Chapter 1 Texas, July 29 After a lifetime of successfully evading the hunters, Lexi Johns was no longer prey. She was bait. Zach was here. She could feel him nearby, drawing closer with every beat of her heart, as if somehow he’d become a part of her. She wasn’t ready for him to show up yet. She needed more time to prepare herself for what she had to do and what it might cost her. The fine hair along her limbs lifted, and she felt a tingling run over her skin. She’d felt it before, the night Zach had marked her skin, and she knew what it meant. Zach was closing in. Lexi wasn’t sure she could do this—lie in wait for him to come to her—but she had no choice. The fate of the entire human race depended on her ability to fool him into thinking she needed his help—that she believed the lie he told, that he was one of the good guys. She knew better. Her mother had made sure of that. As far as she was concerned, most people weren’t worth the trouble she was bringing down on herself, but Helen Day was. And the Sentinels had her. Zach was her only way inside the compound where Helen was being held prisoner, her only way to help Helen escape. Lexi’s hands shook as