Page 67 of Catalyst

“And you’re not.” He promised, once again lifting my hand to kiss my knuckles. “This is temporary. Once Jace and I get our shit together, we’re coming back for you and Sawyer, okay? We’ll save up money and get a house. One with a big backyard where Sawyer can play, and you’llneverhave to see them again.”

I nodded, even if it was the last thing I wanted to do. Kane’s promise sounded nice, but all I could think about was how long it would take them to do that. Hopefully, it’d be sooner rather than later.

Epilogue

Calista

Approximately six years later…

Istared in my rear-view mirror as I dabbed concealer on the yellow and red remnants of the black eye I’d earned by telling Trentonno. Normally, these types ofattitude adjustmentswere limited to places clothing couldhide. Still, he’d been drunk last night, which meant he had been careless.

Luckily, my super DNA meant I wouldn’t have to worry about hiding this by the end of the day. Still… I hated that I needed to do it. And I hatedhim.

“Princess… don’t tell me my favorite person is ignoring me.” Jace’s pout echoed through the speakers of my car.

“No, I’m not. Sorry, justtired.” I breathed, unsure how else to put it.

Kane had promised that I could move back in with him and Jace once things were settled, but after almost six years of waiting, I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.

The pause in conversation was just long enough for me to picture Jace’s concerned expression.

“You've been tired a lot recently… Is something wrong?”

“No, just–a lot of long nights.”

“Long nights withTrent?”

Trenton was probably worse than Satan himself, but because we couldn’t stand each other, we’d mutually agreed that we could see other people, just so long as the media never found out. That meant I got to keep my boys… But I also knew that if either of themeverfound out Trent laid a hand on me, he’d be dead.

And I didn’t want that for them.

“Don’t.” I breathed, rubbing my temple. “Don’t you have an IV to hang or something?”

“Nah, I’m on my fifteen-minute break. The only thing I have to do is try to force down some of the world’s worst coffee.”

The disgust in his voice made me smile for the first time all day.

“You need to bring a thermos.”

“How aboutyouget a thermos and bringmecoffee every morning? Kind of like how you bring me banana bread every time you and Sawyer come spend the night.”

“You know… If you and Kane let us move in again, I could just make it for you instead of bringing it to you.” I said hopefully.

Jace drew in a pained breath. “See, I’ve been saying that for the last year or so… but you know how Kane is.”

He needed everything to beperfect. Between that and the knowledge that all hell was going to break loose when my family realized Sawyer and I were gone, we needed to be prepared. But, I was tired of preparations, and while I knew I kept Sawyer safe, I wanted someone to protectme. Someone to makemefeel like no one could ever touch me again. Someone who would seethrough the concealer and forced smiles andwouldn’truin their life by giving Trent exactly what he deserved.

I stared at the looming white facade of the Aegis Center in the distance as I thought about just how much better life would be when I was finally free. I just hoped that would come soon. Five years was a long time to live in fear.

“So, are you excited about your villain… thing?” Jace asked.

I swiped my tongue across my lips as I nodded before realizing he couldn't see me.

“Villain Rehabilitation.” I corrected. “And… yeah. Apparently, someone had turned themselves in last night before specifically requesting to be part of my trial run.”

I was a little shocked when Jack called me last night to tell me. Reception to my program had been lukewarm at best, but some of the kindest people I knew were villains, and everyone deserved a chance to be exactly who they wanted to be, not who the world forced them to be.

“Do you know anything about them?” There was a hint of caution in Jace’s tone.

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