Being Amber
Page 22
Xander didn’t know, exactly, how they were going to go about taking back their civil liberties. But the country was no longer in a state of emergency, and it was their responsibility to all the men and women throughout history who’d fought for the freedom of the US as well as to the generations ahead of them, to force the Gov to return to the Constitution and make sure the US remained a free country.
He’d contacted several men who’d been in the original resistance movement right after the pandemic. Knowing the details of the past would give them a good idea of where to start. Obviously, what they’d been doing back then had been effective because it led to the Accord.
When he arrived, his arms strained under the weight of the large bundle he carried. He stopped and took in the room. It buzzed with the low level conversations of at least a hundred men. He was amazed at the turnout. They were men of courage who would take up the challenge that was going to be put on the table for them today.
For years, Xander, like many men, preferred to lurk around unnoticed, under the Gov’s radar, reasoning that if the Gov never noticed him, it couldn’t victimize him. They used fear to keep the Ambers in line. Every man in the room today would have to choose to throw off that fear of being noticed, of being targeted by the Gov, and not blindly accept what’s been crammed down their throats their whole lives.
The room became increasingly quiet as he made his way deep into the gathering. He waited expectantly for everybody’s attention. When he’d got it, he opened the bundle and spread its contents on the table. The array of guns he’d acquired from his contact in the Onyx Zone caused a hush to fall over the room as the men saw the contents.
Xander spent the next hour detailing the crimes against Amber citizens the Gov had gotten away with. Then, the original resistance members detailed their covert methods of waging war against the Gov prior to the Accord. The acts of rebellion were small, but once compounded with growing Amber participation, it worked, making the Gov fear losing its control.
Leaders were voted in and teams were formed. Captain Rush was elected the leader of the movement, and Xander was second in command. His primary duty would be coordination between all the committee heads, identifying needs and assigning new Resistance members to their teams. They were, in essence, forming their own army with goals that ranged from recruitment, to developing safe houses that would provide protection to any Ambers that were labeled as subversive by the Gov.
The group’s first identified goal was to begin finding and destroying all intelligence gathering technology the Gov used to monitor them. The longer this New Resistance kept their own secrets, the easier it would be to catch the Gov off guard.
It was a good start. When the meeting was over, Xander’s mind was heavy with ideas and hope as he walked back to building seventeen.
Upon entering his apartment, he found his mother teaching Jaci a family recipe in the kitchen. Gwen and Journey chatted with them from the other side of the counter. He couldn’t help the huge grin that plastered itself on his face when he saw his three women together.
Jaci beamed back at him when their eyes met. She was gorgeous, even with the purple and green remains of bruises on her face.
“Right in time for dinner,” she said as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. She examined his face. “Are you okay?” Only Jaci could be concerned about someone else while her body was full of bruises.
“I’m good,” he said, kissing her back. He walked over to his mom and kissed her, too.
“Well,” Jaci said. “I have some interesting news.”
“And what’s that?” Xander brushed Jaci’s arm on his way over to Gwen.
“I just received a new job assignment.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“I am officially the new Sit-In Team Leader for Circle City.”
He smiled at her. “They couldn’t have made a better choice, but I predict you won’t be working much. Soon, fallows will be a thing of the past.”
* * * *
Jaci took a moment and looked around the room. They all had closed ranks around her after she was dumped back into the Amber Zone.
She’d been working hard to put the past behind her and it was easier with Allie doting on her and welcoming her into the family, literally with open arms.
Allie acted as though it was a given that Jaci and Xander were going to get married. After Jaci corrected her several times saying that Xander hadn’t asked her, and having Allie wave the statement away as if it were a technicality, Jaci stopped correcting and went with it.
Later, Gwen explained that Xander had never even talked to Allie about a woman he was involved with, let alone introduced one to her before. It helped her to understand and make allowances for Allie’s excitement. Truth be told, she hoped Allie was right.
Jaci always felt Xander’s eyes on her. She glanced in his direction and his possessive gaze met hers. Lately she found herself wishing the rest of the world would go away so they could connect. She wanted him all to herself.
He flashed her a look that tickled her insides and warmed her core. She liked the person she was when she was with him.
Jaci’s mind wandered back to the day she walked into their empty apartment, distraught and wanting to die. It was a million years ago. Back then, she could have never imagined how happy she would be being Amber.
Other Lyrical Books By Sylvia Ryan
Friday Afternoon
About Sylvia Ryan
As an avid reader, I’m always on the hunt for that next amazing story. Those unforgettable books with the perfect balance of action and passion are hard to find and even harder to write. My hope is that Being Amber has given readers a few hours of happiness while they savor the gradual discovery of each character and how their story unfolds. I usually fall in love with the hero and heroine in the books I write by the time I’ve written the last page. If I’ve done my job well, you’ve fallen in love, too. So many times I find myself not wanting a book to end. I crave more of the story, wanting to know what happens after the happily ever after. If you’re like me and want to read more about Xander and Jaci, the epilogue to Being Amber is posted on my website at www.RyanBooks.net. Stop in and find out how their story ultimately ends before moving on to Jordan’s story in Being Sapphire.
And from the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading.
Being Amber
9781616504540
Copyright © April 2013
Edited by Antonia Tiranth
Book design by Lyrical Press, Inc.
Cover Art by Renee Rocco
First Lyrical Press, Inc. electronic publication: April 2013
Lyrical Press, Incorporated
http://www.lyricalpress.com
eBooks are not transferable. All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
Published in the United States of America by Lyrical Press, Incorporated
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Table of Contents
Keep Up With Lyrical
Cover Copy
Highlight
Being Amber
Dedication
Prologue:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Other Lyrical Books By Sylvia Ryan
About Sylvia Ryan
Copyright
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