We were all staring at him, struggling to keep the slight shock off our faces. Ethan wasn’t usually this vocal in these discussions. He listened and made sure he knew the important parts, but he left the questioning and arguing to Tyler, Josh, and me.
“What?” He frowned. “I read the news. I just prefer to read about the good bits.” He folded his arms and looked down into his lap.
“No.” Nina stopped pacing. “That is brilliant!”
“It is?” Ethan looked at her, surprised, a smile pulling at his lips.
“It is! And it is so simple. Marketing makes the world go round, does it not? Isn’t that what Davis is doing—just really clever, aggressive marketing? If we are careful about the message we send . . .” She muttered to herself in French. “This could make all the difference. If someone can take Davis out, and then we go public with a message of peace and equality . . . We would need to put action behind our words, maybe pick both a human and a Variant organization to support. . . Yes, that might just work. I have to go!”
She ran out of the cottage, probably on her way to convince her leaders that all they needed was a good marketing plan. I hoped they still planned to provide support with their impressive resources—not the least of which were weapons and people highly trained to use them.
Yes, changing public perception and getting people to work together once more would go a long way. But sometimes, it was necessary to fight.
“None of it will make a difference as long as Davis is out there,” I declared.
Tyler gripped my knee. “They’re trying, baby.”
They.
The people we’d left behind were doing all they could to bring down the pathetic excuse for a man I had the displeasure of calling my biological father. While we took a holiday in the Greek islands.
I stood, sending my chair scraping back.
“We need to help. We need to stop hiding and take out the root of the problem or . . .” die trying. I couldn’t bring myself to say it. The thought of a world without the four of them in it was more than I could bear, but this was so much bigger than us, so much bigger than me.
Yet, somehow, I was the key. I was the only one who could get to Davis. Because I was the only one he wanted.
“What we need to do is keep you safe.” Alec leveled a hard stare at me.
I knew that look, the tension in his shoulders. He was gearing up for a fight, but I didn’t want to waste any more time fighting him.
I gave him a sad smile. “I know. That’s why we ran. That’s why we’ve been staying hidden. I get it. Trust me, I do. My mom made every argument you could possibly think of in support of the whole ‘running for safety’ thing. But the thing is, much as I love her and believe wholeheartedly she was just trying to protect me, she was wrong. And we’re wrong by continuing to hide now. The longer we run from this, the worse it’ll get.”
“What exactly are you suggesting?” Josh raised his voice—so unlike him.
They all started speaking over one another, arguing with points I hadn’t even made. They were scared. I let them get it all out, patiently standing at the table and keeping my mouth shut.
When they finally quietened down, they all stared at me with sad, resigned looks.
“You’re determined to do this.” Tyler had already figured out the gist of my plan.
I nodded. “I am.”
“Eve, think about this.” Josh looked defeated.
“Please . . .” Ethan’s eyes just about broke my heart. I didn’t think even he knew what he was pleading for.
“I can’t lose you again, Evie.” I’d never seen Alec cry, but he was close in that moment, his jaw trembling. “This isn’t on you. It’s not fair.”
I so badly wanted to give in, to let them talk me into staying in hiding and maintaining the illusion of safety. But I had to be strong.
“Life’s not fair.” I shrugged. “The five of us know that better than anyone. And no, this shouldn’t be on me—I don’t want this responsibility. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m the best chance we have of drawing him out. He wants me. He’s not even hiding it anymore. He’s practically obsessed.”