Page 111 of The Last True Hero

Twenty-Nine

BY THE TIME Miawoke up, the sun had risen and she was in a car bumping along the desert floor.

The pillow beneath her was warm. Like, really warm. She lifted her head a little, using her hand to push herself up. Everything hurt, and her eyes felt grainy from exhaustion. Something hard flexed beneath her and Mia looked up into green eyes. The morning sunlight was that soft hazy color that sometimes turned the desert to gold, and it was doing the same now with McClain's blond eyelashes.

She'd fallen asleep on him. She was also pretty sure she'd been drooling.

"Sorry," she said, pushing herself upright and bumping into Zarina, who was crammed in the seat on her right.

"It's okay," McClain muttered, sliding his arm back from where it had been resting around her.

Her stomach fluttered. There were a thousand things she wanted to say to him, but she didn't exactly want an audience for it.

And she wasn't quite sure what he was thinking either.

The events of the night before flooded through her memories. Running through the night after she'dblown upthe helicopter; finding Sage and the others either hotwiring jeeps or slashing the tires on the ones they didn't need; and the awkward tension between her and McClain as they both pretended nothing had happened in the cell before it all turned to shit.

Too much to do at the time, she'd told herself. She'd deal with McClain once they got free of the entire mess.

Only... now theywerefree. And she still couldn't find the words.

They'd escaped Rust City with most of the slaves who'd been there. Vex was dead, most of the reivers either fleeing the wargs or bleeding in the streets. There'd be no more slave raids from Rust City. No more warlords or reiver bands. She still couldn't quite believe it.

Mia craned her neck to look behind them. Dust billowed out the back of the car. In the distance smoke billowed in the sky. "No sign of pursuit?"

Sage met her eyes in the rearview mirror. Somehow her sister was the one driving. Jake snored in the front seat next to her, his arm strapped across his chest with a bloodied bandage. "Nothing worth mentioning. I think those reivers that got out were more concerned with avoiding the wargs."

"Great." She sank down in the seat. "How long have I been out of it?"

"Five or so hours," Zarina said, with a snort.

Not nearly long enough. Mia's head lolled back onto McClain's shoulder as darkness sucked her under.

* * *

They stopped drivingaround four in the afternoon. Zarina wanted to push on—she was clearly fleeing her own demons—but the rest of them were exhausted.

Mia made herself busy by setting up camp and seeing to the other slaves they'd freed. There were around thirty of them. Men, women, even older children who hadn't yet been shipped south. A huge win by any standards, but maybe it was exhaustion that kept some eyes hollow. She smiled weakly as she rubbed her hand through one boy’s matted hair. How anyone could do something like this to another person was beyond her.

"Thank you," one woman murmured, sipping the water that Mia had brought up from the stream.

"What's your name?"

"Risa."

"You're safe now," Mia said softly. "Make sure you get some sleep tonight. I'm sure we'll start early in the morning."

Risa looked up. "Where are we going?"

"We're heading north to Salvation Creek, the town I'm from. There'll be warm blankets and food there for you as you recover. As for the rest? That's up to you. I'm sure you'd be welcome to stay."

Tears wet the other woman's eyes. "I didn't think I'd ever be free again. It doesn't feel real just yet." She swallowed. "Thank you so much for all you've done for us."

Mia smiled, then left Risa staring into her cup of water. She still didn't feel like celebrating, but hearing Risa's words gave her a good head start on it.

Where are we going?kept whispering through her head.Home, we're going home,she argued with herself, but it didn't feel right. That restless itch she'd felt when she was eighteen was back again, and this time she thought she might know more about what it indicated.

Jake had taken Sage off to the creek to talk. She knew what he was going to tell her sister, and nervous butterflies lit up inside her stomach, no matter how much she tried to distract herself. Sage needed to know and they'd both promised to tell her, but she still felt weird about it.