The Cure by Teyla Branton Page A

will hunt you now. Trevor sold you out. He’s not there waiting for you. He never will be.” I wanted to tell her she was one of the lucky women who got away, but she started crying again, crumpling in Stella’s arms.
    Stella glared at me. “Sorry,” I mouthed with a shrug. So I wasn’t the most empathetic person. I should be. After all, I was the one who could feel her emotions bouncing around like a bullet in my brain. I strengthened my mental barriers and immediately the desperation left me. Ah. I needed to remember to do that without having to concentrate so hard.
    We all stood there a bit helplessly, not knowing what to do. I didn’t think telling Mari that Trevor was unconscious would improve matters. Maybe I should tell her how my old boyfriend helped the Emporium kidnap me. Then again, it wasn’t something I was willing to discuss with so many listening ears.
    Oliver stood and came around the table. “Hey,” he said to Mari, “it’s really not that bad. They give you a bank account, and you don’t have to worry about food anymore, or paying the rent. Plus, you can jump off a building, splat on the ground, and come back to life as good as new.”
    The idiot. Exactly what we’re looking for in new Unbounded. Oliver looked great—until he opened his mouth. We were trying to save the world and all Oliver worried about was the rent and interesting ways to off himself. I’d heard that a few of the younger Unbounded—meaning those who hadn’t reached their first century—got high on dying and coming back to life, but in my experience, it wasn’t all that pleasant. Of course I’d been in a hospital and pretty thoroughly drugged at the time.
    “Better yet, they give you guns,” Jace added, excitement lacing his voice. “Any kind you want. Bigger ones than I had in the army.”
    Mari stared at him in horror.
    Okay. So Jace isn’t much better.
    Ava watched us all with an expression I couldn’t exactly interpret, but it reminded me of a mother I’d seen on the news whose teens had been caught setting fire to a school. I didn’t bother to try pulling any more from her thoughts; as a sensing Unbounded she could block me better than most without even trying.
    “What about the second thing?” I asked her. “You said we had two problems to take care of besides the break-in at the lab.” As if Keene’s mysterious appearance wasn’t complication enough.
    Ava sighed. “It’s that dog of yours.”
    Mine? I wouldn’t exactly call Max that, though he’d belonged to my family. When we’d fled from Kansas, we’d had to take him with us. Where else would he go? “What’s he done now?”
    “He’s suddenly forgotten that he’s potty-trained, and he’s left a surprise for you upstairs in the hall. If you’ll remember, the housekeeper told us she’d vacuum up his hair, but she absolutely drew the line at messes.”
    Right. And in a fit of misguided loyalty, I’d promised to keep him in line.
    “There’s plenty of time to take care of it before you head out for your meeting,” Ava added.
    Snorting a laugh, Jace turned quickly on his heel to escape.
    “Oh, no you don’t.” I grabbed his arm. “If you want to come with me to see Keene, you’re helping me clean up after that mutt. Besides, you actually like him.”
    Jace groaned, but he didn’t pull away.
    “Just remember,” Ava’s voice floated after us. “The restaurant might be a trap.”
    Though my mind rejected the thought that Keene would try to hurt his brother, or me, I knew she was right. Trust was something that couldn’t be earned with a single action. Or even several actions. In whatever agenda he was pushing, Keene could very well want us all dead.
     

 
     
     
     
     

     
    A LTHOUGH WE WERE EARLY FOR our appointment, we left the palace in a hurry. I wanted to be gone before Ritter arrived with the trailer of unconscious Hunters and insisted on coming with us. Truth was, I didn’t trust myself alone with him, and I was