That brought Jesse to his feet as well. "No," he snapped sharply. "Don't you get it? I don't want either of you to die. I don't want anybody to die." He didn't mean for that tremor to hit his voice on that final word, but there it was, turning the statement into a plea.

"I swear I'm not lying. The last time I saw you was Mexico, I swear it. Whatever happened after that - whatever he did or you did - I don't know, okay? 'cause I'm pretty sure you're the only one telling me the truth." And that was a painful admission.