by Stacey Nash
“Go ahead,” Beau says.
My foot drums an anxious beat. He found her. But Garrett just opens his eyes with the speed of a fricking sloth and looks at Beau even though he’s talking to me. “I ported into our lookout and literally landed right on top of her.”
“Is she hurt?”
“No. She was fine. I’m certain she was with Collective …” He pauses. “They … I’m not sure what they were. Kids maybe. They both fought like agents, but they weren’t dressed the same, and they were young.”
I bounce up on to my toes, and almost reach out to hug him, but don’t because, “Kids?”
He runs a hand through his short spiky brown crop. “If you class yourself as a kid.”
He actually, fricking found her. Damn. I look around the room, and rock forward onto my toes then back onto my heels. “Where is she?”
“What do you mean where is she?” Beau says it like I asked if the sky’s blue.
Ignoring him, I keep my stare leveled on Garrett. “Well, didn’t you bring her home?”
He glances away again, this time barely to my left. “No.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Will.” Lilly’s hand lands on my arm. I shake it off. She must have followed me in here.
“It’s not okay, Lilly.”
Garrett’s eyes finally slide to mine, and a deep V presses them together. “I tried, but I couldn’t reach her. A redheaded chick put herself between us and I had to port out. There … there was no choice.”
He … the rest of the thought stalls as I rock to a dead stop, balanced on the tips of my toes. My heart feels like it fell right out of my chest and is now clenched by my belly. “You left her there?”
He straightens up, standing taller. Still has to tip his chin to meet my gaze though. “Will, she wasn’t in danger. It looked like she was fighting with them.”
“I doubt that.”
Lilly steps between Garrett and I with her back to him. “So what are we doing now, Dad?”
“I’m not sure yet. Something. Soon,” Beau says. “Right now, we’re moving camp. While Garrett was out, so was Evan. He picked up some intel. They’re coming after us and with the attempted breach to our barrier we have to move fast.”
“Will needs to take his bike. I’m going to ride with him and show him the way,” Lilly says.
“That’s not a great idea.” Beau taps his fingers off the desk. “What if they’ve got people watching the farm?”
“You’re driving the truck, aren’t you? How’s this any different?”
Beau sighs. “All right. Just be careful.”
Beau’s face is angled my way, but I don’t take my eyes off Garrett. How could he just port out and leave her there? I don’t care what she was doing, no excuse is good enough. “Fine,” I say to Beau, “but I’ll be asking you about this again as soon as we’ve moved. There are no excuses now.” I turn on my heel and stalk toward the door.
“Will,” Garrett calls.
I turn to look at him.
“She looked good.”
With only a backpack slung over my shoulder, I stand by the workshop biting into a green apple while I wait for Lilly. The moon’s bright in the night sky, its light glinting off the bike’s full fuel tank. I pumped gas into it from the gallon drum and now I’m ready to go.
After chewing the last bits of flesh off the apple core, I toss it toward where the chickens like to feed. It bounces off the orange tree, which is a pretty great shot. I couldn’t have made that in a clean toss if I’d tried.
My mind wouldn’t stop the whole time I was preparing, despite Mum’s probing questions all my thoughts centered on Mae. Why was she with them, why didn’t she run to Garrett? Too many whys.
The screen door flings open, drawing me out of my thoughts, and Lilly stands in the entrance shadowed by the light from inside. Like some sort of action movie heroine, just a dark silhouette with white light flooding out of the door around her. The night’s so full of noise; people yelling while they scurry back and forth, Ace yelping, the trucks moving around, that I don’t hear the door’s normal squeak when it closes. She jogs down the stairs, her hips swaying in a way that make it impossible to keep my eyes on her face.
I grab the helmets off the handlebar as she makes the short walk. When I look up, she’s only a few feet away. She meets me with a smile. “What are you smiling at?”
“Nothing.”
“All ready then?”
“Yep.”
She gestures to the backpack. “Want me to put that on the truck?”
“Sure.”
