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with my body. Azalea seems to be ready to flee, but Dad is stupefied, frozen to the spot.
    The cop eases Dad in one of his arms, as though he was nothing but a weightless doll, and carries his cart in the other. We gasp.
    “No! Leave him alone!” Olmo shouts. Ignoring him, Aleksey starts toward the bunker entrance and pushes a number of Starvillers out of his way, clearing a path for us.
    “That man isn’t allowed …” Kit Lee Rivers says, but he doesn’t continue when he notices Aleksey’s deadly glare. The commissioner nods him forward and without a word, Aleksey enters the barely lit bunker and we follow him inside.
    Aleksey climbs down the bunker’s stairs to the secure area, and gently—too gently for such a brutish looking man—lowers my father and his cart to the floor.
    I look up to thank him, but my eyes meet his glare. The most hateful glare I’ve ever received. It doesn’t last more than a second, but it chills me as much as the sound of sirens and the chaos surrounding us.
    Another blasting sound startles us; something’s exploded and it sounds much closer.
    Aleksey turns away. Before exiting the bunker, he instructs the crowd to give preference to kids, women, and elderly men.
    Olmos’s face looks terrified, and Poncho tries to calm him to no avail. I give Olmo his inhaler and hold him tightly. I’m about to tell him everything will be fine when he puts his arms around my neck and whispers in my ear.
    “Don’t be afraid, Lily. I’ll be your protector.”
    I kiss his hair and thank him. The bunker doors close, and we are left in the dark.
    Kaboom! The biggest explosion yet. It’s so forceful that the whole building shakes.
    People begin panicking, and you can feel, even smell, the fear inside the bunker. In the dark, I can feel Olmo’s body trembling. Dad protectively embraces Azzy and murmurs a prayer that is echoed by Olmo. At moments like this, I wish I believed a superior entity protects us. I envy them for their ability to pray. To hope.
    Three hours pass before the air raid stops. It’s so crowded inside the bunker that the air is thick and hot, and most people haven’t found a spot to sit. We hear the bunker’s doors open, and a blaring voice announces we are free of danger.
    “Wait for another hour before you exit the bunker,” commands Kit Lee Rivers.
    My protector sleeps in my lap while Azzy’s fighting to keep her eyes open. My dad has his eyes closed, but I know he’s awake.
    Something compels me to look up. Ten feet away, Rey’s carrying Reyna in his arms, and staring at me. He’s surrounded by at least a dozen Diaz relatives who I barely notice. I’m distracted by Rey’s amber eyes. I almost close the distance between us to hug him when his rebuff replays vividly in my mind. He flushes as much as I do before breaking eye contact.
    My godfather, Baron, struggles against the crowd to approach my dad, followed by his sons Rey and Duque. “Dr. Velez! Compadre— ” Baron’s roaring voice matches his stoutness. “Thanks to God we all made it! A good reason to celebrate the Assumption feast, isn’t it?”
    While Baron talks to Dad, Rey’s discomfort becomes evident to Azzy. She shoots me a questioning look while I try not to look at him, which is hard. I crave him, and this time, it isn’t a sexual thing. I could use a hug at this moment.
    Duque Diaz is oblivious to our awkwardness. At eighteen, he looks like a slimmer, shorter version of Rey. He searches the crowd for his fiancée, Veronica, who is also a TCR member.
    “As soon as you two get married, leave Starville,” I joke.
    Even his grin is the same as Rey’s. “Yeah, if we had the tattoos and a j-device.”
    It’s easy to get out, but we wouldn’t survive outside. Not without a j-device, a traceable gadget shaped as a jewel that gives you access to money and works as ID. No Patriot or Nat city would admit us without one. The tattoos that brand you as a citizen are even more difficult to get. Only