He gave my hand a squeeze and disappeared down the hall.
Same as he was the first time I saw him, Poe was stuck somewhere between sexy and scary.
“You look like crap.” I joined him on the couch.
“You look hot.” British boys. Full-blown charm the second they opened their mouths. Poe and I usually had a way of understanding each other without saying a lot, but this situation was going to require multiple explanations.
“I was worried about you.”
“I was worried about me, too.” He lifted up his shirt.
The scar ran diagonally, obviously a slash rather than a precise cut. It was pink and raised.
“I’m assuming you didn’t try to give yourself a liver transplant.”
He grinned and dropped his shirt. “I assume you’d probably like to know how all this happened.”
“You think?” I didn’t hide the sarcasm.
“Your mom sent me to steal the Skroll. I thought it was a legit Chronos job. I didn’t even think twice about it until she told me not to mention it to you or your dad.”
Even though Mom hadn’t worked closely with us for a while, she still assigned Chronos jobs. “That smells all kinds of shady.”
“Exactly. I threw her off track and pretended I couldn’t get the Skroll open.”
“But you did get it open.”
“Not me. Dr. Turner. I had to return it to Teague before he finished reading all the information. He tried to get it back, but your mom suspected something was up.” Poe stared at his fist as he flexed it. “And then, the next day, he was gone.”
“I didn’t even know you knew him. How did you meet?”
“Long story. But he believed in me when no one else did.”
Something told me not to push. “He told Dad how the Infinityglass gene worked before he died. We know something triggered it, but we don’t know what.”
“I’ve been trying to help Dune figure it out.” He pointed at his laptop on the kitchen table. A neat stack of index cards and a crystal skull pencil holder, with multicolor pens, sat beside it.
“So you’re helping the Hourglass now?”
“No.” He frowned. “I’m helping you.”
“They’re different from Chronos in so many ways.” I leaned back on the arm of the couch. “The Hourglass keeps Dune … informed, at least.”
“That’s not the only difference. I was in Ivy Springs. I saw the way they all worked together. The kind of jobs they do. They help people.”
“And?” I asked.
“It was impressive. I guess that’s what it’s like to work for the good guys.”
“That makes Chronos the bad guys.”
“Are the jobs we do there legit? Do we help the people who need it, or the ones who can afford it?”
“I don’t know. But the reason you fell for Mom’s bull is because we never questioned anything.”
“It opened my eyes.” He looked at me. “I don’t want to be that guy anymore. Do you want to be that girl?”
“Do I have a choice?”