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minute. I guess everything’s happening so quickly, my mind hasn’t had time to process. But in this free moment, I fight the urge to run out the front door and leave Michael again. Not because I’m afraid of him any longer, we’re past that now. I just can’t deal with this.
    I shove back from the table, but Michael’s hand snakes out and grabs mine. “Hey, you said you wouldn’t leave me.”
    Guilt claws at my stomach. “I won’t.” I sit back down. “Could those people on Wall Street see the Shades?”
    Michael props his head in his hands. “No. Only Shifters can see them. I’ve heard that normal people can sense them, but I don’t understand it all.”
    “So you’re saying, back in my time, there are Shades wandering around? Wouldn’t I have been able to see them?”
    “Have you ever walked into a room and felt the creeps but couldn’t place why? Or been somewhere that suddenly went cold? Have you ever had the feeling that someone was following you, and no one was there?”
    Only all the time. I bite my lip, nodding.
    “That means Shades were nearby. I never sensed them when I was still normal, but then, I wasn’t a threat to them.”
    “Are you saying I am?”
    “I’m saying I don’t know.” He closes his eyes.
    I can hear the fire in the next room crackling, and the floor boards creaking with tip-toed steps.
    I clear my throat. “Why haven’t we switched—er—shifted? Is there something else left to do? Tell me, and I’ll do it.”
    He blows out a long stream of air. “It doesn’t always work like that. Sometimes you do what you’re supposed to, and you still have to wait until he’s ready to shift you.”
    “Hold on! He— as in, someone is controlling all of this?”
    Michael laughs softly. It must have hurt because he groans. “Did you really believe you were in control?”
    My hands ball into fists. “Who then?”
    “Why are you so upset?”
    “I don’t believe in someone else calling the shots in my life.”
    “Well, learn to.” His eyebrows lower. “I assumed you heard him.”
    “If you’re talking about the ‘leadings’ you mentioned earlier, no.”
    “But the little girl? Didn’t you feel a nudge to save her?”
    “If by ‘nudge’ you mean did the right thing to do whiz through my mind, yes. I did the only decent thing that could have been done. But I don’t think that’s what you’re talking about, is it? Michael, you need to start giving me plain answers because I can’t stick with you if you don’t. I think I’ve done well so far but—”
    He taps the table. “One, if you don’t stop talking and just let yourself be quiet every once in a while, you’ll never feel a leading. Two, you’re driving me crazy. Let’s just not speak for a little bit.”
    “But—”
    “Not speaking.” He sighs.
    I work my jaw back and forth. Maybe I should leave him. Leave all of this. Go and live on my own without having to worry about another person. Right. Then let the Shades claw me again. Not likely.
    I close my eyes, willing myself to take ten deep breaths, one after another. Mary’s mother comes in again at some point. Tells us they are going to bed now and that they’ll see us in the morning. I block everyone out and see only darkness.
    “Gabby.” The whisper wakes me with a jolt.
    I must have fallen asleep in the chair because it’s now dark in the kitchen. Michael’s beside me, a make-shift bandage tied around his middle. “Sorry if I scared you, but we’ve got to go.”
    I rub circles over my eyes. “But the woman said we could stay as long as we wanted.”
    “This isn’t a vacation, Gabby. We’ve got work to do. Come on. I need you to be my crutch again.” He motions for me to stand.
    I stretch. “Shouldn’t we at least say good-bye to the family? Thank them for helping?”
    He shakes his head. “It’s better this way. Less questions.”
    “We can’t go out there with you hurt like this. It’s not like I can protect you.”
    “I