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JACKSON HURRIED DOWN the hallway toward the prison cells. Hugh would kill him if he found out about this, but Jethro had helped them. The boy had made some mistakes but he was a good kid at heart and his heart was still linked to Trinity’s. When he and Indy had told Jethro that Hugh would decide Jethro’s fate later, Indy hadn’t been able to keep his big mouth shut. The look of anguish on Jethro’s face when he’d heard that Trinity had been shot had resonated with Jackson. He knew what it was like to love from afar, never able to touch. Jethro had done this to himself, but it didn’t lessen the pain.
Jethro sat up on the cot when he approached the cell.
“Promise me you won’t run.” Jackson held up the keys.
“Where are you taking me?”
“Does it matter?” There were too many others nearby. Fortunately, most were Almightys but he wasn’t taking any chances. Either the kid agreed without information or he stayed in his cell.
“You know where I want to go.” Jethro approached him, glancing around and lowering his voice. “I have to see her.”
“Then promise you won’t escape.”
“Take me there, and I won’t run,” said Jethro.
He pushed aside his guilt. He’d do the same for Hugh if situations were reversed. He unlocked the cage and escorted Jethro out of the prison and down the back alleyways that led to a side door of the Council Building.
“Where’s Hugh?” asked Jethro as they walked down the corridor.
“Gone, for now.”
“How long do I have?”
“A few minutes.” He opened the door to the sickroom.
They stepped inside and Jethro stopped. “She’s so white and still.”
“She’s alive,” he said.
Jethro walked to the bed as if pulled by a string. His hand trembled as he touched her cheek. “Who did this?”
“The Supreme Almighty.”
“I’ll kill him.” Jethro’s jaw clenched.
“Hugh already did.”
“Too bad.”
The door flew open behind him. Jackson spun around. Hugh couldn’t be back already, but Tim was still here. He’d pay dearly for the snippy Servant’s silence. His jaw dropped open. It was Mirra. This wasn’t good. Not at all. Tim he could’ve handled but Mirra and Jethro...
Mirra sniffed the air. “Why you here?” She bared her teeth and stalked across the room.
Jethro straightened, his hands fisting at his sides.
“Mirra, take it easy.” He stepped between the two. He couldn’t allow them to fight, not in here.
“He try take Little One. He hurt Little One.”
“I’d never hurt her. I’d die for her.” Jethro gazed down at Trinity and then back at Mirra. “But, you’re right. I did hurt her, but I didn’t mean to.”
“Why you hurt her?” Mirra tipped her head, studying the Almighty.
“I...I wanted her.” Jethro ran his finger down her cheek. “I wanted her to be with me.”
“I catch Little One too.” Mirra moved closer to the bed. “Why you here? You no take her. Mirra no let you take her.”
“Jethro wanted to visit her,” said Jackson. “They were friends before, remember?”
“She’s not my friend anymore. I ruined that.” Jethro touched a strand of her hair and glanced at Mirra. “I love her.” He swallowed. “She hates me, but I still love her.”
Mirra moved closer and Jethro held perfectly still as she sniffed his neck. She wrinkled her nose a little and then walked to the other side of the bed. She patted Trinity’s hair. “Mirra love her.”
Jackson sighed, thanking Araldo. This could’ve been so very bad.
“She looks so helpless,” said Jethro.
“Yeah, you’d never know she could be such a pain-in-the ass,” said Jackson, moving to the bed.
Jethro shot him a glare but Mirra laughed. It was an odd sound, partway between a growl and a huff.
“Little One big pain,” said Mirra.
“We need to go.” Jackson put his hand on Jethro’s shoulder. Tim would be back soon and if Mirra was here then Gaar was probably not far behind.
Jethro started to protest but then fell silent. He bent and kissed Trinity, a soft touching of their lips. “Wake up soon, Little One. I wouldn’t know how to live in a world without you.”
He followed Jethro out of the room and back toward the prison.
“Why did you let me see her?”
He shrugged. There was too much to put into words.
“I’ll never be able to repay you for this.”
“You don’t owe me anything.” The boy had grown up these last few months and that was good because life was only going to get harder.