Page 120

For the first time since I found her, Hayley smiles.

Small.

Tired.

Real.

“You were never very good at talking to girls.”

“I was good at talking to one.”

The smile fades.

So does mine.

Too much.

Too soon.

I look away first.

The paramedic finishes wrapping her wrist.

“Try not to use this hand too much for the next couple days.”

Hayley looks at it.

“I'll try.”

I know that tone.

Apparently, at least one thing hasn't changed.

Lieutenant Dawson approaches.

“We've cleared the mine.”

Hayley stands.

“All the girls?”

“Twenty-one total. All alive.”

Hayley's eyes close.

Relief moves across her face.

“And Navarro?”

Dawson's silence answers before she does.

“He got out through an old service road on the north side.”

My jaw tightens.

Hayley looks at me.

“He knows where Sage is.”