The morning air carried a bite that seemed to seep through the windows of Sydney's car as we pulled into the familiar courtyard of Jackson Township's Municipal Office.
Putting aside, Liu Mei, and Ivy, Rebecca had not come with us.
The confrontation had started at breakfast when Rachel had mentioned we needed to make another trip to Jackson Township for "supply consultation." It was a carefully neutral way of describing our actual mission—hunting down a creature that could freeze anything it touched—but Rebecca had seen right through the diplomatic language.
"Supply consultation?" she'd repeated, her fork hovering over her scrambled eggs. "What kind of supplies require Rachel and Ryan to go together? Again?"
The emphasis on 'together' had been loaded with weeks of accumulated frustration and suspicion. Rebecca had been watching the growing closeness between Rachel and me with the sharp-eyed vigilance of someone who sensed her world shifting in ways she couldn't control.
