“Way to go, Claire. You blew your cover,” Bex smiled.

Jared leaned his elbows on the table. “This is serious. You need to stay out of sight, Claire. Lay low.”

“I know,” Claire grumbled, her eyes returning to one spot on the tablecloth. “I could say the same thing to you, you know. No one’s torching my house.”

“What?” Lillian said, her eyes darting to Jared.

He glared at Claire for moment, and then looked to Lillian. “There was a small…fire. Everyone is fine.”

“A fire?” Bex said. “They set explosives at the loft. Everything’s gone.”

“Who’s they?” Lillian asked. She was concerned, but not in the way a typical mother might be. She didn’t seem overly worried about Jared’s well-being. It was clear she was years ahead of me as far as experience with Hybrids. She knew exactly what her children were capable of, and I wondered if I would ever have that same peace of mind.

“Donovan,” Jared said.

“Interesting,” Lillian said, thoughtfully. “How do you plan to resolve that, Son?”

“We’re going to need help that won’t come,” Jared replied, clearly frustrated with his own words.

Claire’s eyes narrowed. “You talked to Samuel?” Jared nodded, and she continued, “Eli?” When Jared nodded again, she shook her head in disgust. “It’s that bad?”

“Eli talked about a balance,” I said. “They won’t get involved.”

“You know,” Claire said, leaning forward in her seat. “If it gets to that point…we could force them.”

“That better be one frightening, desperate point,” Bex said. “That would mean war.”

Lillian held up her hand. “That would be a last resort.” She stood, making her way to me. “Nina, what I’m about to ask you will be very difficult, but I need the truth.”

“Okay,” I stuttered, worried what she was going to ask.

Lillian lowered her chin. “What did Gabe say to you on the plane?”

Jared frowned. “What are you talking about? He didn’t come to her on the plane.”

“Actually….” I said, trailing off.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he said, noticeably angry. Before I could answer, he began again, “Don’t you know that everything is important, now?”

“Jared,” I said, embarrassed, “he said to go home. He said not to see Claire. I knew you wouldn’t leave her there alone until you knew she was all right.”

Jared looked to Claire, and then to Lillian. “Does he talk to you?”

His mother smiled. “At night. Only if it’s important. She knows about Kim now?”

“Yes,” Jared answered.

Lillian’s mouth pulled to the side, disappointed. “That was a mistake. Your main focus should be the book. It’s vitally important that you have it in-hand.”