“I really don’t see why they’re making such a big deal out of this,” Connor said, raking a hand through his dark auburn hair. “It’s not like I meant to set the place on fire. And besides, the way they treated their customers, they deserved it.”

I trained a stern look on him from the other side of the alley we’d ducked into. Not that sternness ever seemed to work on my daredevil little brother. “I don’t think the police care about customer relations now that the laundromat is burned to the ground. I thought you’d been doing those exercises to get better control over your powers.”

Connor groaned. “I hate those. They’re mind-numbingly boring.” I opened my mouth, but before I could speak, he held up his hand. “But I’ve been doing them anyway. When I can fit them in. They just don’t help that much. When I get angry... You know what it’s like.”

“No,” I said. “I don’t really. Seeing as I’ve never destroyed an entire building before.”

Even as the words fell from my mouth, a pinch of guilt poked at my gut. I couldn’t say I was a total stranger to destruction. But I knew better now. I’d known better since I was a lot younger than Connor.

I peered around the corner of the discount furniture store on one side of the alley. The street was momentarily clear in the dim evening. I motioned to Connor. “Come on, let’s get you out of here. You can ride in the back seat. And stay down. If anyone stops us, pretend you’re lying down because you’re sick.”

“All right, all right,” Connor muttered.

I hurried across the sidewalk and yanked open the rental car’s door. Despite his tone, my brother followed my instructions. I sank into the seat, my nose filling with that plastic-y new-car scent. I’d had to take one of the expensive options on such short notice.

The engine started with a rumble. “It’s too bad,” Connor said as I gripped the wheel. “I kind of liked Philadelphia. As much as I like any of these places. I wouldn’t mind somewhere a little warmer this time, though. Are you bringing me back to Cali with you?”

He already knew the answer to that. As soon as we’d been old enough to leave the nest, none of us had stayed in the same city together for more than a day or two. There was less chance of drawing notice if we weren’t risking two sets of newsworthy exploits happening in the same place.

“No,” I said. “Sorry. I think it’s time you got out of the whole country for a while, actually. I did up a new passport for you.” Hopefully he wouldn’t render this one obsolete in as little time as the last few. Each new city he moved to, he seemed to get a little more stir-crazy.

I didn’t really like having Connor on the other side of the ocean, someplace I couldn’t just hop on a plane to get to in a few hours if he needed rescuing, but he’d have Nick and our parents nearby over there. Ethan, his twin, had been keeping a low enough profile to have been able to stay put in Atlanta for the last three years. And our youngest brother, Liam, had taken off to Tokyo last year after bouncing around through various parts of South America for a while.

Five of us, scattered around the world. Seven if you counted Mom and Dad. Sometimes it felt like we were just a series of ticking time bombs. At any second any one of us might bring the whole family down.

Connor had perked up at the mention of leaving the country. “I could go for that. Where are you sending me? Amsterdam? Barcelona?”

“You’re supposed to be taking it easy, not partying it up,” I said. “The whole point is to get you out of trouble. You’re going to Florence. You can check out the galleries and gain a little artistic appreciation.”

“Yeah, that sounds exciting.”

I braked at a red light and swung myself around to glare at him. “We don’t want exciting, Connor. Is it really that hard for you to understand? You’ve heard all the same stories from Mom and Dad that I have. Do you want to end up in some underground lab where you’re told what to do every second of the day, experimented on, shut away from the whole rest of the world? Living quietly and freely is a heck of a lot better than that.”

Our parents didn’t like to talk about the time before their escape very much. But every time they did, the trauma of that experience was written all over their faces. Woven through the strain in their voices. We’d felt it with every hasty move all through our childhood.

They’d been imprisoned and tortured by people determined to exploit their powers. Dad had endured those experiments for seven years. Alpha Project, the lab had been called. If those assholes were still around, no doubt they’d love to get their hands on all of us.

I couldn’t see my brother’s face, but his voice dropped. “I know. I’m sorry. And I know it was a hassle for you to fly out here so fast. Thanks for being here.”

My frustration faded. Connor was twenty-five, but right now he sounded like a chagrined little kid. The little kid I’d spent most of my life trying and nearly failing to keep safe.

“Of course,” I said. “That’s what I’m here for. I never let myself get too busy anyway, in case I have to leave for something like this.”

We drove in silence most of the rest of the trip. When we left Philadelphia behind, Connor sat up and popped in his earphones. Tinny hints of music drifted from the back seat.

