He had to do something.
Gio had learned in Scotland that he didn’t have the stomach for physical ‘persuasion’, so instead, he would try perseverance and logic. A scientist might appreciate that approach. “Dr. Evans, until we know how you were able to heal that rat, you’ll remain tied up and quarantined. Everyone here has vouched for your character—that isn’t an issue. But as a researcher, you know that if your condition is contagious, we need to know as soon as possible so we can try to develop a cure or vaccine.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Evans whispered, never raising his head. “I’m one of them now.”
“One of what?”
Evans raised his head with hatred in his eyes. “Them.”
Then he remembered about Evans’s dead fiancée. “Are you talking about the first-borns?”
“Th-they stole her from me.” He paused, lowering his head in shame. “And now, I’m just like them.”
Gio needed to try logic again. “But don’t you want to keep the others from becoming like you if it’s possible? You were working to eradicate elemental magic. Don’t you want to try to contain this new strain as well?”
Gio waited. There was nothing else he could say to make his case without pushing too hard. Hopefully, Evans could see past his self-pity and hatred to realize how he could help prevent the same thing from happening to other Feiru.
Chapter Eighteen
When Cam finally stepped out of Maria Vega’s house, Marco put a finger to his lips and motioned with his head down the street. He didn’t want to give anyone a reason to believe they were anything more than friends paying a call to a troubled friend. Even though Cam’s pale skin made that lie questionable—people of non-Spaniard European descent in Mexico were usually tourists—he could always claim they were a couple that met while she was on vacation. He’d have to tell Cam about their cover story later.
Anxious to get somewhere safe, he started walking. Cam practically had to run in order to catch up. She asked, “Where are we going now? You promised to ask me first, remember, before making decisions?”
He glanced at her and kept his voice low. “We need to talk in private about the man you saw in that picture, not h
ere.”
She grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. Thankfully, she leaned in and whispered, “We’re not going back to that club again, are we?”
Despite the seriousness of the last hour, Marco couldn’t help but tease Cam. “Not unless you want to, beauty.”
She frowned. “Don’t call me that. And if you take me to a place where people are having sex around us, I’m not going to tell you anything about the man I saw in the picture.”
He was tempted to tease her some more, but they’d already lingered here too long. “No worries, I know of a place that is both private and sex-free.” He offered his hand to Cam. “So, are you going to let me take you there?”
She put her hand in his and he counted that as a small victory toward her starting to trust him.
He wound them through the streets, never letting go of Cam’s hand. He was still trying to reconcile the version of her he’d seen comforting the widow with the DEFEND soldier at his side. While he admired Cam’s tenacity and strength, a part of him wanted her to let down her guard and tell him more about her past. She cared for her family; that much was clear. Being separated so soon from Kiarra must be killing her, even if Cam didn’t show it.
Her walls were as icy as his were, to the point it would take a wrecking ball to break through them.
He glanced at Cam’s profile. He knew just about every trick of how to block out others and keep people at a distance. Surely, he could find a way to use that knowledge in reverse and shatter her icy defenses.
Tonight, he decided he was going to try.
He refused to think about why he wanted to know Cam better—the reasons were selfish, and he knew it—so he focused on getting them to the secluded park he’d chosen.
Five minutes later, they arrived. He looked over the small fountain, scattered benches, and trees. It was dimly lit with a few streetlights and, just as he’d hoped, it was empty.
Cam looked around and said, “This isn’t exactly private.”
Marco gave a slow smile. “Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong.”
He said a silent apology to his grandfather for breaking his vow never to show the true extent of his powers in front of anyone but another Elemental Master. Then he reached a hand to the west and started moving the elemental water particles in the air.
Cam tried not to let herself be distracted by the quaintness of the park, and kept her ears open for anything unusual, in case someone was following them. If she’d been the one responsible for the arson fires, she would’ve kept a watch on all of the surviving victims and reported back on any unknown or unusual-looking visitors. Cam definitely fit that category with her pale skin and lack of Spanish.
She wanted to believe Marco was as aware of their surroundings as she was. But since she didn’t know all of his surveillance tricks yet, she had a hard time judging what he was doing. Especially since all she could think about was the man she’d seen in the picture that Maria had shown them.