SOMEHOW THAT DAY PASSED – Alex wasn’t really sure how. Once Willow and Seb had left, he went over the plans on the memory stick in detail; ran target practice with the team; ate a dinner that tasted like sawdust. From the forced conversation and concerned sideways glances, everyone knew that Willow had been busy spending the night with Seb while he, like a complete idiot, had risked his life looking for her on the riot-choked streets. He supposed Kara must have told them – he’d run into her as he’d headed to his bedroom, and told her what had happened. The look of shock on her face had been almost gratifying.

“Oh, Alex,” she’d breathed. “I am so sorry—”

“Yeah, well don’t be,” he’d said. “I’m better off.”

The muscles in Kara’s slim arms were taut; she was as furious as he’d ever seen her. “God, I don’t believe it! And I actually sat there and smiled at her! I’m going to—”

“Don’t do anything, just let them go,” he’d broken in coldly. “I just want them gone, okay? That’s all.”

And so they’d left without incident, though Willow’s necklace on the kitchen table had provided an extra knife in the guts when Alex had found it later. Kara had been in the kitchen too; her eyes had flown to his. “Alex...” she’d started.

“Forget it.” He picked up the necklace with its shining pendant – the pendant that had reminded him so much of Willow’s angel self, with her wings glinting in the sun – and shoved it roughly into his pocket, wondering why, exactly, he wasn’t just pitching it into the trash.

“Okay,” he said. “Let’s go over the plans.”

And for a few hours he’d almost been able to lose himself in them, even though some little voice inside of him was still dazed, bleating over and over, I don’t believe it; Willow wouldn’t do this. She just wouldn’t. Whenever he thought it, he mentally kicked the voice to death until it shut up. Because all he could see was Willow in her short black skirt, reaching up to hold Seb’s hand; hear the calmness in her tone as she told him that, by the way, she’d forgotten to mention it until now, but all along her dream had included Seb, and he himself had apparently just been the chauffeur to get her to Mexico City. God, no wonder she’d looked so thrilled when she first met Seb, her green eyes shining with wonder – probably the only thing that had been on her mind from that point on had been how quickly she could dump Alex, now that she’d found another half-angel.