“Why were they so painful?”

“It’s a feature, apparently. It’s supposed to be that only the cops can remove them, so people have to immediately turn themselves in or die, but a few people are able to remove them now.” He made a face. “Gotta tell you, not feeling great about the north so far.”

She rubbed her hand across her eyes. “Same.”

Something occurred to her suddenly, and she quickly checked her watch. Nine a.m. “Shit. We lost so many hours. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” He sat back in his chair, his expression unreadable. “We still have nearly twenty-four hours.”

“That should be plenty of time,” she said with confidence that she didn’t actually feel.

“Do you want some water?” He reached for the table behind him and handed her a glass.

She took it, barely lifting her head to take a few small sips. “Thank you.”

“There’s some food when you’re ready for it, too.”

She felt slightly nauseous, so she just nodded, her brain racing through everything she could remember from the last few hours.

There wasn’t much. A vague memory of being with him on the street. A gunshot. She did a quick scan of his body for injuries. He noticed her gaze and looked down at himself curiously.

“Did you shoot someone?” she asked.

“Oh. Yeah. The cop who shot you with the Taser. In the leg, though.”

Damn. She hadn’t thought he had it in him to even grab a gun in time, much less aim and hit a target who was also shooting at him.

“And then I hit him over the head,” he said. “With the gun. Which is probably ridiculous, but, you know. Never killed anyone before. I’m not super-eager to start.”

She just nodded. She didn’t want to look too startled. She didn’t want him to think she was surprised that he’d managed to get them away from the cop.

Because it wasn’t that, exactly. The image of Lennon running away from their car had been on a constant loop in her head. He was so fast. It was…well, it wasn’t entirely horrible, watching him run.

But he could have just bolted. He could have left her on the ground and taken off. He had the maps.

It seemed rude to let him know that she was surprised he hadn’t abandoned her.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“For what? Catching you when you fainted? No problem.” His voice was full of humor.

She tried for annoyed when she turned to him, but a smile spread across her face. “I did not faint.”

“Yes, you did. You’re very delicate.”

She laughed despite her best effort not to. “Shut up.”

He laughed too, leaning closer to the cot. His ridiculous hair was in his eyes, and she almost reached up to touch it before he shook it back into place.

“For getting me here,” she said.

His gaze was a little soft, in a way that she didn’t hate. “Sure,” he said quietly. “Anytime. And by that I mean, please never do that again because I will probably die next time.”