Jared stood. “On that note we’ll be leaving,” he looked to me, “preferably before I vomit cheeseburger in Ryan’s lap for insinuating anything remotely intimate about my baby sister.”

Claire was speechless, and I frowned. “Ryan. Really?”

Ryan laughed hysterically.

Jared promptly led me to the elevator by the hand. He couldn’t get away from Ryan fast enough. Kim followed us into the hallway. Jared pushed the button, and then waited for Kim to speak.

She crossed her arms, already saying what she had come to say. She watched Jared expectantly.

He sighed. “I need more time.”

“You promised. What are you waiting for, anyway? Nina is pregnant. The prophecy has begun. It can only go one of two ways now.”

“I want to take it back to Woonsocket and spend a couple of days with Father Francis. We could find a weakness. We could find a way to avoid a confrontation all together.”

“That’s reaching, even for you,” Kim said. Her pale cheeks were turning a soft shade of red. Kim being upset was so foreign to me that I almost couldn’t process it.

“You and Nina just have a few weeks before summer break. Nina can’t miss any more classes, and I can’t go without her.”

Kim narrowed her eyes. “You think I care about classes? This is serious, Jared. You promised that if I helped you get the book back, you would help me return it to Jerusalem. You promised.”

Jared rubbed the back of his neck, clearly frustrated. The elevator door opened, and he pulled both Kim and I inside. An elderly couple walked toward the door. The older gentleman held up his hand, signaling for us to hold the elevator, but Jared quickly pushed the button for the doors to close.

“Jared!” I said, appalled. “Remind me why we can’t just let Shax have the damn thing?”

Kim shot a sharp look in my direction. “Because it gives him tremendous power, power that someone from the days of Jesus was so afraid for him to have, they risked taking it from him. Now that your fathers have pissed him off, if we hand over his bible, the first person he’ll annihilate with that power is you.”

Jared squared his shoulders and lowered his chin. “I understand that you want to return the book and why. Trust me, I do. But when we…once we do this, Kim…it can’t be undone. I will never get this chance again.”

Kim matched his glare. “Then get it done.”

The elevator door slid open, and Kim walked into the main lobby of the hospital. She didn’t say another word, and she didn’t acknowledge me at all.