the look in his eyes. The tiniest flash of pity ran through me, for Lattimer and the Walkers and any other person—Rose included—who tried to take a single thing more from him.
“I’ve gone along with you,” he said, pleasant as June, stubborn as February. “I’ve done what you wanted, to protect Del, to find a cure for my mom, and because I like the Consort a hell of a lot less than I like you. But I’m not going in there without a game plan.”
“We don’t have time for this,” she said sternly.
I moved next to Simon, let him slide an arm around my waist and draw me closer.
“I don’t think this place has cable, Rose,” I said. “We’ve got plenty of time.”
“You,” she said, pointing at me, “should have gone to the First Echo. Since you didn’t, you’re a security risk, and I will not jeopardize our mission to satisfy your curiosity. Simon, you’ll be given the information you need once you reach your team.”
His jaw worked, and I knew the discussion wasn’t finished, only postponed. “What are you going to do about Lattimer’s offer?”
Monty paused for moment, sighed, and returned to his snack.
“I’ll go, of course,” Rose said.
CHAPTER FORTY
THAT’S INSANE! LATTIMER’S NOT GOING to stop cleaving once you hand yourself over,” Simon said.
“I’m aware of that.” Her hands gripped the edge of the counter, despite her even tone. “But it will buy us time. Allow the rest of the Free Walkers to continue their work, and serve as a show of good faith. Randolph promised publicly to end the Tacet. By honoring our word as he breaks his, we show the Walkers we’re committed to our beliefs.”
“You’ll show them an execution,” Simon shot back.
“I’m too valuable to execute. I’m rich in secrets, and he won’t want to squander them.”
“What a comfort,” I said.
“In the meantime, the Free Walkers will attack, just as the Consort is feeling smug and victorious. That’s always been their problem; they assume people are irreplaceable. But the only one who’s irreplaceable is you, Simon.”
“And his Original,” I reminded her.
She smiled too easily. “Of course.”
Simon’s shoulders tensed. “You want to play the martyr, fine. But you’re not taking Del.”
“I’ve yet to meet a single person who could make Del do something she didn’t want to.”
“You’ve met Simon,” I pointed out. “He sent me back to the Key World.”
“Del’s decision is her own,” Rose said. “But knowing her as I do—”
“You don’t know her.” Simon folded his arms and stared her down. “You left before she was born and didn’t bother showing up again until she had something you needed.”
“What about me?” asked Monty, rapping the plastic spoon against the table. “I raised her. Taught her everything she knows. Everything worth knowing, anyway. I’d say that makes me something of an expert.”
“It makes you a manipulative bastard,” Simon replied. “You don’t know her half as well as you think.”
“And you do?” Rose asked. “After less than three months, you think it’s your place to decide her fate? You argued exactly the opposite a few hours ago.”
“It’s my place,” I said, my voice overloud in the high-ceilinged kitchen. “Nobody else’s.”
“Delancey,” Rose said, and she reached for my hand. “Free Walkers are devoted to saving Echoes. Every branch Lattimer cleaves will end countless lives. We can stop him.”
“You didn’t turn yourself in when you heard the announcement,” I said. “How many branches has he cleaved since then? How many could you have saved, if you’d gone straight to CCM?”
Her lips pressed together, exactly the way my mom’s did. “I needed to consider the larger picture.”
“You needed Simon,” I said calmly. He jerked, and I gave him a sad smile. “She knew you wouldn’t agree to help unless you thought I was safe. Now they’ve gotten you out. Monty can take you to the new meet-up, and the plan can move forward.”
“I don’t go anywhere without you.”
I took his hand, but kept my eyes on Rose. “The bigger picture. That’s the same argument Lattimer uses, you know. It’s how he justifies everything he does. Does it ever worry you, the way you two sound so alike? Because it sure as hell worries me.”
She flushed. “If I sound like Randolph Lattimer, it’s because my convictions are equally strong. More, even, because it’s not tradition or fear or greed dictating my beliefs. It’s the truth. One I’m willing to sacrifice myself for.”
She rested her hands on Monty’s shoulders. “If I can stop the Tacet and help Prescott’s team complete our work,