him,” Jax says. “I haven’t seen anything like it before. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, though. It’s not worth eliminating him… he’s valuable to them as a link to you.”
Tech used in his house —me with the cover-up. A long sigh wheezes out, and tears threaten to spill. “Did you kill the scout? That one in my house.”
“No, but he, ah… probably hasn’t made it back to The Collective yet.” The corner of
Houses rushing by, zooming in and out of rush hour traffic, the long straight highway. Small parts of the escape flash back. I haven’t slept in twenty-four hours, so when the adrenaline faded, exhaustion must have closed in. The bike rests on its kickstand just outside the ring of shade. Yes, that’s what happened.
“Morning,” Jax chimes, his voice as light as the air around us.
I push myself up. He lazes against the tree trunk with his legs out in front of him crossed at the ankles, looking at me through half-closed eyes.
“We’re safe?” I ask.
“Of course,” he says. “You fell asleep and drooled all over my back.”
“Oh, sorry.” My cheeks burn. “You put me on the ground?”
He shrugs. “You slid off the bike, and mumbled something about sleep. I just helped get you to the ground.” He pulls at the long grass and snaps a piece off. “Nice move, knocking the agent out.”
“It was pretty basic, not like I actually fought.” Anything can be a weapon: an early self-defense lesson from Dad’s super protective phase. I hated the self-defense classes he forced me to take. I almost always fumbled the moves, made myself and my opponent crash to the ground, and caused more bruises and bumps to myself and my ego than achieving anything useful. Oh no, Dad.
“You did well.” Jax arches a single eyebrow.
“Were those men from The Collective?”
“Agents of The Collective,” he says. The man lying in a pool of blood flashes through my mind, the image burned there like a horrible nightmare.
“I hope he’s not dead.” My stomach churns, and an ill feeling creeps up my throat.
“If we didn’t take him out, they would’ve got us both.” He flicks at the grass with his finger, and it bounces straight back like an uncoiling spring. “They were sure as hell going to kill me. I think they wanted to capture you. Probably to get your tech and discover what happened to their scout.” His gaze slides over to me.
“They were waiting for me?”
“This is why you can’t go home, Anamae.” He twirls the piece of grass through his fingers. His eyes flicker across my face, hard and burning and intense.
I look away and poke at a rock half buried in the dirt.
“The Collective knows who you are. They know you have tech you can use. All of this is information they think you shouldn’t have. In their eyes, the tech needs to be confiscated, and you have to be eliminated.”
I look up to him still studying me.
“You’ve got no choice. You and Will both need to stay where they can’t find you.” He doesn’t say it, but I know what he means. Stay at the farm.
I meet his gaze, and I’m so empty, so lost, but I get it. “I understand.” My shoulders drop in time with my sinking heart. “Is Dad safe?”
There’s a pause while I wait for him to answer. But he doesn’t. Jax only looks at me through the dappled shade, shadows splashing his face.
“My dad, he thinks I’m dead.” A shiver runs through me, rattling every bone. “Why did he say those things? Is he trying to throw the agents off? He can’t really think I died as a child.” The tremble in my lip matches the uneven crack in my voice, a crack that threatens to cut right through me. If I’ve lost him… we’ll both be so alone.
“The Collective must have done something to him,” Jax says. “I haven’t seen anything like it before. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, though. It’s not worth eliminating him… he’s valuable to them as a link to you.”
Tech used in his house —me with the cover-up. A long sigh wheezes out, and tears threaten to spill. “Did you kill the scout? That one in my house.”
“No, but he, ah… probably hasn’t made it back to The Collective yet.” The corner of
Similar Books
