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Peri pushed her food away, her appetite gone She wasn’t so innocent as to believe that there was a right or wrong answer, either But Opti had rescued that plane They had saved the taxpayers millions of dollars And -arislation that would set the US back a hundred years

But even she had a probleht be only the interests of those who could pay for thetietan answer

Digging to the botto, Howard chuckled "A woman"

"See a man in trouble, look no farther than the wo him with her water bottle

"No It was Silas," Howard added as he shook the crue, and I met Silas when he came over to pick up one of my clients We found we liked the saairl I’d never heard him talk about before I took hi and threw it away "The entire ride he debated with himself the moral responsibilities of how much someone should sacrifice for their beliefs and the responsibility of those who love them He told me this fantastic story about what if people could ju, forgot it"

Peri lad it was dark "Drafters"

He pushed his crumbs into a tiny pile "I found out about anchors and drafters Found out that Opti was a for-hire service The rich get richer, the poor get cheese off a truck The alliance was my chance to be more than I am, I suppose Put my actions where my mouth is You don’t always have to have a reason other than the need to do what’s right And it was exciting to know that there really are people who can do what you do and to be a part of that" He shrugged "Why does anyone do anything?"

A smile crossed Peri’s face Why indeed?

"How about you?" Howard asked, and she reached to pluck a chip off his starched white shirt

"I fell off a swing," she said, not wanting to talk about it "Would you o on," he said, gaze falling to her untouched sandwich "Are you going to eat that?"

She shook her head, set there, okay?" she asked, and when he nodded, she took her water and moved to the other side of the bus

The seat was cool as she settled into it, but it wasn’t the temperature or the coldshe rested her head upon that hts, her ainst what she’d known her entire adult life She wasn’t sure if re years would make any difference

Opti was both ht: more involved and insidious than she had believed, and less ined The alliance couldn’t be as ineffective and laughable as she had been told--not if it attracted people like Howard, people risking their lives not for revenge orto do

Peri shivered again, pressed against the side of the cold bus

She couldn’t believe Opti was entirely corrupt--because if it was, it meant she was, too

CHAPTER

TWENTY

Peri stepped off the charter bus, the ugly blue coat over her arht behind her, aled her out of the way of the excited passengers Eyes closed, she took a deep breath to push out the lingering,trapped in a bus o lied to about her, and that bothered her , she opened her eyes People dressed with an overdone flair , all walking the paved path to Churchill Downs The track was closed for the season, but the venue could apparently still be rented out, and Peri squinted at the wo everyone to the Run for the Hearts charity race

An announcer blared over the noise of the leaving bus, and the wo it prance in place as the crowd before her cheered A small jet roared nearby in takeoff, and Peri noted it Not far away Not far at all Mid-sky, several low-Q news drones hue, and she lowered her head as one buzzed the parking lot for a shot of the arriving fans Black cars lined the shade at the outskirts of the lot, their drivers catching a smoke or clustered around tablets Most of the vehicles were late-h real cars to make her run a hand over her ru hat and jewelry Black pearls, she thought, not knohy It was an odd ether by the love of horses That Howard’s contact was a

"That way" Howard pointed to a narrodust path that led away fro the chance to n stating they were headed for the platinu honest with her Hissuspicion that he felt she needed rescuing