48 Distraction

The rest of the night went on more smoothly.

Returning from the Alpha meeting, Duncan seemed calm and content. Richard still looked displeased, but Thomas kept him from doing anything stupid. Lucas rejoined his mother and acted like nothing happened, but I felt the steely gaze of his bodyguard on me from time to time.

It was quite late when we finally got to the car and headed home. We told Duncan everything, and I saw his frown deepen. He seemed to be concentrating on the dark road, not saying anything, but I knew he was thinking carefully about it.

And in the silence of the dark car, I did the same. I kept thinking about everything that had happened tonight.

The main question, of course, was Lucas Montalvo and his offer, but my mind kept going back to my other conversations. How cold and angry Richard seemed, how tired Josh looked and how worried Mallory was. And at the end, I always ended up remembering Jenny’s face drenched in tears.

Was it my fault? Have I done this to them?

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