ached. He’d lied to me.
“Oh, that’s true, but it’s only half the story. Kris is a smuggler.”
“A smuggler?” Pieces were falling into place in my head, but the big picture wouldn’t come into focus. “A...kid smuggler?” Were those the kids Gran was talking about? “So he is a kidnapper?”
Kori shook her head. “No, he’s a liberator. And they’re not small kids. They’re mostly teenagers. Kids who’ve just discovered their Skill and are at risk of being ‘recruited’ by the mafia.” The bitter scowl that accompanied her air quotes spoke volumes about her own recruitment. “He gets them out of the city and helps place them with families in the suburbs. Families with Jammers. Like you. To keep them safe until they learn how to hide themselves.”
Holy crap. “And does Gran...cook for them?” Suddenly the four huge cans of marinara made sense.
“She did, before he had to take away the knives and stove knobs. She’s only truly with us about half the time now.” Kori shrugged. “Of course, all of that’s on hold now while we’re here helping Kenley break her bindings.”
“He didn’t tell me.” Why didn’t he tell me? “Does that mean he doesn’t trust me?”
Another shrug. “He’s just really careful. It’s his life’s work, and a lot of people would get hurt—or killed—if the wrong people find out.”
People, like the Towers.
“Kenni and I didn’t know about it until our bindings were broken. He couldn’t tell us, because we’d have had to report it.”
I was still mulling that over when she sat up straight and her face receded into the shadows. “I think I know why you can’t stop me from traveling into the closet,” she said, and girl-chat time was obviously over.
“Why?”
“Because you don’t give a shit whether or not I can travel into the closet. When you stopped us earlier, it was because you really didn’t want us to go without you. Right?”
I nodded. I could see where this was headed. “So, I’m only going to be able to stop people from using Skills I really don’t want them to use?”
“At first? Yes. But you’ll get the hang of it with practice, and for now, the good news is that if someone’s Skill threatens you or someone you want to protect, I’m guessing you really won’t want him to use it. Right?”
“I guess.”
“Let’s test the theory.” She stood and grabbed my hand, then leaned forward to kick the bedroom door closed, cutting off most of the light from the hall. Which left us standing in almost total darkness, thanks to the thick drapes. “I’m guessing the place you want least in the world to be right now is...your parents’ den.”
My hand clenched around hers and my heart tried to claw its way up my throat.
“That’s where it happened, isn’t it? That’s where you saw him on top of your sister? Where you heard her screaming? Where you realized what he would do when he was done with her? Right?”
“Kris told you?” My voice sounded hollow. Dead.
Kori shook her head, but I didn’t so much see that as feel it—movement in the dark. “I read the police report.”
Then she knew the rest of it.
“It’s none of your business,” I whispered, but when I tried to pull my hand from hers, she only tightened her grip.
“I know. I’m sorry for what happened to your family, and for invading your privacy. But if I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t know where they lived, and I wouldn’t be able to take you there now. He’s not there anymore, Sera. I can take you back there, and he won’t be there.”
“No.” I tried to pull my hand from hers again, but she wouldn’t let go.
“Good. Stop me if you can. This will be a good test. But if you can’t block me, just remember that he won’t be there when we get there. No one will be there. You can go back there this one time and put the whole thing behind you.”
But that wasn’t true. I couldn’t go back there. And even if I could stand to be in that room again, being there wouldn’t fix anything. Not as long as he still had a pulse.
“I’ll be right there with you. No matter what happens, this is a step in the right direction.” She tried to pull me forward, but I wouldn’t move. I couldn’t. So she pulled harder, and I stumbled after her. One step. Two. Three, and we crashed into Gran’s dresser.
“Shit!” Kori dropped my hand to clutch—whatever had banged