"Why didn't we kill you?" I murmured. "Because you weren't like the others."
"That's true," he said, his expression wry. "But how could you tell?"
"Instinct," I answered.
He nodded then shook his head, looking puzzled as he peered up at me. "What…are you guys?"
"We could tell you but then we'd have to kill you," Chaos joked darkly.
Louis frowned uncertainly. "You're kidding, right?"
"He's kidding," I confirmed. "But the less you know about us, the safer you'll be."
Louis snorted. "Okay. I'll forget what happened out at Olander Labs. No one will ever hear about it from me. But before I get out of your lives once and for all, I have some information that might be useful to you."
"What kind of information?" Chaos asked.
"I was in Denver with Olivia one day when she started acting strangely. She raced out of an office building in the middle of a meeting, insisting that I keep up. She even kicked off her shoes and ran down a side street, like she was chasing something. Like she was tracking something. Would that sort of information be helpful to you?"
"Maybe," I allowed, playing my cards close to the chest.
"How much do you think it would it be worth?" he asked, his face flushing with color as he watched his feet. "I'm in a rough spot. I don't dare visit my bank or even use my credit cards. And I don't want to endanger any of my friends."
"How much do you need to cover your tracks?" I asked.
He rolled his wide shoulders. "At least a couple of thousand to get to South America with a new ID."
I nodded slowly. "We can probably spare five if it will keep you alive."
"Thanks," he said on an explosive sigh of relief. "I figured you guys were okay if you were fighting Olivia. I wish I'd never gotten mixed up with her."
"You'll be okay," I told him and hoped I was right.
And before he finished his can of soda, Samantha got out her phone so Louis could show us the part of town where Olivia had acted strangely, pointing out the side street she'd followed before finally giving up her search. We paid him from our cash reserves and wished him well as we walked him back to the front door.
"Well, thanks again. And good luck," he said as started down the steps, the moon hanging over his left shoulder. "I hope Olivia and her brother don't cause too much trouble for you."
"Brother?" I echoed, the word jerking from my lips. "Olivia has a brother?"
But he was gone, disappearing into the darkness on foot as we stood on the steps in the cool evening air.
With my arm around Samantha's shoulder, I pulled her into my side. "I'm glad he came by," I said.
"Kinda reaffirms your faith in humanity, doesn't it?" Samantha murmured.
And I agreed. It was a lesson that Defiance had recently learned. Of course, I'd always known there were many more nice people in the world than bad people. And Samantha was a perfect example of the best that humanity had to offer. I just hoped I could protect her from some of the darker souls that shared our world.
"It certainly pays to be nice," Elaina chipped in. "Too bad Olivia never figured that out."
"So Olivia knows that at least one of Defiance's brothers is in Denver," Reason mused thoughtfully. "And she's going to be searching the city."
"If he isn't in his stone form, she'll probably find him," Chaos muttered.
"Then let's hope he's in his stone form," Samantha remarked.
"But if Olivia doesn't find anyone in Denver, she'll just head out to Limon and look there," Torrie pointed out.
"You're right," I agreed with a rough sigh, thinking maybe Agent Simpson was right and maybe one of our cousins wasn't out in Limon. But my instincts told me otherwise. And common sense told me we were running out of time. "We'll just have to find them before she does."
###
About the Author
Hi! I'm Taylor Longford and I live with my family in Colorado. I don't have red hair but I do drive an old Jeep Cherokee with 310,000 miles on it. I've rolled it once and it looks like crap but it still goes fast! If I can make a living as a writer, I’ll buy something a bit nicer and write some more stories.
You can find Taylor at:
Website: www.taylorlongford.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Taylor-Longford
Victor Page 20
