“Oh, no.” I shook my head. “What’s that?” I pointed at a black fabric with a small mechanical thing attached to it.

I had never questioned what Rhett had hidden inside the other bag he’d brought. Perhaps I should’ve asked him when we were in the truck.

“It’s faster this way. We did this before and you loved it.”

“That was the old me.”

Rhett unzipped the long backpack. It frazzled me at first until I realized it was something else. He slipped his body through it and zipped up. After grabbing the flashlight, he tossed his smaller backpack around his shoulders. The material from his arms expanded outward, connecting to his legs.

“You look like a bat.” I giggled, but my amusement died a hard death when he handed me an identical contraption.

“Don’t you trust me?” Rhett raised an eyebrow, his eyes daring me. Then he winked.

Oh, hell. It was that wink. Or maybe it was the kiss. I couldn’t say no.

“Fine. But you owe me big time.”

His brow twitched in a naughty way. “I can suggest ways to pay you.”

“Maybe I’ll let you.” I couldn’t believe I flirted back.

Rhett zipped me up and guided me to the edge. My stomach had already dropped to my toes; I didn’t know where else it could go. I thought I’d surpassed the point of no return and had become numb. My knees buckled and my muscles tightened, but Rhett’s hand in mine gave me the security I needed.

“Ready?” His eyes twinkled brighter than the stars.

As for me, I wanted to spit in his smirking face. “Nope. You’re enjoying this, aren’t you? You’re enjoying the fact I’m doing this for you. You feel like you’ve won something when I do things you ask, right?”

Rhett’s eyebrows pinched at the center. “Well, I never thought of it that way, but yeah, I like that you trust me. One step at a time, that was my goal. When I count down to three, Ava, we jump.”

“Okay.”

Three ...”

“Don’t let go, Rhett.”

“Never. Two ...”

Rhett pressed something on my suit, and then his, and yanked me with him.

“You never said one, Rhett.” The wind had tamed my bellowing voice, sounding softer than it should have.

“Just getting you back for the many times you didn’t let me say one.”

I soared with the breeze toward the city lights. Every thought fled and everyone else ceased to exist. I laughed and smiled, lost to the elation of freedom and lost to Rhett, who held my hand so tightly I felt his love for me.

I trusted him with my life, and that had been his true gift. To show me I could trust him, let myself feel, dream, and hope.

In front of me was the beauty of the city lights, but below, nothing but the gentle darkness. The breeze rocked and cradled me as the flapping of my suit glided like a bird. Fly. Fly. Fly away. So calm. So peaceful. I was free, and bliss filled my heart and my soul.

I continued to stare until the ground rushed toward us. My happiness disappeared. It might be our last time together. I had to go back, not just for answers regarding my family, but also for my other friends. They needed to know the truth. But truth about what? What could I tell them? Would they even believe me?

Doubt attacked me. What if Rhett and his friends had fed me lies to gain control of my special abilities? How did I know the truth? What if the journal was fiction?

But the video. That was real.

Everything added up.

The guards who had attacked us knew Rhett’s name. Rhett and his friends knew about the Helix serum. They’d known about the cyanide capsule. The photo I’d found in Rhett’s desk was clearly of the two of us, undeniable proof we had a past.

What the hell do I do?

I wished I could crawl into a cave and hide from reality. Or I could believe my instincts and the evidence.

I landed and took off my suit. In the process of folding the material to fit into a backpack, I spotted someone running toward us in the dark.

“Rhett. Rhett.” The panic in Reyna’s voice was palpable, and terror filled her eyes. “They have Ozzie.” She bawled, pouring anguish into her shout.

Rhett bristled. “Who has Ozzie?”

Reyna bent over, resting her hands on her knees to catch her breath. “ISAN. Mitch was there. He tried to grab me, then ... no, Ozzie. I hid. Ozzie pushed me. I was so scared. Drifters were there.” Her eyes danced around in panic.

Rhett placed a hand on her shoulder, in control like a true leader. “Slow down, Reyna. I don’t understand. Start from the beginning.”

Reyna took a deep breath. Watching her made my lungs hurt.

“Ozzie and I went to Hope City and a bunch of us decided to visit Abandoned City. We hung out with Zen and his friends. Ozzie and I were on our way back, but before we got to the truck, somebody shot at us. When Ozzie pushed me behind the truck he got tased. Zen helped me escape. Before Mitch left, he said tomorrow at noon we exchange Ozzie for Ava in front of the Leviathan Hotel. If we don’t, they’re going to kill him.” Reyna dropped to the ground, covering her face. “What do we do?”

I was deeply touched she didn’t say flat out I needed to leave.

