Thin Lines (The Child Thief #3)(104)

“Get in and go to the back,” I told him. “There are beds back there for Jackie.”

Ant gazed up at the truck, a frown covering his face.

“Who the hell is driving that thing?” he asked. “What did you do, pick up a new recruit?”

“Ant, this is not the time for jokes or stupid questions,” I said, pushing him along. “The Authority is likely on its way as we speak. Move!”

I gave him another shove, and he stumbled into a walk, then a jog, moving toward the truck. When he got there, I saw Jace move into the passenger seat and reach down to grab Jackie, pulling her gently up into the truck. He turned and rushed toward the back with her in his arms, leaving Ant to find his own way up into the vehicle. The minute Ant was out of the way, I climbed up myself, threw the bags I held down onto the floor between us, and pulled the paper from my pocket.

“We’re going to take this highway up to the 90 and head east there until we hit the signs for Starkston,” I told Henry.

“Starkston?” he asked, glancing at the paper in my hand. “I know exactly where that is. Pass it all the time.”

“Perfect,” I said, not caring to hear any further details about it. “Get us there as quickly as you can, but let’s try to be at least a little bit safe. I’m keenly aware that we’re driving a bomb right now, and I don’t want to die in a fiery explosion. We need to get to the forest right outside of Starkston. Ant, do you know which direction the forest is in, in comparison to the town?”

“North,” he replied. “It’s half an hour north, by foot.”

Henry, to my continued surprise, didn’t even argue. It was quite a change from when we’d been younger, and he’d had some smartass answer to any statement anyone made. He just nodded, threw the truck into drive, and pulled back out onto the highway.

“Just north of Starkston. I know the place. In fact, I know several different ways to get there. Seems like a good idea for us to take an unexpected route, don’t you think? Maybe multiple unexpected routes? Given the fact that we can probably expect company. Good thing you guys have me as a guide, eh?” He glanced at me and waggled his eyebrows, and I shook my head in frustration at his antics.

Then I remembered that he was literally putting his life on the line to help us, and that he’d volunteered immediately when he found out I needed help.

That was the part of him I’d fallen in love with.

The memory made me blush, and I turned and stared out the window, determined not to look at him again until I had my emotions under control. Of all the times for him to randomly show up in my life again, he had to choose now, when I didn’t have the emotional energy to protect myself!

“What the hell is going on here, anyhow?” Henry asked suddenly, dragging my thoughts away from my embarrassment and back into the real world. “Who are these people? How did you get involved with them, Robin?”

His voice had taken on a disapproving tone now, as if he were deeply disappointed in me, and I narrowed my eyes. Who was he to be questioning me?

I turned to him and saw, though, that he wasn’t actually questioning me. His face was creased with worry, and though he was keeping his eyes on the road ahead of us as he navigated the traffic, his face was turned toward me. He was concerned.

And it broke my heart, just a little bit. In another life, in another world, this boy and I might still have been together. We might have had our baby and found a way to keep her, and that might have kept us joined until we had time to grow up. Time to learn how to be a couple. Instead, we’d been ripped apart by things that had been almost out of our control.

“They’re my friends,” I said simply. “And how I met them really isn’t important. What is important is that they’ve become… my family. The people who matter to me more than anyone else.”

A sharp cough sounded out from the general direction of my left elbow, and I snapped my gaze down to see none other than Jace sitting there, his eyes staring stonily out the front windshield. He turned them up to me, and I saw the confusion there—and the pain—and realized abruptly how this must look. I’d practically jumped into this boy’s arms on sight, obviously having known him from some other life, and he’d saved us, and then I’d fallen right into the passenger seat so I could talk to him and sent my friends to the back. To Jace that must look like a whole lot of mystery and very little room left for him.

“Jace,” I said quickly, putting a hand out.

His own hand jerked up to stop me, blocking my gesture. “I just wanted you to know that Jackie’s asking for you,” he said, his voice uncharacteristically flat. “That’s all.”

He turned and melted back into the bedroom area of the truck without another word.

“What is his problem?” Henry asked with a snort.

I turned to him, not knowing how to even begin to explain the situation with Jace, and then turned back to the road as I tried to get my thoughts in order.

“We’re going to be turning here,” Henry said after a beat. “Just so you know. From here on out we’re going to be taking routes that you might not be familiar with. I just didn’t want you to think I was kidnapping you or something. As tempting as it might be.”

“Uh, okay,” I said, still feeling thoroughly distracted.

I turned back to the road ahead and saw that he was indeed turning onto a highway that I’d never even been on before—and taking the turn more quickly than I thought he should. The tires skidded, and I found myself grabbing at the armrests, horrified that we were about to tip over, but Henry kept his hands on the wheel and his eyes on the road, acting like this was something he did every single day.