The Cure by Teyla Branton Page B

man went down.
    “We have to go,” I gritted, staggering to my feet. My sliced ankle refused to hold me, and I crumpled to one knee.
    Sweeping up his pistol, Keene ran toward me. “I got you.” He shoved his arms, gun and all, under me and cradled me against his chest. A wave of agony burst through my ankle as he lurched forward.
    Behind us, the blond Unbounded rolled, stretching for his gun. Jace fired a shot, without aiming. He didn’t need to, his combat instinct finding exactly the right place. The man stopped moving. Normally, we’d take the Unbounded with us, but there was no chance of that now. The people in the morgue were due a nasty surprise when they returned to life as their bodies healed.
    A crowd had begun to form at the end of the street, but they scattered to each side as we approached. “Better wait for the police,” someone said.
    Jace grinned like a maniac. “I don’t think so.” He waved his gun and the crowd retreated further. Only a few men held their ground, and I hoped none of them would try to be heroes.
    We made it to Keene’s sleek off-white sedan and sped into the night as the first police vehicles arrived. I turned to see a man pointing after us, and one of the cars began to give chase.
    Great.
    Keene squealed around a corner. “Where?” he barked.
    “Three streets up. Turn left.” The pain in my ankle was receding as my body rushed natural painkillers to the wound.
    In the back, Jace fumbled in his pack, coming up with a clear gel in a syringe. He handed it to me. Excitement still radiated from him in waves that helped me endure the pain.
    I accepted the curequick, though I normally avoided the stuff like the plague. It was addictive, even for Unbounded, but it sped up our already accelerated healing rate by as much as five times. I’d need that before the night was out. I pulled up my pant leg. Blood still poured from the wound, which would explain my dizziness, and through the flesh and sliced ligaments, I could see bone. I eased the needle into my leg as close to the wound as possible and pressed down the stopper. Immediately, I felt my body consuming the curequick, using its energy to make repairs.
    “The police car’s still behind us,” Keene said. “Are we leading it to your hideout then?”
    “No, turn here. On the third street take a left. But you have to go faster or we won’t lose him.”
    Keene stomped on the gas.
    We were prepared for this. The first thing Ava did when we moved to a new city was to set up alternate hideouts, emergency stores, and extra vehicles. Part of our training was memorizing all of the locations. I hoped my memory wasn’t rusty. No use asking Jace. For all his combat ability, he’d never been able to fix places in his mind.
    Jace was staring at his phone. “Still no answer at the palace, but you’ve got the right place for the safe house. It’s coming up quick.”
    Right. The information was also on our phones. Must be the pain that made me forget.
    “You guys jump out,” Keene said. “I’ll keep going. Lead them away.” Determination radiated from him—and worry. Why wasn’t he blocking his emotions? He’d been in enough tough situations that it couldn’t simply be because he was distracted. Which meant he was allowing me to sense them. Was it so I’d trust him?
    He glanced over at me, his hair curling out at the ends beneath his knit cap and his green eyes intense. Something warm ran between us. It felt a lot like trust.
    “No, I’ll do it.” Jace said. “I’ll dump the car and get away on foot. I’m familiar with this area—you’re not.” His eyes switched to me. “I’ll meet you five blocks south at that tobacco shop. You know the one.”
    Keene’s eyes asked a question, and I nodded. “He’ll easily outrun them on foot.”
    Without waiting for more, Jace climbed between the two front seats, shoving Keene against the door. “Now,” he said, grabbing the wheel. “I’ll brake just around that turn. I