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“I’m–” Ryan started to protest.

“Move over,” Alex said again.

“Goddammit, Ryan, move over,” Saoirse said from the front seat.

Ryan relented and moved over with a sullen grumble.

Alex closed the door. “Go,” he said, looking through the back window to make sure nobody had noticed them.

Saoirse put the car in gear and pulled away as fast as the engine would let her. Alex breathed a sigh of relief and a knot untangled inside of him that he didn’t even know had been forming. He leaned back into the seat, trying not to think of all of the shit that was going to come down on their heads.

“Where does Walter Stanley live?” Alex said, leaning forward to talk to Saoirse.

“Down by the river,” Saoirse said. “But we’re going to the hospital first.”

Ryan sat forward with a vehemence that almost startled Alex. “No we’re not,” he said. “We’re going to get Evie.”

“You’re useless,” Saoirse shot back.

“And missing fingers,” Alex added tartly.

“Jesus,” Saoirse said.

“The fingers are gone,” Ryan said, impatiently. “I’m not in any danger of dying.”

“That you know of,” Saoirse snapped.

“I’m not in any danger of dying,” Ryan repeated. “I’m going to be fine. Evie is not going to be fine.”

“She’s probably going to be better off than you right now,” Saoirse said, reluctantly. “The man has been burning the city down looking for her. Do you really think he’s going to hurt her right this minute?”

“Yes,” Ryan said. “And even if he doesn’t, it’s not worth the risk. Look at what he did to you. Look at what he did to Roberts. Look at what he did to the Crystal. He’s a fucking madman and I’m not going to let the woman I lo–”

Ryan broke off and sat back in the seat.

“The woman you…?” Alex said conversationally.

“Shut up, Alex,” Ryan said. “Saoirse, go to Walter Stanley’s house.”

“I agree that we need to get her away from him, but I think it can wait–” Saoirse said.

“It can’t.” Ryan’s voice was hard.

Saoirse sighed vehemently. “Okay,” she said. “But you’re staying in the car.”

“I am not–” Ryan started to say, but Saoirse interrupted him.

“Christ, what is with the men in this family?” she said, yanking the car around a corner so hard that it nearly went up onto two wheels. “You’re all stubborn fucking goats.”

“That’s the pot calling the kettle black,” Alex said.

“Shut up, Alex,” the cousins said at the same time and Alex bit back a chuckle of amusement.

“You stay in the car,” Saoirse said. “Alex and I will go in.”

“We’re going to get ourselves killed,” Alex said. “We should find a phone and call Malcolm.”

“We don’t have time,” Ryan said vehemently. “Saoirse, you can’t go in there, your ankle is–”

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