Mia’s eyes narrowed, hiding the ice blue of her irises and leaving only black. “Where are the pictures now?”
“My dad has them. They might be in his car.” If he’d destroyed them in an effect to protect me…I didn’t know what I’d do. “Innocent aliens are dying, and they are who Erik wants to save. They’re who I want to save.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Mia said, showing no mercy. “Both of you broke the law.”
I stared over at her, a thought sliding into place. “I noticed that one of your own agents, your own friend, is an alien. A Teran, I think. I saw her that first night, after the car chase, and a few times after.”
“That’s Kitten.” Phoenix stepped toward me and she radiated an air of challenge.
“What if she was the one who needed it? What if she couldn’t get it? You’d do anything to help her, right?” Helpless as I was, I forged ahead. “Erik has been helping a family survive, a family he loves. What crime is there in that?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cara said, but she’d lost the heat of her anger. She frowned down at me.
“Listen.” Phoenix tilted her head to the side, studying me. “I was an addict,” she confessed and the words surprised a gasp out of me. “I know what Onadyn can do to a person when it’s abused. We regulate it to keep people from having to experience that. We regulate it to keep predatory aliens from staying here.”
“A drug addict is going to be a drug addict, no matter how many drugs you regulate,” I pointed out. “And just because one alien in a family is predatory doesn’t mean every other member is, too.”
No one had a response to that.
“Get those pictures from my dad,” I beseeched. “He might try and tell you that Erik forced me to help, but that’s a lie. I didn’t know what was going on last time we talked, but I do now. And I am helping Erik now. Willingly.”
Absolute silence claimed the entire cell. My breath was ragged in my ears. Sweat beaded over me. So much hinged on what came next. So much.
Cara ran a hand down the length of her ponytail. “You could have doctored those photos. Looking at them won’t change a damn thing.”
I peered up at her again, fighting disappointment. “You dated Erik, so you know how kind and caring he is. How could you think, even for an instant, that he’d do this without a good reason? Or did you figure that out later and that’s why you’re so bitter?”
Before she could respond, I added, “How many times do I have to tell you this? He was protecting innocent lives. Isn’t that what A.I.R. is supposed to do? Protect?”
“Human lives,” Mia said, then frowned.
“Innocent lives,” I repeated. If she was part alien, she had to see that. She had to accept it.
With a screech, Cara pulled out a gun and pointed it at me.
Phoenix gaped at her. “Put the gun away, Cara. Now!”
I remained exactly as I was, not moving. My heart galloped in my chest. “Let her shoot me,” I said bravely, uncaring. “I’m obviously an evil human. I’ve been, gasp, caught with drugs.”
“Cara.” Mia spoke low, quietly, but there was absolute command in her voice.
Cara’s hand shook. “No. I will not lower my gun. I want her to admit she’s done something wrong. Look at her, how smug and superior she is.”
“You want me to admit I’m wrong? Why? So you can go on believing that you dumped Erik and turned your back on him for a good reason?” I laughed, but it was a scary sound. Not just devoid of humor like before but ragged, animalistic. “Deep down, you know you’re the one who’s wrong. Not me.”
“Phoenix, go get Camille’s dad and make sure he has those damn photos,” Mia snapped.
Phoenix turned on her heel and strolled out without a word.
Cara kept the gun trained on me.
I began to sweat. Mia studied her nails, but I could feel the tension humming off her. Maybe my words were making her think. I could hope, at least.
An eternity later, Ryan and Phoenix strode into the cell. Their expressions were grim and their hands were empty.
“Where are they?” Mia demanded.
“Come with us,” Ryan said. He worried two fingers over his mouth.
Mia’s eyes narrowed, once again closing off the magnetic blue and leaving only those sharp, black pupils. “Why?”
“Erik is finally talking,” Phoenix said. “He’s ready to bargain.”
“What?” Cara and I gasped in unison.
Mia uncuffed me from the chair and every single one of them left—even Cara and her gun—leaving me alone. Erik was bargaining? He’d vowed never to do that. Never to compromise. Worry poured through me as I massaged my wrists. Why would he do such a thing? Had they hurt him so horribly that he now had no other choice?
Damn it! I wanted answers and I wanted them now. “Show him to me on that screen,” I shouted. But a minute ticked by, then another, and the screen never appeared.
I pushed to my feet and paced the length of the cell, cursing all the while. Was this my punishment? The torture of not knowing? Of wondering? What are you telling them, Erik? Finally, a few hours later, the entire gang returned. They looked tired, relieved, and angry all at once.
“What’s going on?” I demanded. “What did he say?”
“You’re free to go,” Mia told me.
“What? Why? What’s changed?”
Cara appeared at her side. She wouldn’t meet my gaze; she looked just above my shoulder. “He bargained. For you.” She spat the last word.
For me? In that moment, I didn’t know what to think, what to feel or say.
“We have his full confession,” Mia said. “He’s going to help us infiltrate the ring.”
“No.” I stomped my foot. “No! People will die.”
“No, because we’re going to do all we can to help them.”
My eyes widened and my heart slowed its erratic, angry beat. “Really?”
“Your dad gave us the pictures. That little girl…” Mia’s voice trailed off. “What you and Erik did, well, it was wrong. The way you went about it was wrong. But the outcome was,” she shrugged, “good. And it doesn’t feel right to punish you for saving people from certain death.” She paused, stared at me intently. “Your parents are here and they’re eager to see you.”