it meant later. I’d rationalize and dissect it and berate myself for being stupid, but right now I just needed him to hold me, and he did.
Gradually the world stopped doing a jig. My shaking muscles relaxed.
The dry crack of a gunshot popped to the right, close.
“Did you just shoot something?” I asked him.
“One of the bugs was eating Jocelyn’s face. Don’t look.”
He pulled me tighter to him, turning slightly to block my view. He would kill anything that came within his striking distance. Standing like this, with him holding me was the safest I had ever felt in the last three years. Something uncurled in me, happy and warm, and whispered that this was the perfect place for me to be.
I had to let go. I couldn’t just stand here on the roof for the whole night. The warehouse had probably been attacked, and we needed to go back and help.
I had to let go.
I had to.
Breaking away from him actually hurt.
I took a slow, deliberate step back. “I’m good.”
“Are you sure?” He was looking at me, his eyes concerned and warm. I looked away. If I didn’t walk away now, I would kiss him and I wouldn’t stop.
“I’m good,” I said again. I stepped around him and went to Jocelyn’s body.
She had nothing on her. No weapon, no identification, no wallet. Not even a tissue in her pocket. I checked her suit, and her jacket had no tags. I didn’t expect to find anything useful, but cutting all the tags off really took it to the next level.
We found Lawrence on the ground where he fell. His swarm, once terrifying, now lay around him, dying slowly on the grass and asphalt. They’d stripped his carcass of every shred of flesh, and only his skeleton remained, wrapped in his tattered coat. If we could identify Lawrence, we might be able to walk the trail back to his creator. We bundled the inhuman bones into what was left of the cloth and Alessandro carried it to Runa’s car, cursing the whole way.
I had no idea Italian had that many swearwords.
Chapter 11
Lawrence’s bones stank. Once, I had stupidly smelled muriatic acid in a high school lab. It felt like inhaling razor blades, and the experience taught me to never stick my nose into a test tube. The skeleton reeked just like that, except worse. I had an absurd feeling that if I breathed through my mouth, it would cut my throat and I’d choke on my own blood.
Alessandro was carrying the bundle of Lawrence at arm’s length. I had to hurry up before one of us started retching.
I popped open the hatchback of Runa’s rental Rogue. An open suitcase tumbled out, spilling underwear and clothes onto the pavement. I jumped out of the way.
The back of the Rogue looked like an airport baggage claim after a tornado. Clothes strewn in a heap, tangled charging cords, shoes, a pack of sanitary napkins, and on top of it all a bottle of conditioner with its cap half off. The bottle had leaked pale green goo over the entire mess like the corpse of some alien creature. Arabella’s room was cleaner than this.
I grabbed the suitcase and frantically stuffed the fallen clothes and shoes into it. Alessandro waited next to me, a patient look on his face.
I just wanted to get out of this parking lot.
The suitcase was full, and half of the stuff still remained. How in the world had she packed it all in there?
“Backseat,” Alessandro said.
I heaved the suitcase into the back, slammed the hatchback closed, and opened the rear passenger door. He deposited Lawrence onto the floorboard. The bones clacked, pushed against each other.
Alessandro held out his hand. “Keys.”
I opened my mouth to fight with him about it and realized I had nothing left. I’d burned through every reserve I had. The world had gone soft and fuzzy, my legs refused to carry me, and the pavement of the parking lot looked very comfy and inviting. I could curl up on it, right here by the car, and sleep until morning. I was in no shape to drive.
I put the keys into his palm and climbed into the front passenger seat.
He got behind the wheel, moved the seat back, and started the car. The engine purred and we rolled out of the parking lot.
Alessandro cracked the rear windows half an inch and turned up the heat. I watched for the first few minutes, but he drove with easy confidence, comfortable