cannibals; we’re allowed to follow freely behind the herd.
“ All right, what’s wrong?” I whisper to Ryan as we walk.
“ With what?”
“ With Amber’s story about the overthrow. You didn’t like it.”
Ryan pauses , his eyebrows coming together in concentration. “It’s not that I didn’t like it, it’s… I think it worries me. The sort of hero worship vibe I got from your friend could be bad news.”
“ Why?”
“ Because it reminds me of what Sam told us about Westbrook and how the Colonies first got started. And also because it’s not really true. In that story of him surviving two assassination attempts, where were you?”
“ I was with him by the wall when Caroline stabbed him.”
“ I know that and you know that.”
“ Caroline knows that,” Trent remarks.
“ But Amber didn’t mention it. Does she not know that you’re the one who saved Vin that night?”
“ I don’t know,” I reply, not sure what it matters.
“ If you’re being left out of that story, are more people being left out of the other story? The other attempt on his life? If he was already injured, I’m thinking he wasn’t alone for that second fight.”
“ Okay, probably not, but who cares? He still survived. She’s right—they tried to kill him twice and he survived both times.”
“ But why did they try to kill him? Why did Caroline do it the first time?”
“ Because she was crazy and in love with him and she thought I was stealing her man.”
“ So it wasn’t an assassination attempt at all. It was one person acting on jealousy. And the second time, why did that girl try to kill him?”
“ Probably because Caroline was her friend and Breanne was kind of nuts. She went native the second we got here. She was insanely loyal to the Colony by the time I left.”
“ So neither attempt on his life was actually ordered by the Colonies or by the Team Leaders as a group—it was all personal and emotional, but that’s not how the people here are looking at it. They’re looking at him as some messiah who their enemies tried to strike down but couldn’t. It gives him this legend status and puts him on a pedestal. It’s no wonder they follow him like they do.”
I hadn ’t thought about it, but he’s right—these people are looking at Vin as their savior, but he’s actually nothing more than a gangster pimp with bad taste in women and a habit of getting shanked.
“ If he gets them where they need to go, then what’s the problem?” I ask, trying to convince myself as much as Ryan.
He shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe nothing.”
“ Are we staying here tonight?” Trent asks out of the blue.
“ I’m not really sure,” I reply hesitantly. “We’ll have to talk to Vin, I guess.”
“ Do you think it’s safe?” Ryan asks.
I want to say yes , of course it is, but after what happened upstairs just now I’m not so sure. Vin didn’t turn on me, but he didn’t exactly help me either. He left me to fend for myself, and something about that royally pisses me off. Whether we’re staying here tonight or not, he and I have to talk.
“ Probably not. It might not be a bad idea for us to sleep behind locked doors tonight, wherever we go.”
“ Careful what you say. I’ll think you’ve grown to love prison life.”
“ I do miss the bathrooms. And the soaps.”
“ I miss the pillows.”
“ I miss the books,” Trent adds.
“ Was Sam right?” I ask him. “Could you have busted us out of there?”
“ Maybe.”
“ Maybe or probably?”
“ Definitely.”
My jaw drops. “Why didn’t you?”
“ I didn’t need to,” he says like it’s obvious. “You wanted to stay.”
“ How would you have done it?”
“ Picked the lock.”
“ Is that easy to do?”
“ No.”
“ Then how do you know you could have done it?”
Trent grins. “Because I did it.”
“ What? When?”
“ While you and Ryan were sleeping. Sam was out cold too. I was up and I was bored so I picked
“ All right, what’s wrong?” I whisper to Ryan as we walk.
“ With what?”
“ With Amber’s story about the overthrow. You didn’t like it.”
Ryan pauses , his eyebrows coming together in concentration. “It’s not that I didn’t like it, it’s… I think it worries me. The sort of hero worship vibe I got from your friend could be bad news.”
“ Why?”
“ Because it reminds me of what Sam told us about Westbrook and how the Colonies first got started. And also because it’s not really true. In that story of him surviving two assassination attempts, where were you?”
“ I was with him by the wall when Caroline stabbed him.”
“ I know that and you know that.”
“ Caroline knows that,” Trent remarks.
“ But Amber didn’t mention it. Does she not know that you’re the one who saved Vin that night?”
“ I don’t know,” I reply, not sure what it matters.
“ If you’re being left out of that story, are more people being left out of the other story? The other attempt on his life? If he was already injured, I’m thinking he wasn’t alone for that second fight.”
“ Okay, probably not, but who cares? He still survived. She’s right—they tried to kill him twice and he survived both times.”
“ But why did they try to kill him? Why did Caroline do it the first time?”
“ Because she was crazy and in love with him and she thought I was stealing her man.”
“ So it wasn’t an assassination attempt at all. It was one person acting on jealousy. And the second time, why did that girl try to kill him?”
“ Probably because Caroline was her friend and Breanne was kind of nuts. She went native the second we got here. She was insanely loyal to the Colony by the time I left.”
“ So neither attempt on his life was actually ordered by the Colonies or by the Team Leaders as a group—it was all personal and emotional, but that’s not how the people here are looking at it. They’re looking at him as some messiah who their enemies tried to strike down but couldn’t. It gives him this legend status and puts him on a pedestal. It’s no wonder they follow him like they do.”
I hadn ’t thought about it, but he’s right—these people are looking at Vin as their savior, but he’s actually nothing more than a gangster pimp with bad taste in women and a habit of getting shanked.
“ If he gets them where they need to go, then what’s the problem?” I ask, trying to convince myself as much as Ryan.
He shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe nothing.”
“ Are we staying here tonight?” Trent asks out of the blue.
“ I’m not really sure,” I reply hesitantly. “We’ll have to talk to Vin, I guess.”
“ Do you think it’s safe?” Ryan asks.
I want to say yes , of course it is, but after what happened upstairs just now I’m not so sure. Vin didn’t turn on me, but he didn’t exactly help me either. He left me to fend for myself, and something about that royally pisses me off. Whether we’re staying here tonight or not, he and I have to talk.
“ Probably not. It might not be a bad idea for us to sleep behind locked doors tonight, wherever we go.”
“ Careful what you say. I’ll think you’ve grown to love prison life.”
“ I do miss the bathrooms. And the soaps.”
“ I miss the pillows.”
“ I miss the books,” Trent adds.
“ Was Sam right?” I ask him. “Could you have busted us out of there?”
“ Maybe.”
“ Maybe or probably?”
“ Definitely.”
My jaw drops. “Why didn’t you?”
“ I didn’t need to,” he says like it’s obvious. “You wanted to stay.”
“ How would you have done it?”
“ Picked the lock.”
“ Is that easy to do?”
“ No.”
“ Then how do you know you could have done it?”
Trent grins. “Because I did it.”
“ What? When?”
“ While you and Ryan were sleeping. Sam was out cold too. I was up and I was bored so I picked
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