lucky and won’t get eliminated.”
She sighs. “You think we’re close?”
We’d shown up to the outpost last night in Lubec, at this bed-and-breakfast, thinking we were at the end of the line. We’d only learned we were still alive when we found out that Cara and Zach hadn’t yet checked in, since they’d missed their flight.
We pull up to the dock and leave the boat. All the other teams must’ve gone out before us, so I’m sure hoping that we can make up some time. As much as she drives me crazy and makes me want to throw up my hands and go back to Atlanta . . . I don’t want to leave the game. As crazy as it is, I don’t even want to leave her. No, I just want to take some time and figure her out.
But time is something we don’t have.
Will is at the end of the pier to hand us our next envelope. She opens it and reads. “Boston. The Freedom Trail. This I know.”
“Does it say what we got to do?”
She shakes her head. “It just says to meet at the head of the Freedom Trail.”
We take a taxi to the airport, where we board a prop plane to Portland, and then we take a train down to Boston. By then, it’s evening.
This is her turf, so she knows just how to get there. We get out of North Station, and she takes off running. I follow behind her, weaving through all the crowds, until we see the platform. Will Wang is already there, waiting. Somehow, no matter how fast we go, he always seems to get there faster.
We come to a stop.
“Welcome, travelers,” Will says. Is it me, or does he not seem as happy as usual? “You’ve arrived at the Freedom Trail in Boston. Unfortunately, you are the last remaining team to arrive.”
Shit. It’s over.
I look at Penny, whose eyes widen. This is it. The end. Now there’s nothing left to go back to in Atlanta, and . . .
And what, exactly?
Fuck. Just then it hits me how much this sucks. How much I’d do anything to stay in the game. I think about all the times we could’ve worked together and cut our time and . . .
FUCK.
“But there is good news,” Will says. “This is a non-elimination round. You two are still in the game. You will start out last tomorrow. But for tonight, you can rest assured that you will be continuing on.”
I stare at him. My mind’s so full of thoughts of my bar and how I’m going to have to sell it that for a minute it doesn’t sink in.
“Not only that, but because you two were the only team to find a rare blue lobster, you two will be treated to a dinner unlike any other, at the world-famous Chart House on the pier. Head on up to your room and get on some clean clothes, because you’re going to have a night to remember in the great city of Boston, with all the lobster you can eat!”
I look at Penny, who looks like she’s going to cry, her lower lip trembling. She grabs my arm, and I pull her into a hug, one she doesn’t seem to want to step away from.
And I fucking breathe it in. She hasn’t touched me in days, so I bask in this rare opportunity. I smooth her hair, dip my head down, and inhale her scent as I take her against my chest and let the calm settle over us.
“I can’t believe it,” she says, looking up at me, and now there are tears in her eyes.
Arms entwined, we grab our bags and start to follow the guide to the hotel, but then Penny suddenly slows to a dead stop. I follow her line of vision. A gray-haired man in a black coat and suit.
“Oh my god.” She swallows and loosens her arm from mine. “One second.”
Then she goes to the man.
He has her eyes. Her chin. And I can tell from the way he’s talking at her, making her shrink smaller and smaller with every passing second. It’s her fucking dad.
She touches his arm tentatively and says something to him, motioning to me.
Will Wang says, “I’m sorry, but speaking with—”
I grab his arm. “Give her a minute.”
I can see his face better than hers because he’s faced my way. It’s red, twisted. I can make out the words. “This is what you’re doing with your life now? Running