“Dad would know how to handle Jefferson.” Declan lifted two flats of bottled water into the back of the Bronco while Rae loaded up their med kits.

 

“Hell, you know how to handle it, son.” Gideon placed his own armload of supplies next to Declan’s. “You were his shadow for almost twenty years. You know what you’re doin’.”

 

“Yeah.” Declan sounded unconvinced as he strapped down the weapons duffle.

 

Gideon placed a hand on his shoulder. “Jared will be just fine. Ain’t no one gonna let them grab him.”

 

Declan blew out a breath. “Yeah,” he repeated. He looked at Rae. “Did you wake Jared up?”

 

“Why the hell would I wake up Jared?” Rae tossed her bag into the backseat. “He sleeps in your room.”

 

Declan frowned. “I thought he was in your room last night.”

 

Rae tucked her pistol into her cargoes. “He was, just to talk about some stuff. He didn’t sleep there.” 

 

“Oh boy.” Gideon muttered.

 

Declan slammed the tailgate of the truck into place and bolted for Gideon’s front door. “Dammit, Slater!” he yelled, storming into the house.

 

“Oh, for shits sake.” Rae rolled her eyes and turned to Gideon. “Control freak much?”

 

“Boy is gonna give himself a heart attack, he keeps yellin’ like that,” Gideon commented, leaning up against the side of the truck with Rae.

 

“He’d better not.” Rae leaned into Gideon’s side. “At least not before he tells me where he hides his liquor stash.”

 

“Oh, don’t you worry honey.” Gideon wrapped a beefy arm around her shoulders. “I’ve got you covered.”

 

 

Jared fidgeted in the passenger seat, playing with the cuff on his wrist as Rae drove them to Jefferson. “This isn’t going to be like the shelter raids.”

 

Rae cut him a sideways glance, taking her eyes off of Gideon’s truck for a moment. “No,” she agreed. “It’s not.”

 

The others were a car length ahead, Gideon driving while Declan and Reese no doubt argued over the best plan of action now that they knew they would have one more Renegade on their side.

 

Jared counted mentally in his head. “So there are seven of us, including the Prescotts; plus Logan and Lila,” Jared continued, “plus Iris, Lara Cassidy, and whomever else Iris is bringing.”

 

“And Reese’s insider.”

 

“Right. So maybe, what, fifteen of us?” Jared guessed at the size of Iris’s team. “Against...well. Who knows?”

 

“An entire building of Agents.” Rae supplied.

 

Jared shifted in his seat, snapping and unsnapping his leather bracelet against his scar. His mind traced back to the feeling of Reese’s lips on it last night, his mouth laving Jared’s scar like it was something precious, rather than something damaged. “Um.” He cleared his throat and sorted his thoughts. “What if...I mean, when they raided the shelters, the Agents were on our turf. We were always able to run them out, you know?” Here in the comfort of his dad’s truck, sitting with his sister, his best friend, Jared could open about his fears. “What if we can’t do that in Jefferson?”

 

“Then we do the best we can. Besides if all goes as planned, we will have the rescues out and gone before the Agents even know we’re there.” Rae gave him a half-hearted smile. “We make one hell of a team, Jare, we always have. Imagine how formidable we will be now, that we’ve got even more Renegades on our side. Gideon, Iris, the Prescotts.” She shot him a wry glance. “Reese.”

 

Jared shifted again, unable to hide his smile amidst fond memories of the night before. He could still feel it, the slight soreness from their lovemaking, and even the threat of what might lie ahead of them couldn’t keep him from wishing it would happen again. “You trusted him.” Jared looked over at his sister. “Last night, you helped me defend him to Declan, you-“

 

“Hey.” Rae cut off his ramblings. “Of course I did. You wouldn’t fall for someone hateful.” She slowed down as she took them around the curve of a winding back road just inside of Missouri. “You can sniff out an Agent a mile away, you always could.”

 

Jared swallowed against the rush of emotion that was the affection he felt for his sister.

 

“Besides,” Rae said. “You aren’t the only one who can read people. The way he looks at you, Jare.” Her voice went soft, almost wondrous, and Jared was reminded for a moment that she had never really seen her parents in love. “Declan is blind to it because he wants to be. He’s afraid of losing you, that you’ll cut and run for Slater and disappear from the Cooper clan forever.”

 

Jared frowned. “I would never do that.”

 

Rae nodded. “I know. Declan does too, he’s just. I don’t know. Being an idiot about it.” It was said with the same fondness that Jared felt. “His jaw clenches up so tight every time I leave with some guy from a bar, like he isn’t doing the exact same thing.” She scoffed.

 

“He’s so much like Dad, it’s scary” Jared commented.

 

Rae laughed. “Yeah. Always has been.”

 

Jared tangled his fingers in his lap. “You’re like him, too.”

 

Rae glanced at him again. “Yeah?”

 

He nodded. “Yeah. Bold, strong, confident.” All the things he wasn’t. “Fearless.”

 

“Guess it runs in the Cooper genes.” Rae shrugged. “Explains why you’re like that, too.”

 

Jared huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, right. Explains why I shake every time I meet someone new. Explains why I loathe the idea of shooting someone, while you guys seem to relish it. Explains why I can’t even stand up for myself when someone calls me a ditchbreed. Why I can’t-“

 

“You survived on your own, as a child, for ten years. You think that doesn’t take strength? And you made damn sure Reese and the Prescotts knew what you were that night at dinner. You were ready for any reaction they might have thrown at you upon learning your past.” Rae jerked the wheel to the right to avoid a large pothole. “And we don’t relish having to shoot someone. We just, I don’t know, grew up different than you, that’s all. For Dad, it was a part of his job, so like every other method of defense, it became a part of ours.”

 

Jared fiddled with a stray thread on his cargoes. “I never even held a gun before Dad saved me. But I’ve had them pointed at me for as long as I can remember.”

 

“Hey.” Rae’s voice was full of spirit. “None of that. You quit sinking yourself down into that rescue headspace, you hear me? You are a fighter. I know it’s ugly and I know we shouldn’t even have to do what we do but we are headed into Jefferson to fight for these people, you got me? Just like we will always fight for you. So don’t for one second think you aren’t one of us.”

 

Jared tried to give her a smile, but it fell flat.

 

Rae smiled for him. “I’ve got two brothers, Jare, and thank heaven because if I only had Declan, I’d go crazy. You’re like the best combination of brother and best friend. I can talk to you about boys without you getting grossed out or pissed off.”

 

Jared laughed, genuinely this time. “Why do you think I told you about Reese?”

 

“You’ve only told me about one flimsy kiss,” Rae said, pouting. “Although at this point, I’m gonna guess there’s been more.”

 

“A gentleman never kisses and tells.”

 

“I’ll ask Reese about it, then.”

 

Jared lightly punched her in the shoulder. “You calling my lover a scoundrel?”

 

“I’ll call him whatever you want, Jare, as long as he keeps you happy.”

 

Jared settled back into his seat, not nearly as nervous as he had been when they had left Gideon’s. “Love you, RaeRae.”

 

“Love you, too. Now get out that map and make sure these guys know where the hell they’re going.”