Page 55 of H E R

Jule opens it and gasps. “I thought owning phones was too much of a risk?”

“Not this time. The risk is not being able to communicate with you or losing you out there. It’s already set up and ready to go.”

He rolls his eyes again but laughs. “Wow, Nik, what a way to act like a sister andnota mom.”

Behind us, Jasmin laughs, and I punch him lightly on the arm. “I would wish you luck, but you don’t need it.” I tell him in our Native tongue. I ruffle his hair and push him toward the door. “Andale, before they leave you.”

He takes one look at my busted lip, and his jaw tightens. His eyes crinkle at the corners and he breathes in slowly. “Cuidate, Nik.”

I nod and shove him toward the door.

Once the door closes and he’s gone, Jasmin sighs. “Wow, I can’t believe he’s in high school already.”

My eyes are burning, unshed tears threatening to roll over my cheeks, and I bring up the collar of my t-shirt and dab it on my waterline. I sniffle and give one sad nod. “Best high school in the fucking state.”

My parents would be so proud of him.I’mproud of him.

Jasmin comes to give me a hug, and I use the towel that’s now draped over her shoulders to dry my tears. She clears her throat and holds me by my shoulders, then takes a step back. “Now that we’re alone—”

Shit. “I think Dylan put a tracking device on me.”

She gasps. “A what? Like a fucking bug?”

I nod and lift up my arm and point to the fox charm. “This one wasn’t here before and I don’t know where it came from.”

She chuckles and my brows knit together in response. I don’t think having a stalker, who’s some special ops, undercover agent for a non-existent organization, is a laughing matter, but I read my best friend’s mind.

“What else, right?” I shrug and slap my hands to my thighs. What else is the universe going to throw at me?

“And what are you going to do?” she asks in Spanish.

I bite my lower lip. “Leave it on so he doesn’t know that I know. But when we visit the ranch, I’m taking it off.”

She gives a quick nod. “Good plan.”

We both laugh, but then a serious and dark expression drapes over her usually chipper face. “What’s going to happen now?”

I know she’s referring to me getting beaten and dragged to a warehouse and the very real possibility that the repercussions of getting rescued by a fucking cop come back to bite us in the ass.

“Dylan said he would take care of it and that we would be safe.”

I expect Jasmin to scoff and question his promise, like she always does whenever it comes to believing in anyone’s words. But instead, she nods quietly and continues to towel dry her hair.

“That’s it? We’re believing him?”

She turns and shrugs. “He’s trustworthy.”

I click my tongue against my teeth, making a snapping sound, and put my hands on my hips.

“He brought you back, didn’t he? And the other night, he carried you inside and asked me not to wake you and—” She halts and looks up, as if searching for the perfect way to describe what she sensed. “He’s got this weird, otherworldly connection to you. It’s like he exhales, you inhale.”

I gawk at her, and her shoulders lift up, abandoning the notion of trying to explain herself. Then she points to my drawer, prompting me to get ready for our day of shopping.

“Hurry up. Sara will be here in fifteen minutes.”

“Okay, okay.” I wiggle my eyebrows at her and her cheeks flush.

18

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