Running Red (26 page)

“But?”

I stare into his eyes.

“You like Matt more?” he asks.

“I love you both,” I tell him. It’s true. “You guys saved me that day in the Get Gas.”

“Saved you from what?”

“Myself. I thought I would never see people again, and then you two came in.”

“Matt wanted to kill you,” he says. “At least I wanted to, you know…”

“Take me prisoner,” I say. We both laugh a little and kiss a little more.

“You’re not staying, are you?” he asks.

I shake my head. “I can’t. Staying with the Danielson tribe doesn’t guarantee I’ll ever find my sister and niece. At some point, he’s going to have to lead these people into a battle. My fight is getting to Jessica and Charlotte. Can you understand that?”

He looks into my eyes. After a moment, he nods. “I get it.”

“I have to go alone.”

“I know.”

Yuki barks and comes running around the corner. Aubrey and I pull apart. Matt chases after her.

“I think Matt will miss Yuki more than he will me,” I say. Aubrey kind of snorts out a laugh.

“She just took off after you,” Matt says when he reaches us. “Bad girl,” he says. He kneels down and Yuki rolls around on the flat, gray stones, wagging her tail and barking. I laugh and drop down with them. Aubrey watches us and laughs.

This is my last night with these boys, these young men of the new world.

By morning, Yuki and I will be on our own.

End