“I have a family dinner tonight,” Devon said. “Are you good if I catch back up with you tomorrow?”

Her skin prickled at the brush of his breath past her ear. “Sure. Just make sure you don’t go anywhere alone.”

From the corner of her eye, Lia saw Gem wink at her.

“Yeah, yeah.” He smiled. “If I need anyone to accompany me anywhere, I’ll message you.”

“I can’t do tonight either,” Gem said, “but I can drop everyone off to make sure none of us get taken out.”

Lia couldn’t stomach referring to the targets as “killed,” and was glad they’d used “taken out.” “Ben and I can see if we can get Leo tonight, and then we can regroup tomorrow if not?”

“Yes.” Ben clapped Gem on the back and pulled his hood over his red hair. “Think you’ll survive if you drive home alone?”

Gem hummed and stood. “Yeah, unless they break into my garage.”

Technically illegal, so they were probably safe.

Gem drove Devon home first. They pulled onto his street as his mother was getting home, Dr. Diaz lingering at the door. Lia hadn’t seen her at the funeral, but she couldn’t remember much of that day anyway. She waved to them.

“She’s anxious because of Abby,” Gem said softly. “My parents are, too. I can’t believe yours aren’t, Lia.”

They were. They were worried about her taking too much time off school even while telling her she needed to focus on her health. They wanted her to recover and take as much time off as she needed. They wanted her to keep her grades up. They wanted a daughter they could be proud of.

They wanted so much for her, all of it without asking what she wanted.

They had never even let her take off school if she was sick in the past. She couldn’t believe it would really be okay if she needed more time off now.

“Ben,” Lia said, turning to look at him, “are your parents okay with you being out late?”

He nodded. “As long as I text them where I am and am home by ten.”

“I promise to get you home for dinner.” Lia smiled. “Gem, drop us off at the soccer fields.”

“No.” Ben pulled up his phone, squinted, and shook his head. “Drop us at that 7-Eleven near them. It’s uphill. We can watch from there.”

They grabbed snacks from the store after Gem dropped them off. Ben piled all of it into his backpack and led Lia to a small, tree-filled alley overlooking the soccer fields. There were several well-worn dirt paths cutting through.

“How’d you know this was up here?” Lia asked, settling down with her back to a tree.

He sat next to her and pointed to a clearer area barely large enough to hide a car. “My ex and I used to come here.”

“Cool,” Lia said quickly. “What do you know about Leo?”

“Enough.” Ben laughed. “He’s dating Ryan, and they’re on a team together. I’m guessing Shane and Carlos are the other two on the team. They’re all faster than you, so don’t chase them. Ryan and Carlos are definitely faster than you and probably faster than me. We’ll have to catch Leo when he thinks he’s safe. Maybe at the gym? He’s more an endurance guy, usually at the back during their post-workout lap. I bet we could separate him from the pack.”