A figure quickly ducked out of sight, and Dane only caught a glimpse of his


    retreating form as he vaulted a wall into the neighboring yard.


    Dane''s brow tightened. He ran over, shouting, "Thief! Hey, ma''am! Someone just jumped the wall into your yard! You should check it out!"


    At the word "thief," a swarm of townspeople rushed over.


    From over the wall, they could hear a woman''s angry shouts, a dog''s furious barking, and a familiar voice pleading for mercy.


    Dane hurried next door, expecting to find a viin after the ''item.'' Instead, he found his own friend, Kuban-the same young man he had asked to tend to Lowell''s wounds at the clinic the day before.


    Kuban was squatting by the wall, looking at Dane with an exasperated expression. "Dane, what are you yelling about? There''s no thief!"


    Dane''s brow was deeply furrowed. Having just learned about the ''item'' from Wyatt, he was on high alert. Something so important had drawn Tarquin and Lowell here; it was only a matter of time before the bad guys showed up too.


    "Why did you run when you saw me?" Dane demanded.


    "I was just trying to mess with you,” Kuban said. “I thought if I jumped the wall, you''d follow. I was going to challenge you to a race, see if you could catch me. But you called me a thief! Thedy and her dog are terrifying! I nearly had a heart attack!"


    Seeing it was just Kuban, the crowd rxed and began to chatter.


    "You''ve got some nerve ming Dane! A chase? That''s just foolish. You''re a grown man!"


    "Yeah, acting like a five-year-old. That''s something Diaz might do."


    Kuban grinned. "Dane''s had a rough day. I saw he was in a bad mood and just wanted to cheer him up."


    The others just rolled their eyes, dismissed it as nonsense, and began to disperse.


    Dane gave Kuban a long, unreadable look before turning to leave.


    Kuban chased after him. “I was just joking around to cheer you up, but I ended up making you more upset. I''m the worst, aren''t I?"


    Dane was indeed more upset, because he wasn''t as easily fooled as the vigers. Kuban hadn''t been trying to cheer him up; he''d been spying on himelle He had onlye up with thatme excuse after being caught.


    Why would he be spying? It had to be rted to the ''item.'' The thought that his own friend might have been bought by the enemy made Dane''s mood sink even lower.


    Kuban was still talking. "Dane, I don''t think this can go on. You can protect Wyatt but you can''t keep paying for his mistakes! When he hurts people, not your fault."


    fo


    Dane feigned nonchnce. "He was my father''s brother. Before my father died, he made me promise to take care of him."


    "They were just good friends, not actual brothers,” Kuban pointed out.


    Dane frowned. "Good friends is enough. Blood doesn''t matter. It''s like with you and


    me. If you were truly loyal to me, I''d walk through fire for you."


    Kuban''s eyes darted away, his expression ufortable. After a moment, he said, "I get what you mean Well, from now on, from now on, we should both keep a closer eye on Wyatt, try to keep strangers away from him."


    Dane didn''t respond, just started walking home.


    Kuban followed, asking, "I heard the two guys from today are the ones who funded


    our new school and library. Why would they be so generous, you think?"


    "I don''t know," Dane said tly.


    "Do you think they''re here for a reason?” Kuban pressed.


    Dane looked at him. "What kind of reason?"


    “I don''t know, looking for someone, or something,” Kuban said with a shrug, “just a thought."


    Dane nced at him. "I have no idea."