As we came up on Newark, I gestured to get his attention. “We shouldn’t have too much trouble, but put on the hat that’s in the bag back there. Your hair might catch some eyes. We don’t want anyone looking at us at all.”

For once, Connor complied without a snarky remark. I dropped off the car at the rental place, and we hurried through the parking lot to the terminals. I’d arranged both of our flights—his to Italy and mine back to San Jose—with the same airline so that we could go through security together. I wasn’t going to feel secure for either of us until I saw my brother getting on that plane.

Our fake passports scanned just fine at the automated check in machines. I’d gotten very good at doctoring those over the last fifteen years. But that didn’t mean I trusted my abilities completely. When we got to the security line, the officer who asked for ID spent longer looking at Connor’s than I liked.

I fixed my gaze on a carry-on suitcase someone had balanced on top of one of the machines. My hands clenched in my pockets. With a twitch of my eyes and a heft of my mind, I sent the bag toppling. It hit the floor with a bang.

The security officer’s head leapt up. He handed the passport back to Connor and hustled over to see what had happened. Connor cut his gaze toward me.

“Nice one,” he murmured.

“Shut up,” I said, shouldering him onward.

Connor’s bag edged down the conveyor belt so slowly my jaw started to tighten. I just wanted to get this over with. The officer behind the scanner glanced over it without hesitation, but then Connor lifted his hat to scratch the back of his head. Her eyes darted to him. They narrowed for a second. My heart lurched.

We were still close enough to Philly that people here might have seen the reports. They didn’t have photographic footage of Connor, but a description would have been passed along. That damn reddish hair combined with his pale skin drew notice even when he wasn’t on the run.

I elbowed him lightly and jerked my chin toward the bag that had just emerged from the scanner. Connor picked it up, oblivious. I picked up my pace, knowing he’d at least notice that. We were just passing the end of the conveyor belt when the officer called over.

“Hey, excuse me, could you hold on just a—”

Shit. Connor looked at me and must have caught my reaction. His expression set.

And a trash can on the other side of the room suddenly went up in flames.

Someone shrieked. A couple other people shouted in concern. The officer cut herself off in mid-sentence, turning to stare. We hustled on, rounding the corner and slipping out of view in a matter of seconds.

A tight little smile had formed on Connor’s face. “I can take care of things too,” he said quietly.

“I’m not sure that was the best strategy,” I said. My heart was still thumping. “Especially when they’re looking for a guy who starts fires.”

He shrugged. “It was nowhere near me. They’re not looking for a guy who starts fires with his mind.”

The police weren’t, but other people might be. I gritted my teeth. Why was it so hard for him to keep himself in check?

At least we were through the hard part now.

I sat with Connor by his gate, flipping through a magazine I hardly saw while he listened to more of his music with its pounding bass. When the flight attendants announced that his flight was boarding, I got up with him. We weren’t really the hugging types, but I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to me quickly. Who knew when I might see him again?

Who knew what circumstances that next meeting might be under?

“Take care of yourself,” I told him.

“Always do,” Connor said with a little salute. The comment was kind of ridiculous when I’d just had to fly across the country to bail him out, but I let it pass.

I waited until he’d disappeared beyond the gate’s doors, and then I headed to catch my own flight.

* * *

I’d just stepped into my apartment when my phone buzzed. Sagging onto the leather couch, I fished the phone out of my pocket.

It was a text—from Grace. Hey. I think I managed to lose a bracelet of mine in your camera bag, as weird as that might sound. I don’t suppose you’ve found it?

The corner of my lips twitched up at her tone. I could almost hear her soft but steady voice. I pushed myself back onto my feet and ambled over to my camera bag.

I dug around in the pockets, and my fingers brushed cool metal. I pulled out a circle of silver beads. Got it, I wrote back.

Oh good. Could I swing by and get it? Or meet up with you somewhere? It’s kind of important to me.

I hesitated. I could have said I’d courier it to her along with the photo disc. But I’d just spent the whole day looking after someone else, and I could use a distraction from wondering whether Connor had set fire to the entire plane.

Besides, I wanted to see her again. It couldn’t hurt that much to spend another hour in her company, could it? I had a hell of a lot more self-control than my brother did. I deserved a little fun in my life.

Before I could change my mind, I typed out an answer. Sure. If you’re not busy right now, I could meet you at the cafe at Braxton and Maple in half an hour.