I unsling the bag, handing it to her. The darkness envelops her as soon as she’s a few feet away, but she returns moments later. A dog’s howl cuts above all the other sounds and Lilly turns back toward where she came from, frowning. “He hates being tied up.”
“Ace?”
“Yeah, Dad’s got him in the back of the truck ready to go.” She looks worried.
“I’m sure he’ll be all right. Where are we headed?”
“West. Get out on the motorway then follow it for the next few hours. When you reach the exit to town, take it.”
“Okay.” I shove the blue helmet into her hands and pull the black one onto my head, throw my leg over the bike and wait for her to climb on behind me. When I feel her hands firm on my waist, I pull the throttle round till the engine purrs.
For just over two hours, we ride shrouded in darkness, with only the long beam from the headlight to guide us. The ride’s as pleasant as the thought of Garrett abandoning Mae allows. It doesn’t really quiet my mind like I’d hoped. Finally we reach the exit and I swing off the highway onto a single lane road. As we reach town, Lilly squeezes my side then lifts her hand into my line of sight, pointing to the side. I pull over into the gravel as far away from the road as I can. We both climb off and, grateful for the break, I arch my arm over my head. First one then the other, stretching stiff muscles until the tension seeps away.
“We’re almost there,” Lilly says. “Once you get into the center of town, there’s an old building, looks really run-down from the outside. It’s on High Street, between the church and library.”
I nod and let out a massive yawn. It must be at least one in the morning. “Let’s go. It’s late and I’m knackered.”
We climb back onto the bike and twenty minutes later, pull up out the front of a three-story building with a decrepit front. Victorian, I think Mae would call it. I flick the foot stand down and put the wheel lock on. Lilly shoots me a smile then jogs up the steps to a wooden door under arched brickwork. There’s a strange symbol on the top right corner of the door, but before I can check it out, she raises her hand and gives a series of short sharp knocks.
The door opens a crack and a pale face peers out, his white cheeks almost fluorescent in the night. “Code.”
Lilly looks him right in the eye and says, “Knowledge for all.”
The man blinks. “Name?”
“Lilly Fairsmith.”
A smile spreads across his cheeks as he opens the door. Lilly darts inside without a backward glance. I look back at the bike, hoping she’ll be safe on the street for the night, then I follow her through a second before the skinny man slams the door closed.
Lilly gives him a quick hug that’s over before happened. The man steps back. “Your father’s still awake. He’s waiting to make sure you arrived safely.”
The man slides a series of bolts—one, two, three, four—into the locked position, jamming them down. Without so much as a ’welcome,’ he hurries off down the hall.
With a slight shake of her head Lilly follows. After a few twists and turns there’s an arch opening at the end of the corridor, soft yellow light shining out of it. Since it’s the only light on, that must be where we’re headed. Through the arch we go, into an airy room with a fireplace in the corner and a bunch of lounges. This room’s twice the size of the farm’s family room but has the same homey feel … which fades the second I see Be
au standing in the corner all stiff and composed.
He pivots, his dark-eyed gaze softening when it falls on Lilly. “Good, you’re here. Were there any issues along the way?”
“None at all.” Lilly glances at me. “It was a nice a ride actually.”
“Great.” Beau nods. “I will talk to you tomorrow about the other issue. Now go grab some sleep.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Is Ace all right?”
“The dog’s fine, Lilly.” Beau takes a long breath and I can almost hear exhaustion in his exhale. “He’s claimed a spot by the fireplace.”
Sure enough there he is, curled up right near it.
We leave the room, and Lilly leads me up the stairs to the next level. “It’s a bit different to the farm,” she says, opening cupboard doors set into the wall which run all the way from the floor to the ten-foot-high ceiling. Piles of linen fill the shelves in neat stacks. She pulls out a stack of what looks like blue sheets. “Hold these.”