Rhett’s shoulders tensed, and he squeezed his fingers into fists, the veins in his muscles bulging.

“You’ll get Ozzie back tomorrow, Reyna.” I helped her up. Already knowing I was going back made it easier. I just hoped Ozzie was okay.

“Did they take the supplies?” Rhett asked.

“No, but they took our friend.” She sobbed, dropping to the ground again.

Rhett got on his knees. With a tilt of his finger, he forced her to meet his gaze. “Listen. We’ll get Ozzie back. They’re not going to hurt him.” Then he looked up at me, his eyes filled with so many emotions, but mostly sadness. “Ava will be leaving tomorrow.”

* * *

“I’m sorry,” I said.

Rhett paced his room from one wall to the other. My heart seemed to soften around Rhett more and more.

Would ISAN torture Ozzie for information? They said they would release him, but they never promised they wouldn’t harm him.

“It’s not your fault, Ava. It’s mine. I should’ve predicted this. I wasn’t cautious enough. You have nothing to be sorry for.” Rhett took a fistful of his hair in his hands. After he exhaled a long breath, he let go. “You should get some sleep.”

“I’m going to wash up first, if that’s okay?”

I stood from the bed to get clean clothes and saw the book Rhett had let me check out. I’d never even got a chance to read it, but I had skimmed through some parts, especially the ending, which had unsettled my stomach, only because they didn’t have a happy ever after. Funny how our situation was kind of similar.

An irrational twinge of hurt flashed through me. If I had wanted to stay, would he have given me a choice? What was I to them if I couldn’t remember who they were? Those thoughts weren’t fair, especially when I couldn’t read Rhett’s mind. The little time I’d spent with him told me he was a person who thought things through before he acted them out.

But emotions get in the way, cloud judgment.

Rhett stood by the door with his back toward me. His muscles bulged when his fingers gripped the doorframe. “Just so you know, it’s killing me to let you go. It was worse the day we escaped and you didn’t make it out with me. I can’t seem to get away from losing you.” He paused. A breath rushed out of him, as if he needed a moment to collect himself. “If you wanted to stay, I wouldn’t have asked you to leave for Ozzie. You mean more to me than that. I would’ve found another way, even if I had to trade my life. If I have opened your eyes and made you feel even a part of what you can’t remember, then the past three days were worth everything.

“Ozzie thinks our memories can be erased by our advanced technology. And with ISAN, anything is possible, I suppose. But I think you did it to yourself. I think the trauma of us being separated, whether it was too painful or whether to protect our final destination, which you knew, is linked to your loss of memories. But that is just my theory.”

I blinked and soaked in his words, thinking about that possibility.

Rhett added, “Every second lost without you the past six months drove me insane. I died the day you didn’t come with me. And even though you’re here with me now, I can’t seem to let the pain ease because I have to let you go again. I didn’t know if you were alive or ...”

Tears blurred my vision and I quickly dabbed them away.

Rhett took a moment to inhale and carried on. “It won’t be easy for you when you go back. You’re going to get confused again. You won’t know who to trust. Trust your heart. Trust your instincts. And when you’re ready to leave ISAN, don’t hesitate to ask for my help. I will find a way to get you out. There’s a war coming, Ava. I have no evidence to show you, but something is happening, and I don’t want us to be on opposite sides.”

Reyna had told me the same thing. Hearing it from Rhett as well troubled my heart.

“Will we see each other again?” My voice cracked.

He gave me a sideways glance. “I know we will. I’m not letting you go, Ava. You might not remember me, but I know you feel something for me. Two broken hearts will find a way to each other. Even if it takes a lifetime. And you might have noticed, I’m not the type of guy to wait a lifetime. I make things happen.”

The door slid open. He took one step out before I stopped him.

“Wait. I have to see.” Catching the edge of his T-shirt, I raised it up to reveal his tattoo.

His brows pinched in confusion, then he lightened his expression to a playful smirk. “Should I undress for you?”

I ignored him, lifted my shirt, and rose on my tiptoes to bump my hip with his. Lining up perfectly, his tattoo and my faded scar became a single snowflake. In the center read the letters, W.I.T. The words slipped from my tongue before I could decipher what they meant.

“Whatever it takes,” I mumbled.

My heart stilled. The room became dead silent as seconds passed between us. An image of snowflakes drifting around Rhett and me entered my mind, but just for a split second. I didn’t know where we were, but ...

His eyes glistened with hope. “You remember?”

Wordlessly, I shook my head.

He took a moment to pause and gently pried my hand off his shirt. With his chin at his chest, he dragged his feet out in silence.