Once again, her dramatic moment was interrupted, this time by the fire alarms silencing and the sprinkler system coming on. “Well, well,” said Marcus, as water drenched us all. “I guess Grif got it to work.”
“We should get out of here,” said the ex-Alchemist I didn’t know. “Even if their reinforcements are miles away, odds are good someone got a cell phone call out.”
Marcus nodded in agreement. “Let’s just make sure this lot’s contained.”
“Here,” said Adrian. He emptied out his jacket pocket of a couple dozen zip-ties. “I thought some extras might come in handy.”
Trey and Marcus’s associate bound up all the Alchemists, and Marcus himself collected all the weapons he could find. “No way am I leaving these here. We’ll take them and destroy them.” He surveyed his team’s handiwork and nodded in satisfaction. “Let’s hit the road.”
I turned to follow, but Sheridan’s voice gave me pause. “There’s nowhere you can go!” she called. “You can’t just walk away from this!”
I glanced back, but before I could answer, something small caught my eye. In the tussle with Chantal, the top two buttons of Sheridan’s shirt had come undone. I strode forward and reached my hand out toward her, making her recoil. No doubt she thought I was going to cast a spell on her. Instead, I ripped Adrian’s necklace from her neck.
“This,” I said, “is mine.”
“You don’t deserve it,” she hissed. “Don’t think this is over. You’ve just replaced Marcus Finch as the Alchemist’s most wanted.”
I made no response and simply fastened the cross around my own neck. With that, I turned and followed my friends out without a backward glance.
Sunset or not, it was scorching outside, and our wet clothes suddenly became a blessing. “Where are we?” I asked.
“Death Valley,” said Marcus. “You can’t say the Alchemists don’t have a flair for the dramatic.”
“That, or the land was cheap,” I said.
Trey astonished me by suddenly engulfing me in a giant hug. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you, Melbourne.”
I felt my eyes brim with tears. “I’ve missed you too. Thank you . . . thank you for this. I don’t know how to repay you.”
“No repayment needed.” A small frown crossed his features as he looked me over. “Except to maybe rest and get something to eat.”
Another hug swallowed me as Marcus took his turn. “Overachiever,” he said, grinning down at me. “Replacing me on their list.”
I smiled back, hiding just how much Sheridan’s words had truly hit home with me. “Thank you, Marcus. I’m sorry for when I said you just talk and don’t act.” I gestured around us. “This . . . this was some pretty big acting.”
“Yeah, well, you’ve been more than a little inspiring to me and to others,” he said. “And probably to that lot we pulled out of this place too.”
Eddie came last, and as we sized each other up, the tears hovering in my eyes finally spilled. “Eddie, I’m so sorry I lied to you that night.”
He shook his head and pulled me to him. I heard tears choke up his voice. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stop them. I’m sorry I wasn’t protection enough.”
“Oh, Eddie,” I said, sniffling. “You’re the best protection. No one could have a better guardian than you. Or a better friend.”
Even Marcus looked touched. “You guys, I hate to break this up, but we need to get out of here. We can laugh and cry at the rendezvous spot.”
I wiped my eyes and gave Eddie one last, quick hug. “Do me a favor,” I told him. “Go back to Jill.”
“Of course,” he said. “I will as soon as everyone’s safe. She’s my duty.”
“I don’t mean go back to her because of your assignment. Go back to her because you love her.”
His jaw nearly dropped. I don’t think anyone had ever come out and called him on it like that, but after what I’d been through, niceties and dancing around the truth suddenly seemed like a waste of valuable time. I stepped back to join Adrian, and the one named Grif held up a set of keys.
“I brought the Mustang around while I was out. Who’s driving it?”
“We are,” I said, surprising everyone. I took the keys from him. “That is . . . you have another car?”
“A Prius,” said Adrian dismally.
I did a mental headcount, verifying they’d all fit, and then put on what I hoped was a lovesick smile. “Is it okay if Adrian and I drive separately and meet the rest of you there? I . . . I’d like some alone time.”
“There’s going to be no legroom in that thing,” exclaimed Trey. But then he looked at me, and his expression softened. “But far be it from me to stand in the way of true love. I’ll suffer for your happiness, Melbourne. Like always.”
Adrian got a bag out of the Prius and then gave the keys to Marcus. In return, Marcus gifted me with something unexpected. “I had these made up for you a while ago,” he explained. “Take them now, just in case. I’m going to get some for the other detainees too.”
He handed me two driver’s licenses. One was my original from Utah, which I’d hardly used in Palm Springs while living as Sydney Melrose. I was amazed he’d managed to get a hold of a copy from the DMV. But that wasn’t nearly as startling as the second license, a fake one from Maryland with a most unexpected alias.