I put my arms out, and she places the sheets on them then takes a few scratchy looking brown blankets and places them on top. Pillows follow and I can no longer see over the pile. I have to turn my head to the side, resting it against the linen just to stop it toppling over. “Ah, Lil …” I say, “I can’t see where we going.”
She chuckles and takes the pillows, swinging them as we walk down the corridor, and pauses in front of a closed door. Then she slowly turns the handle and eases the door open, tiptoeing into the darkened room. I drop my arms lower so I can peek over the blankets. The light of the moon is just strong enough to make out eight or ten single beds in two rows down each wall of a long bunkhouse.
“Hope you don’t snore,” Lilly whispers, tossing the pillows onto a bare mattress.
I smile. “I hope you talk.”
A pillow slams into my face. Bugging my eyes, I hold a finger to my lips then point to an occupied bed across the room.
She rolls her eyes and whacks me with the other pillow.
We make up two beds, and both climb in fully clothed. I don’t know about her, but it’s late and I’m too tired to care.
Chapter Sixteen
Will
Whispered conversation breaks through my dreamless sleep. Prying my eyes open, I squint against the harsh sunlight. It’s too early, so I rollover, try to go back to sleep. “Will.” A short pause. “Will … wake up.”
I groan and roll onto my belly, burying my head under the pillow.
“Will. Dad wants to see you.”
Does the girl never let up? I just wanna sleep. “Now?”
“Yes. Now.”
“Doesn’t that man ever sleep?”
Lilly pulls the pillow off my head. Groaning, I sit up and scrub the sleep from my eyes. She’s sitting on the bed next to mine, looking fresh and clean, her long hair parted in two damp, neat chunks over each shoulder, hanging down to her waist.
I run my hands through my disheveled bed-hair, trying to tame it. Then pull my sneakers on and, yawning, follow Lilly out of the room. I have no idea what the time is, but by the way my eyes are stinging, I’d guess I only managed a few hours sleep.
She leads me to a small room on the ground floor that looks to be some kind of library. Shelves upon shelves line each of the three walls and the only reason the fourth doesn’t is because of the huge window which spans the whole length and height. Beau stands right in the middle, up close to the glass, looking out over a garden.
He turns around, his brow furrowing for a quick moment. “Thanks. Your mother was looking for you earlier. I think she could do with a little help getting everything set up.”
Lilly takes a step closer to me. “Bu—”
“I’ll talk to you later, Lilly.”
Glowering, she spins around and storms out of the room, not even bothering to close the door behind her.
“William.” Beau smiles at me. “It’s time.”
Time?
MAE.
Hope, relief, happiness well up inside of me. It’s time. “Time to bring her home?”
“Not quite. But time for you to get active.”
Oh. My shoulders slump under the oppressive weight slamming back. “They’ve had her for almost two weeks now. How much longer are you going to let this drag out?”
He sighs and turns back to the window. “From what Garrett saw yesterday, she’s working with them.”
My hands instinctively curl into fists. “I doubt that.”
“Will, she showed no sign of wanting to be rescued and she attacked him.”
I shake my head, confusion coursing through me. “She wouldn’t. No way.”
“I didn’t think so either, but maybe …” He still doesn’t turn around.
“You’re wrong. She isn’t, there’s got to be some kind of mistake. Look, if you can’t get your shit together—”
“Will.” Beau’s commanding baritone pulls my attention to him. Still looking out the window, he rubs the back of his neck then he turns to face me. “For now, we don’t know. We are trying to find out if she and Jax really are acting with them before we proceed. In the meantime, we have a couple of pressing matters which need attention.” He looks from me to the floor and back again. “I thought you might appreciate the chance to get out and do something, even if it isn’t what you had hoped.”
I sigh as I move to the low armchair and throw myself into it.
Beau clears his throat. “Prior to seeing Mae, Garrett was gathering intelligence. It seems the Collective are growing increasingly interested in a science lab just inside the city. We don’t know what the interest is, but they’ve been planning an attack. It looks like this will happen tonight.”
“So?”
