I mean. How exactly do you help? What part do you play?”
“I’d like to know the answer to that too.” Keira stood in the bedroom doorway. How long had she been listening?
Scott looked at Keira. “I’m a Shepherd. I use my connections and rank to provide safe transport and false documentation.” Then he returned his attention to me. “Whatever it takes to keep people safe.”
“Where will you be going?” Keira asked me.
“Parisio.”
Scott said, “You’ll learn from one of the best, Danielle Bellami. She’s Guy’s art dealer.”
“Why would she help me? Won’t I be taking away her job?”
“Not at all,” said Guy. “Danielle will still be our contact in Parisio and will continue to sell our goods overseas. Having you on staff here guarantees we won’t be sending her lesser quality items. She’ll appreciate that.” He looked at the kitchen then and asked, “Is anyone else hungry?”
***
A couple of hours later, I said goodbye to Keira, but first I turned to Guy. “You treat my sister right. It’s what she deserves.”
“It’s what you deserve too.” Guy leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.
Why couldn’t I have found him first? I was happy for Keira though. I turned and hugged her tightly. I didn’t want to let her go. Everything was about to change! I just couldn’t say it; I couldn’t say goodbye to her.
“I’ll see you soon,” she said as we let go of each other. I climbed into the car next to Scott and refused to look back.
-Keira-
Who Are You?
I watched as they drove away from the little yellow house. I would miss April. I knew when she returned she would be different. Her experiences overseas would change her, of that I had no doubt. I hugged myself as they drove away. Already, I felt a sense of loss, even though I was both excited and a little scared for April. What would she learn? Who would she become?
Guy walked over to the porch swing, and I followed. We both sat and began to rock. He shifted and draped his arm over the back of the swing, around my shoulders, then turned his head to look at me. “Scott won’t be checking in until they land, so we have the rest of the day with no plans.”
I leaned my head on his shoulder. “Can we return to our holiday? You know, just leave reality behind for a while?”
“Perhaps we should bring reality more into focus instead,” Guy suggested seriously.
I let out a breath. “Why do you insist on being so serious?” I tilted my head back and looked up at him.
His deep blue eyes studied me intently. “I didn’t answer April’s question before, when she asked how you fit in, because I wanted to talk with you about it first. How do you fit into the Resistance? How do you fit into my life? Only you can answer those questions, Keira. Who do you want to be?”
“I think about that all the time. Right now, can’t I just live in the moment and think about it later?”
“No.”
“No?” I pulled away from him and sat up straight. “But I can’t concentrate on myself right now! I’m too worried about April.”
“They’re going to be out of touch for at least eight hours. This is the best time to talk about it. You’re at a safe house. No one is listening but you and me. You can be completely honest here. I know who I am, and I know what I want. I came to terms with myself a long time ago. Now it’s your turn. And I need to be certain of your path before we can move ahead.”
I looked off into the distance. “Well, I guess I’m one of the people who breaks in and steals stuff.”
“A Raider. But Keira, who are you? There’s more to you than that.”
I thought back. Who had I become, and why? “I was eight when my parents died. Dad from sickness and Mom from…well that’s a little more complicated. As our only living relative, Aunt Cady had to take us in. When I was 16, she kicked me out. With April’s help I was able to sneak back into the house to sleep for a couple of weeks. I went to school during the day but could no longer concentrate, so what was the point? After that, I lived on the streets. I had to do certain things to survive. I didn’t want to, but I didn’t have any other choice. I needed to