Page 85 of Caretaker

Rhys pointed toward Dock 6. “Don’t wait for me,” he told Angus. “Don’t wait for anyone. Get her off the island.”

Angus gave him a terse nod and then Rhys was gone, flying through the night, ignoring my shouts for him to come back.

But when we made it to Dock 6, a large, sleek, black canoe waited, and I knew we wouldn’t be leaving Rhys behind.

Leo set me on my feet and one by one, we boarded the boat. I stood, Silverlight aloft, hoping with everything inside me that at the last second, Clayton and the others would appear.

They did not.

And with a movement no one questioned, the black boat cut through the water, taking us to safety.

Taking us home.

We’d almost made it to the other side of the lake when bombs began to detonate, one after the other.

The lake was thick with ferries, but I knew countless lives would be lost. Not everyone would have escaped. Not even most of them. I couldn’t think about the ones I’d left behind, because it hurt too much and I was already overwhelmed.

The night was lit up with pulsing police and ambulance lights, the sky seemed alive with helicopters, and crowds of bystanders and reporters stood in crowds and watched the ferries come in.

“What will happen now?” I whispered. “What will this change?”

No one knew.

The Byrdcage exploded as we climbed off the black boat. We stood safe on the other side, watching. Worried.

Our ride slid away, and only I watched it go.

“Trinity!”

I looked around at the voice, my stomach easing a little when I saw Shane walking gingerly toward me. His head was still wrapped and his face was pale, but a spark of pure relief lit his eyes.

“I saw on the news,” he said, then grabbed me, pulling me into his arms. “Fuck you, Trinity. Fuck you.”

I pressed my lips against his and wrapped my good arm around his waist, my eyes dry but my throat full of tears I could not shed. I didn’t ask him if he was okay—obviously, he was not. But he was there.

“I see you finally won over your hunter,” Angus growled.

I pulled away from Shane but he snagged my hand. He gave Angus a nod. “Good to have you back. Sorry I wasn’t there.”

“You look like you shouldn’t be here,” Angus said. He pointed his chin at the giant. “This is Leo Trask. He’s…” He shrugged. “He’s one of us now. Leo, this is Shane Copas, Trinity’s hunter.”

I expected Shane to glare at being called such. The old Shane would have stomped and growled and argued. But he only smiled ruefully and gave the giant a nod.

Leo held out his hand. “Good to meet you.”

Shane released my fingers so he could shake the giant’s hand, and then he glanced around the dock. “Clayton and Alejandro?”

“I don’t know,” I murmured. “In the end, I couldn’t find them.”

No one said anything for a second, then Angus broke the silence. “One thing at a time. Shane, back to the hospital. Trinity, you need to get to the ER and have that arm looked at. We need to stay under the radar as much as possible, and this guy,” he jerked a thumb at Leo, “isn’t helping with that. I’ll get him home.”

I walked with them to the captain’s little car, unsure how Leo would actually fit inside it. “We’ll figure it out,” Angus said, taking the keys. He looked at Shane. “Snag an ambulance to transport you both to the hospital.”

Shane nodded, then swayed, his face paling a little more. I gripped his arm. “Go home, Angus. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

He stared at me, and for a second, the air was so full of thick tension I could taste it. There was a deep promise in his eyes, and I trembled when I saw it.

When we were alone…