Free Wild Sky 2 by Suzanne Brockmann, Melanie Brockmann Page A

yeah.”
    Garrett nodded, looking from her to me and back. “So, do, um, Greater-Thans ever joker?”
    “No,” Dana told him, but Garrett didn’t look convinced.
    Milo spoke up again from where he’d gone back to leaning against the wall. “If you dig around the Internet for info about G-Ts,” he said in his soft, southern twang, “you’ll find a bunch of frightened normies who claim that girls who are Greater-Thans lose their empathy and even their humanity. But that’s just not true.”
    He looked directly at me and smiled, but it still felt a little forced. Garrett’s story about Jilly had bothered him deeply. Still, he knew that I was perpetually worried about what he called the crap you read on the Internet . Crap or not, I’d made him promise—no, vow —to stop me if I ever showed signs of losing my ability to empathize with other people.
    “Speaking of digging around the Internet,” Calvin said. “The police posted news on their website that a John Doe was picked up from the parking lot of the Sav’A’Buck in Harrisburg. He’s been taken to Saving Grace Hospital, where he’s regained consciousness but claims amnesia.” He looked up, his dark brown eyes somber. “He says he doesn’t know who he is or why he was lying in the parking lot.”
    Dana scoffed. “Amnesia my ass,” she said.
    “The police are keeping him in protective custody,” Cal reported.
    “Protective,” I echoed. “Instead of arresting him…? Didn’t anyone from the Sav’A’Buck see him firing that gun or trying to kidnap that girl?”
    “If anyone saw it,” Cal told me, “they’re not admitting it. According to the police post, there were reports of shots being fired in that area, but no one from the grocery store—customers or clerks—actually saw what happened.”
    “Well, hallelujah for that at least,” Dana said. I must’ve made a sound of dismay, because she added, “If they didn’t see him, then they didn’t see you either, Bubble Gum, and that’s a good thing.”
    “I was kind of imagining him going to jail for, oh, I don’t know, eight to ten years?” I said. “If nobody saw anything, the police will have to release him eventually, won’t they?”
    “So you are worried that he’ll be able to ID you and find you,” Dana countered.
    “No,” I said, but then admitted “yes,” before quickly changing it to “maybe.” I looked over at Milo. My uncertainty was usually his cue to come over, take my hand, and send me a silent but heartfelt No one’s getting near you as long as I’m around . But he stayed leaning against the wall, and the only message he sent me was from the worry in his eyes.
    “I’m putting a text alert on this story,” Calvin announced. “If there’s an update, like if they decide to release him, I’ll know right away.”
    “Good,” Dana said, then aimed her words at Milo. “Make sure she gets home safely.” The she in question was me.
    “I don’t need to be babysat,” I said quickly.
    But Milo had already pushed himself up off the wall. “Nobody said anything about babysitting,” he said, but he was heading for Garrett instead of me. “It can’t hurt to err on the side of caution.”
    As I watched, Milo put his hand on Garrett’s shoulder and gestured toward the theater doors. Garrett stumbled, his expensive athletic shoes catching on one of the little metal bumps that dotted the slanted floor. Milo caught Garrett’s arm to keep him from falling as he moved with him toward the door. His mouth was close to Garrett’s ear, and even though I couldn’t hear what he was telling the football star, I suspected it was Milo’s personal version of the riot act. In other words, he was letting Garrett know exactly what would happen should he accidentally let slip Dana’s and my secret.
    Milo’s quiet intensity had scared the crap out of Garrett the first time they’d met, and it was clear that Garrett was still extremely wary of the older boy.
    “I should go