Page 125 of Bones
Iwas gonna kill him. “Trey?—”
“Look, Mac and I knew there was somebody else trying to find you. Somebody who scared you. We thought it was maybe a warlord or something, but it doesn’t matter who it is. I’m not gonna just bail on you and make you face whoever it is all by yourself.”
“He has powers! And I have no idea what he can do!”
“Ok, so we’ll be careful.”
I threw my arms up, frustrated. “Trey!”
“I’m not leaving, Bones.” He stepped closer, into my space, and his voice softened. “You hear me? This is my decision and I’m not leaving.”
I stared up at him helplessly, my heart in my throat, but he smiled that sweet, gentle smile.
“C’mon, we better keep moving.”
19
We walked in silence for another hour while everything Trey said played through my head on repeat. He said he loved me, and as much as I wanted to dismiss it, gods help me, I couldn't. He'd shown me he loved me over and over again before he said the words out loud. Tears burned in my eyes. I tried for a brief moment to peer into my feelings, but the intense emotion there immediately overwhelmed me, and I had to slam everything back down. I couldn't delve into my feelings about Trey right now. I had to stay in control.
“Mac’s gonna take care of the kids,” Trey said from behind me. “He won’t let anythin’ happen to them.”
Gratitude swelled in my chest. My fear for the kids had been so sharp that it hurt. The only comfort I had was knowing they’d be in more dangerwithme. They might never forgive me for abandoning them, especially Apple, but knowing Mac's crew would protect them made it easier. The pang of sorrow in my chest surprised me. I hated to admit it, but I'd miss them, even fucking Raven. Then another thought occurred to me, and my heart sank.
“What about Clarity?”
“She’s the one who figured out you were leaving,” he said. “She didn’t ask me to, but when I told her I was goin’ with you, she was so relieved.”
I glanced back at him and he offered me a slight smile.
“I’ll miss her, of course, but this is where I’m meant to be.”
I turned back around. My emotions swirled through me like a storm. I knew how much his sister and Mac and the rest of the crew meant to him, and Clarity loved her brother. Why the hell would shewanthim to leave with me?
“How did she know?” I asked to distract myself.
“She wouldn’t say.”
I looked again to see him frowning, a slight furrow between his eyes.
“But Mac and I checked your mattress, so we knew she was right.”
I frowned too, remembering how strange Clarity had been the last time I’d seen her. Had she already known my plans? Had she snooped through my stuff? Raven probably would have let her. She liked Clarity a hell of a lot more than she liked me.
“Madame will put a bounty out on us when she discovers we’re gone. Mac is gonna try to cover for us as long as possible, but most likely she’s gonna know soon.”
I shuddered, my fear over what Madame might do to the crew surging back.
“Will she take it out on Mac and the crew?”
“There’s a chance, yeah,” Trey said, “but they know that.”
We fell silent again. I tried not to dwell on what Madame might do to them. I didn’t know how to process that they accepted that risk just to help me. It made leaving them behind so much harder.
Soon I had to focus all my energy on hiking up the damn mountain. I had recovered some of my strength but my walks around the hold did little to prepare me for snowy mountain terrain. My steps grew clumsier as I tired and the pain in my back worsened. It wasn't long before I stumbled and fell, sliding down the hill and into Trey, who somehow managed to stop me without being knocked down the mountainside.
“Whoa, you ok?” he said, helping me back up to my feet.
“Yeah,” I said between heavy breaths, “sorry.”
