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“How will we get in? I don’t want anymore bloodshed, Micah. That doesn’t make us any better than they are.”

He shrugs. “That’s entirely up to them, but I can’t let Thomas die.”

My foot kicks at a rock and I stare at the lake water, the waves crashing onto the shoreline and the sun sparkling over the water. Micah presses his lips into my back as we stare out at the ice-kissed mountains. His lips graze my neck, causing my insides to stir.

Sometimes he seems to distance himself from me, and at other times, he can’t keep his hands off me. The game we constantly play.

“What do you need from me right now, London?” he whispers.

I turn to face him. The urge to kiss him is strong, but at this moment, it feels wrong. Like the weight of what I’m doing and who I lost comes crumbling down. Micah’s lips feel like fire even from a couple of inches away.

Warming me. Igniting me. Fueling me.

Reminding me why I’m with him right now instead of Maison. Instead of rising to meet his lips like I desperately want to, I fist my hand and I hit him. His eyebrows rise as my fist connects with his chest. I hit again and again till I can’t move anymore, and then he lets me lay my head on his lap and sleep until nightfall.

We wait till the sun dips just below the horizon, leaving the clouds in the sky speckled shades of blue and pink. We have enough light to see, but not clearly. Dark comes quickly with short sunsets this time of year. From there, once we get the medical kit, we have no real plan. We hope for the best and to avoid getting caught so we can bring Thomas his medicine.

I crouch down, watching poor Ollie and Nathan. This time, James is sitting with them. Micah doesn’t think the first aid kit is there; he thinks it’s in Ezra and Naomi’s shelter, although I didn’t see it when I was in there earlier. I don’t dare look at the others, even though I can hear their muffled voices and Naomi’s shrill laugh.

Right as I say this, Ezra walks up to the supplies and grabs the bag we need and carries it to his shelter and leaves it. It’s almost comically easy. He must think it’s somehow safer from Micah’s clutches in there.

I shift, ready to run and grab it. Quick in, quick out, they might not even realize it’s missing for at least an hour. We decided I was the best one to go. If I get caught, Micah has the chance of rescuing me, and I know in my heart Maison won’t hurt me or let me get hurt. If Micah gets caught, it’s game over.

My heart drops when a figure moves toward us, and immediately, I recognize Nigel’s stocky build moving toward the shelter, sitting on the ground in front of it. My lip curls at the sight of him.

Micah, who’s hovering a few feet away, cuts toward me, sensing my hesitation at the wrinkle in our plans. He presses his hand on my lower back, hinting for me not to move. He grabs my hand, and we creep back into the woods, out of sight.

I breathe out a sigh of frustration. “It’s Nigel,” I whisper when we are safely out of earshot.

Why did I think they would make this easy? Of course, they will keep their supplies guarded.

Micah flexes his jaw as a gleam hits his eyes. “I can fucking take Nigel.”

My eyes shoot up. It’s not all the time Micah seems out of control, but the sudden flash of anger reminds me of what he is actually capable of. I wonder just how close that version of him hides just below the surface, waiting to bubble up.

I place my hand on his. “Obviously, you can take him, but he will just sound the alarms if he sees you.”

He tilts his head. “What do you think we do then, London? Tell me what our options are.”

I think for a second. “We have three, from what I can tell. We wait Nigel out, and hopefully, he gets bored with watching an empty shelter and goes to bed. The second is for you to handle him, the way I know you want to. But that will just get the attention of the entire group, and we risk everything. Or I’ll distract him, get him to leave his post, and then you sneak in and grab the bag.”

He quirks his brow. “Then you’ll be caught, and what makes you think he won’t sound the alarms if he sees you?”

A darkness shutters through me. “He’ll be happy to see me alone. I think he’s been waiting to get me alone. He’ll lose the opportunity to fuck with me, and if he cries out, Maison will hear, and he won’t want that.”

I’m going to use Nigel’s dementedness against him. I’ll flirt with the devil if it saves Thomas.

My eyes find his as I sense his hesitation. “Trust me, Micah. I’m coming back to you. Even if they catch me, I will find my way back to you.”

He hoods his eyes. As good as he is in hiding his emotion, even he can’t hide the flare in his eyes.

He needs reassurance.

I wrap my hands around him, and he bends his head down, resting his forehead against mine. “I won’t blame you if you want to stay,” he tells me.

This time my lips find his, and his stubble tickles my cheek. “Stop that,” I murmur. “I promise.”

And it’s a promise I hope I can keep. Although, I wonder what I’ll do when I see Maison again. Can I really walk away from him twice?