by Sara Mack
He felt a gentle tug on the band again and closed his eyes tightly. He has to stop loving her. He has no other choice.
****
“Have you considered my proposition?”
Jack meets Lucas on the street in front of the Roman Pantheon. “I have. I’m sorry to say that it’s denied.”
Jack scowls. “You can’t be serious.”
“I most certainly am.”
Jack looks around and then leans toward Lucas. “I don’t think you understand the severity of the situation!” he whispers.
Lucas raises his eyebrows. “Don’t I? I think I’m quite familiar, thank you.”
Jack crosses his arms. “I don’t trust James. Or Emma, for that matter. She’s breaking down as time goes on. You have to have seen that.”
“That girl doesn’t have one malicious bone in her body,” Lucas says, and starts to walk toward the impressive structure. “She carries around a tremendous amount of guilt. More than one young woman should be made to bear.”
“James is a huge part of that,” Jack tries to persuade Lucas. “If you take him out of the equation, Emma can move on. James can perform his duty; our actions will remain hidden.”
Lucas reaches the first steps of the Pantheon and takes a seat. He looks up at Jack. “Erasure is out of the question.”
“Why?” Jack presses. “It’s the easiest solution.”
Lucas shakes his head. “I don’t see a problem.”
“Come on!” he retreats a few steps.
“Jack,” Lucas calls him back. “I’ve observed Emma. She’s not a threat.”
“And James?”
“He’s having a rough time, I’ll give you that,” he sighs and then frowns. “They both are.”
“Exactly my point. Things aren’t happening exactly as planned. If you eliminate James’ memory of Emma, save his duty…”
“No,” Lucas says, his tone firm. “How much more should we ask of him? He’s already made the ultimate sacrifice. I’m not going to ask James to give up any more.”
“That’s just it,” Jack says and sets his jaw. “You don’t ask.”
Lucas pushes himself off the step and stands eye to eye with Jack. “Watch yourself,” he warns. “You’re dangerously close to overstepping your part in this.”
“You know why this is important to me,” Jack says through gritted teeth.
Lucas’ relaxes his expression. He knows Jack means well; he’s one of the only people to fully understand him given his harsh personality. No one questions the strength of Jack’s emotions. What they don’t know is that they come from a pure place. “Relax,” Lucas places a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Things are about to get a lot easier.”
“How so?”
“I’ve arranged for someone to step up and admit to the rumors to pacify my brothers. Give it another day and all will be well.”
Jack regards Lucas skeptically. “Who would agree to such a thing?”
“Someone willing to trade false information for something they desperately want – eternity.”
Jack scoffs. “They will be cast out for sure.”
“Not so fast,” Lucas disagrees. “My brothers are hell bent on putting this issue to rest. They’ll agree to immunity for information. Trust me.”
Jack pauses to consider Lucas’ claim. Who is he to question the motivation of The Allegiant? He hopes Lucas is correct in his assumptions. “And after that? We still have two months to keep James in check.”
Lucas looks confident. “You deal with your end of the bargain and I’ll handle mine. Continue to impersonate your brother from time to time as we agreed. Keep the secret under wraps, and you’ll get what you want.” He raises his eyebrows. “When have I ever steered you wrong?”
Jack thinks back to the first time he met Lucas. Sixty-odd years ago, on the day he died, when he offered him the choice. “I’m putting my faith in you,” he says pointedly. “Don’t let me down.”
“If I let you down then I let myself down,” Lucas smiles. “And we both know I would never allow that to happen.”
