Page 116 of Sin

“No!” I shouted, trying to shove him out, to shove him away, to escape Jinx’s hold. “Stop!” I said again, using what dregs remained of my power. But it didn’t work because I wasn’t strong enough. I never had been. I think I’d hoped, even after discovering he had a talisman, I think there was some part of me that hoped I was stronger.

Those sledgehammers didn’t stop picking at my mental wall, and just as a crack started to form, I heard someone shout, “Stop!”

When he’d turned his full power on me, he must have released the others from his hold.

To my horror, I glanced back to find Mare struggling to her feet. Her legs trembled, threatening to drop her, but she held strong.

Lucas, to my surprise, hesitated, and stopped his assault on my mind. He stared at Mare, his brows furrowing as she limped closer.

I took advantage of his distraction and clocked him in the face.

His head snapped to the side, and I hit him again, and again, and again.

Mare was shouting at us, at me to stop, but I ignored her, lost to my blood haze.

Then I was wrenched away from Lucas, and I crashed to the ground with a thud.

“Stand back, Sin,” Mare said, holding out a palm toward me. “Don’t interfere.”

“Mare, what the fuck are you doing?” I shouted. “Get the fuck out of here!”

She ignored me, her gaze solely locked on Lucas. “Do you know who I am?”

“Should I?” Lucas asked, frowning up at her even as his hold on my mind intensified, his fingers scraping along the crack in my shields.

“Let him go. Please, I can help you.” Tears filled her eyes, not yet mixing with the droplets of rain cascading down her face as she stared at Lucas. “I can help you remember.”

“Who are you?” Lucas asked again, almost shouting the words at her. He looked panicked now, staring at her with a mixture of confusion and suspicion and…

“You promised you’d come home,” she said, tears coating her cheeks. “You promised.”

My dad promised he wouldn’t leave either, but then one day, not even he came home.

“Holy shit,” I said.

Lucas stared at her, his gaze confused as it roamed over her. “I don’t know you.”

I don’t think Lucas remembers who he is, I’d said. Whether that’s from a trauma response or something they did to him, it was pretty clear he’s suffering from memory loss.

She held out her hand, covered in rivulets of water. It shook violently with strain. “Let me show you. Let me help you remember.”

Again, he stared at her, almost seeming captivated. His frantic eyes studied every inch of her face, and I wondered if he noticed the similarities we’d all failed to connect.

Because Lucas’s life was scrubbed from all databases. It seems the UAS wanted any record of him, his birth certificate, school records, hell, even his dental records, wiped from existence. In short, he’s a ghost.

No one comes looking for a ghost.

Slowly, he reached out and grasped her hand.

His mouth fell open in a silent “O,” and his eyes hazed over with whatever Mare was showing to him.

With the threat momentarily paused, I crawled over glass and asphalt, desperate to reach London. He was lying on the ground in a shallow puddle, his head turned toward me, though his eyes remained closed.

When I reached him, I scooted close and lifted his head to set it in my lap. He needed medical attention. We all did. But I’d left his phone in the van and didn’t know if I could move to get it.

“It’s going to be okay,” I whispered to him, even though he couldn't hear me. I was so tired, physically and mentally. It was taking everything in me not to collapse right then and there.

Jinx was kneeling beside Blade, who was crying now that she was out of her trance. She was cupping her eye and whimpering in pain.

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