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A perfect mistake, she amended as she pointed at the chair for him to put her panties back down so she could pick them up "Jack, what do you think about Silas?"

Jack snorted "You think he’s a mistake, too, babe," Jack said, whichshe didn’t already

But it was still nice hearing Jack say it

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SIX

"Canada?" Taf’s hand extended out the car’sto Silas, as standing resolutely on the curb, fake IDs in hand The short spring coat he’d gotten from Karley was open to show his pinstripe shirt and tie Karley, apparently, hadn’t thrown anything away The tips of his hair from under his hat shifted in the faint breeze off the river, and his freshly shaven face was reddened fro in the backseat

"We can’t go to Canada Peri needs her talismans," Taf complained as she took Howard’s new ID and passed it over "And what about the list? It’s our ticket back into the alliance We can do this Peri is fine!"

"Fine" was a relative term, but coht, yes, Peri was fine--and not happy about Silas’s argument because itlike a porcelain princess She, Taf, and Howard had already coh plan to access her apartment It had evolved in the scant hour when Silas had been arranging their new IDs It didn’t involve let’s-do-nothing Silas Slipping him was step one

Silas squinted down the street It was noisy with early- deliveries and pedestrians, and he pulled his hat lohen a harmless, low-Q drone hummed over the parked cars "Opti is camped out at her aparte Taf took it, glanced at it, then handed it to Peri in the back "We can try in a feeeks when they aren’t as attentive"

Sara Washington? Couldn’t he coht sourly as she eyed her new ID Getting the pictures off their phones turned into passable IDs had been more difficult than it needed to be, since Silas had insisted on the enhanced driver’s license that functioned as a passport for ground travel between Michigan and Canada All the better to hide you, e?" Taf protested "It’s over ’cause you say so? Bull cookies! We need to do this before Opti finds the list themselves"

Peri kicked at the back of Taf’s seat In the front, Howard leaned across the center console "Peri needs sofully "You’re going to hurt her feelings if you don’t shut up"

Taf hesitated, then exhaled "Fine I like snow Canadawith ed a worried look with Howard through the rearview et Peri settled"

"Whoa Wait a ?" Taf protested as Silas opened her door

"We are going back to the alliance to try to clear up a few misconceptions," heyou fro backseat, Peri rested the flats of her arms on the openand leaned out to the curb as Taf shut her door, jerking it right out of Silas’s grip "You’re going to the alliance?" Peri asked as she looked for a lie Explaining to the alliance what had happened wasn’t a bad idea, but ithi back," Tafup the back of her neck "My ive you to Opti," she said, locking her door when Silas tried to open it again "My mother!"

"So come back with me and explain to them why that was a bad idea" Silas’s dress shoes scraped the salt-ri and talk to your ood plan, but Peri’s eyes narrowed as she read Silas’s tells: the slight hunch to his shoulders, the tightness of his lips, the way he ing his words Da to make a play for her apart away at her resources

"Silas …," Taf co ot out in a huff Peri tried to find a neutral expression so as not to look as if her plan was co put yourOpti down," Silas said, and she snorted at his apparent sincerity "I have to talk to the alliance before they start co for us Me But don’t hesitate to call if you have any issues with, ah, your intuition I’ll contact you in a week It’s not over I’ll be back"

"I don’t knohy you thinkto help," Taf said as she zipped up her leather jacket and stuffed her hands in her pockets "I pointed my daddy’s rifle at her"

"But you didn’t shoot her," Silas said, al

"True"

Peri juht from her subconscious, lifted the handle of the backseat door on the street and slid in next to her "Silas is a good liar Alood as me," Jack said as he slammed the door and settled himself behind Howard--which was really weird, since the car door never really opened and the wind never truly gusted, even if she had a sudden chill and had to tuck her hair back It was hera way for hi her out