Ignoring me, Beau continues. “As you know, we’ve also had a breach of the shield at the farm. Garrett, Sam, most of the usual team are needed there. I suspect they’ve timed it as a distraction, hoping we won’t intercept the attack on the science lab.”
“Okay,” I say. “Sounds intriguing and I suppose it’s better than sitting around waiting.”
Beau ignores me again. “But there are actually enough of us to split our force if we incorporate some of the fresher faces.”
“So, Lilly and I—”
“Lilly’s not going.”
“But—”
“I said no.”
The door slams. It must have caught in the breeze. Beau glances toward it, and sighs. “Go report to Garrett, he’ll brief you on some of the finer details.”
Garrett could be anywhere in this massive building. God only knows where to start looking. “Ah … where?”
“Right.” Beau smiles. “Sometimes I forget you’ve only been with us a few months.”
He walks across the room and out of the door. I follow him through the high-ceilinged hall, past the room we saw him in last night and around the corner. The corridors are just as shabby as those in the farmhouse. The brown carpet’s worn down the center and fraying at the edges. The brown wallpaper—although it looks faintly pink so maybe it’s just faded—curls at the edges and peels at the seams. The whole place looks like it was decorated last century and never updated. At least it’s clean. After a few minutes and a warren of corridors and doors, we’re in what looks to be a weapons room.
Garrett and Evan both turn as we enter. Garrett lowers his head in greeting, meeting my eyes. Evan’s pale face splits in a smile. His white-blond hair is a little longer than last time I saw him.
“See you later,” Beau says, turning to leave.
“Thanks.” I’m not sure why I say it, I’m not thankful. If anything, I’m still upset that he isn’t doing more to get Mae safely home.
“Welcome to the team,” Evan says with an even wider grin. The man’s just too … Evan.
Garrett removes weapons from the wall then turns to face me without smiling. Guess I’m still in the bad books from my outburst. Squaring my shoulders, I hold his stare with equal seriousness.
He grunts. “There will be a small g
roup of us hitting this science lab. I’m leading and you’ll obey orders.”
I thought Beau said Garrett was on defense, but I don’t question, just nod. He probably switched because he doesn’t trust me. Great.
“Suit up, arm up, grab a feed. Whatever it is you need to do. We’re meeting at the port room in an hour.”
“Perfect.” I seize a stun mace off the wall, and weigh it in my hands, unsure if it’s my usual one. I don a protect-it, a telcom, and shove a knife into my back pocket for good measure then leave the room that’s too small to hold both me and Garrett.
Wandering the corridors, I pass several people. All of them smile and seem friendly, but no one stops or asks if I’m lost. Finally, I pick up the scent of baking bread. My stomach grumbles and like a hungry kid I follow the mouth-watering smell all the way to a kitchen. Ace is flopped by the door like he’s waiting for a scrap of food. Not a bad idea, buddy. I scratch his head and reposition the weapons on my belt, jigging them against my hip. When everything’s in place, I walk through the door to a room full of familiar faces. Lilly stands on the opposite side of a bench-island to Martha, slicing apples. She pauses mid-chop, the knife balancing on top of the green skin of an apple. Martha continues rolling out pastry. My mouth salivates so much I swallow repeatedly.
“It’s obvious why she’s doing this. For Jax,” Lilly says.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Mae.” She glances up at me. “That’s why she didn’t want to be rescued. She’s there, they both are, because they want to be.”
Temples thumping, pulse shouting in my head, I spin to face her. The contempt is so plain on her face my stomach twists. “She would not stoop to that for anyone. She knows right from wrong. Besides, Jax—”
“Jax is one of them. He always was and always will be.”
“That’s a lie too, Lilly.”
“Face the truth Will, she loves him and loves makes us fools—”
“How dare you.” I take a step closer, peering down at her. Does she not know Mae at all? Or Jax either?
“Lilly.” Martha tsks. “That’s not true and you know it.”
Lilly shrinks into herself, her shoulders curling forward, suddenly focused on the apples.
