The room was silent. I squeezed Jared’s knee, thankful he hadn’t dropped the truth on me the way Claire had just done with Ryan. We all waited for him to breakdown, yell, or try to leave. He just sat in his chair, letting it soak in.

I took my hands from my mouth and slid them across the table. “Are you okay?” I asked, touching his hand.

“Yeah,” he blinked. “Just trying to get it all straight in my head.”

“If you tell anyone, I’ll end your life,” Jared said in a low, frightening voice.

“Not likely, since you’d also be killing your sister,” Ryan said.

“He was paying attention,” Jared said.

One side of Ryan's mouth turned up. “So you would literally take a bullet for me.”

“No,” Claire said, with zero emotion.

“No?” Ryan said, surprised at her answer.

Claire rolled her eyes, annoyed that she had to answer. “If I have time to stand in the way of a bullet, you have time to move.”

“True,” Ryan said, nodding.

“So the question is,” I said. “What will you do with the information now that you have it?”

Ryan paused in thought, and then fastened the few buttons left on his shirt. “Find Donovan.”

“Welcome to our club,” Bex said, plopping into the chair beside me. “I just talked to Kim. They’re on the move.”

“Kim. Our Kim?” Ryan asked, his eyes darting to me.

“Yes. She’s sort of the opposite of a demon magnet.”

Ryan left that one alone, turning to Claire. “Sounds like you left a lot out.”

She stood, pulling Ryan with her. “Yes. This is going to be like on-the-job training. Can you handle it?”

“So far,” he said.

“That’s the hardest part,” I said, turning to Bex. “Where are they now?”

Bex traded glances with Jared before he spoke. “We have to move. They have an entourage, so it will take all three of us.”

“Okay,” Jared said, nodding as he was lost in thought. “Where is Kim?”

Bex twitched. “Outside.”

Jared nodded. “Kim, stays with Nina.”

“Jared!” I protested.

Claire pulled on her coat. “Did you hear Bex, Nina? The three of us are going. We don’t need Kim.”

“Ryan,” Jared said. “I’ll need you to stay with Nina. The only things you can’t handle will be protecting what we’re going after.”

Ryan nodded. “I won’t let her out of my sight.”

“You have your gun?” Claire asked.

Ryan patted his side in confirmation.

I threw my arms around Jared and squeezed, shutting my eyes tight. “Don’t stay away long.”

“In and out, Baby. In and out,” he smiled.

“And don’t come back full of bullet holes this time!” I called after him.

The door shut, and the sound of the Escalade’s engine faded as everyone I loved most in the world traveled farther and farther away.

“Bullet holes?” Ryan asked.