The Darkest Legacy (Darkest Min - Alexandra Bracken Page 0,193

and she…it was like I wasn’t in the room anymore. I was upstairs, being walked down the hall. I know it sounds impossible, but it was a memory, and it wasn’t mine.”

Liam’s face transformed, his expression blossoming with hope as he turned back toward Maria.

“I haven’t the slightest idea of what’s possible,” she told him. “She could wake up in a few minutes, or she could wake up years from now, or she might not be able to wake up at all. Like I said, you need a specialist. What I do recommend, in the event that she’s unable to wake herself up by this evening, is keeping her on an IV drip and using a feeding tube. I can do that much, at least. Let me get what I need from my car”

“Thank you, Maria,” Cate said. “I owe you.”

The woman stopped in the doorway, glancing at Ruby. “You don’t owe me anything. I have to tell you, though, I got a call from Beth. Your absence has definitely been noted in the office.”

“I figured as much,” Cate said. “The Bureau needs all hands on deck right now.”

Maria nodded. We listened to her footsteps padding down the stairs before we gathered closer at the foot of the bed.

“Are you going to be all right?” I asked Cate.

She gave me a fond smile. “I did manage to have somewhat of an excuse. My boss is sympathetic to the Psi and gave me the day off to find somewhere outside the city for Nico and a few others to stay until things calm down. But I don’t have to go back at all.”

“You should,” Chubs told her. “For the time being, you’re the only one of us who can keep watch on what’s really happening.”

“For the time being?” she repeated. “Do you have a plan?”

“We have something,” Vida said. “Clearing Zu’s name and exposing Mercer’s and Moore’s roles in all this will hopefully go a long way in mending what Cruz just burned the fuck down.”

“We just have to hope it won’t start another, bigger fire,” Chubs said.

“It won’t,” I said. “Not if we focus on the part that’ll get people angry: the fact that they’re selling Psi outside of the United States to potential enemies. They may hate us, but it’s clear the government doesn’t want anyone else to have us or our potential, either.”

“That’s awfully cynical,” Cate said.

I shrugged.

“Ruby wouldn’t have acted without proof,” Liam said. “After everything we went through, she knows to always gather evidence.”

Because very few people believed our word without it.

“She does,” I said. “And I think I know exactly where it is.”

Vida raised her brows. “Zu, Our Lady of Complete Fucking Surprises. Anything else you’ve forgotten to share?”

I shook my head.

Liam rubbed a hand over his face, looking back over at Ruby.

“What’s the matter?” Chubs asked him.

“I was just thinking about my kids—the Haven kids,” he said. “I trust Mom and Harry to take care of things, but I don’t know what’s happening with everyone—if they’re even okay. I can’t bring Ruby back to them like this, but she would kill me if I didn’t go check on them.”

“You can,” Chubs told him. “Stay a few more days to make sure she’s stable and to see if she wakes up. If she’s still like this, then you can go for a day or two and I’ll stay with her and keep everyone updated. My dad will be able to bring the supplies we need from his hospital and can probably find a neurologist we can trust for a consult. Let me do this, please. I can’t go back to DC yet, I can’t get myself in front of a camera and tell the world the truth, but I can help my friend. And I will.”

“Maybe…” Liam said, his expression torn. “But if something happened while I was gone—”

“Nothing will happen,” Chubs promised. “It’ll give me time to start figuring out where the kids downstairs came from, and if they have homes they need to be returned to. Or it’ll give me time to figure out a different safe place for them to go.”

Maria came back in, her arms full. I stepped into the hall to give her room to pass, but once I was out, I couldn’t bring myself to go back in. That sensation, like static crawling beneath my skin, was back. The room felt too small to contain me.

A hallway light winked as I passed by, heading into one of the empty