I must have looked worried, because she touched my arm.
“We’re okay,” she said. “I’m just…struggling with the choice I made.”
“You didn’t make-”
“Of course I did. I didn’t argue very hard. There was no point. Your dad had made up his mind and if I fought it, I’d only be trying to absolve myself of guilt. If I’d had the choice, would I really have said ‘Oh, no, please send me instead of the convicted murderer’?” She shook her head. “I just wish we hadn’t needed to make that decision. And I have a feeling it’s not going to be the last one.” A small laugh. “I did say I wasn’t going to bother you with it, didn’t I?”
“I’d like to hear-”
“Later. After we’re away from all this.” She swept her hand across the room. A pause, then she said, “I saw Carlos. Did he speak to you?”
“He knows about the deal. He’s not taking it.”
A slow nod. A moment of silence. “Everything’s going to change, isn’t it?” she said quietly.
“I don’t know.”
Her hand slid into mine, fingers entwining with a squeeze. “Whatever happens, whatever you decide, now, later…I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me, Cortez.”
I leaned down to kiss the top of her head and murmured, “I hope so.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KELLEY ARMSTRONG is the author of nine books of the Otherworld, as well as two Nadia Stafford thrillers. She lives in Ontario, Canada, with her family. You can visit her at: www.kelleyarmstrong.com.
