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Objectively, I knew that what he was saying was true--but the words sparked such a fierce denial and fury in ht now I needed hope that I’d be able to look at the singed pages and see beyond the fa up that last bit of hope wouldClancy hadn’t been a small moment of victory at all It would mean, in the end, he had still won He’d survived HQ’s destruction, and the inforht so hard to bury from us would be useless

We needed this I needed this My family’s faces bloomed in e was gone, replaced by another: Sa her cheeks as she faded like a ghost It became an endless parade of all of their faces--the ones I’d left behind the electric fence at Thur the fabric there until I was sure it would rip The awful truth was, no matter how much I denied it toAnd the only person in possession of it was the one person Clancy had ensured we’d never find: hisup," Liam said, a fierceness in his voice "If this doesn’t work out, we’ll find so his cheek, stroking the rough stubble growing in He sighed but didn’t argue

"I don’t want to fight," I said quietly "I never want to fight with you"

"Then don’t It’s that siainst ether The important stuff Pro to the Ranch We have to"

Before HQ was constructed, the League had operated out of Northern California, at a base that had been affectionately codenauarded now--appropriate, given its status as a "last resort" base to fall back to in the event of an eents--Cole included--had been around during that time, and actually kne to find it

If Cate hadthere I could see her inus to walk through the door at any ainst protocol By now, she’d be out of her head orry

One thought slipped in, chasing out every hopeful one I’ll have to tell her

Oh, God, why hadn’t I thought about that? She wouldn’t know--couldn’t She trusted me She told me to take care of hi on the way Lia up and down my spine

"--the hell is this?" Sen’s voice whipped out of the rooainst our private bubble "Stewart, you’ve done a lot of stupid shit--and I enius?" Cole said, and I could practically hear the grin in his voice "You’re welcome"

I was on my feet before Liam could shoot oing on"

"Yeah, yeah," Liaon with hihtly, all I could see was Cole’s black knit cap behind their heads I glanced over to the kids,

"Roo?"