Page 45 of His to Burn

“Yeah, he was,” I responded, determined to keep the tears that were threatening from spilling.

I would have expected condolences.

Apologies for what he’d had to do.

Any of the meaningless niceties that society demanded.

But I didn’t get any of that from Jack.

There would be no reassurances from him. On instinct, I braced for his words.

“Jorge’s gone. He was gone before I came across him in that hallway. The same thing is going to happen again. And it might be someone else you know.”

“You say that like it’s true,” I said.

I wasn’t sure why I was pushing this point. I knew he was right. But hope kept me from accepting it completely.

“I am sure,” he said, his gaze never leaving mine. “We don’t know what’s out there, but onething is certain: your life is on the line, and you’re going to have a choice. I did what I needed to. I’m going to have to do it again. You will, too. Make your peace with that now.”

“You make it sound so simple,” I said.

“It is simple. It’s life or death. That means you can’t hesitate.”

My lips curled, but I wasn’t sure if the scowl was for Jack or myself. Maybe both of us, because it wasn’t fair to be pissed at Jack for telling me the truth.

Still, he didn’t have to be so dickish about it.

I forced the scowl away, then looked at Jack. “Thanks for the pep talk. But I can take care of myself.”

I sounded like a petulant child, and Jack would have been well within his rights to call me on it. But to my surprise, he gave me one of the quarter smiles that seemed to be his specialty.

“Maybe. But out there, there is no ‘yourself.’ There’sus. The team. The only way this works is if we do it together,” he said.

“The only way this works is if we do it together,” I echoed.

As I spoke, I kept my eyes locked on his,and saw something dark and all-consuming pass through them.

Then he turned toward the door.

Theclickof the lock sounded like a thousand things at once.

The first sounds of a new world.

A bomb exploding.

A dinner bell.

My gut seized.

Still, I stepped beside him.

And then followed him into the unknown.

ELEVEN

Asia

The hallway wasdark but mercifully empty.