“Chastity, would you mind staying behind tonight? I have a matter I need to discuss with you.”
She smiled tensely and nodded. “Of course, Victor. Whatever you need.”
He gestured to the seat across from his desk. “I’m sorry to continually make you work late. I’m sure you would like some time at home with your partner.”
Chastity smiled, yet no joy reached her eyes. The truth was, there were many things she would rather do than spend time at home. Since the night Lance had walked out during their dinner, they had hardly spoken to each other. She wasn’t certain if it was due to residual anger, or simply because she was staying late every opportunity Victor presented.
“How are your courses for the Council coming along?”
“Fine, actually, I’ve completed them already.”
“You have? That was fast.”
Chastity’s cheeks burned hot. She didn’t want Victor to know her coupling wasn’t as successful as others. “I would like to tell you I anxiously await more training, but with how often you’ve kept me late, I’m uncertain I would have the time.”
Victor grimaced but nodded. “I am well aware that we have kept your schedule rather full. This is nearly an impossible task, you see. I entirely depend on you to keep me on track. So much so, I fear you have no personal time for yourself. There is another component to training which I feel would be a valuable asset to you, but I question if I’m asking too much.”
Chastity was taken aback by his sincere remorse. “If you feel it is an asset, then I feel it is necessary I find time for it.”
His eyes sparkled and his lips upturned into a crooked smile. “Chastity, you never cease to amaze me. If you feel this way, I would like you to take on another integral part of your training at this very time. This differs from what you have done before on your tablet, but it is for your safety.”
Chastity lost the pit of her stomach. “My safety? Why is my safety a concern?”
Victor blew out a heavy breath. “Chastity, I fear that all members of my household are at risk. There is a rebellion amongst our people, a force opposing our government. They will stop at nothing until the glass above us has been shattered and I am dead. I am constantly fearful that one of the valuable members of my household will get caught in the crossfire or become a target to weaken our government.”
Chastity blinked rapidly, trying to absorb such a harsh reality. It seemed odd for him to broach the subject so abruptly, yet she also knew he must deeply trust her to share this information.
“What would you have me do? How can I protect myself from this group?”
“Do I have your consent to stay later this evening?”
Chastity shrugged. “Of course, I’ll stay. Whatever you need.”
“Good.” He stood from his desk. “Follow me.”
He led her outside of his office into the first door down the hall. He palmed the scanner, and the door swung open. He led her inside what would appear to be a typical independent living apartment. Confusion washed over her as she tried to fathom what kind of training would take place in this room.
Victor quickly got to work, lifting a carpet to reveal the trapdoor in the center of the room. He opened the hatch and took a few steps down the stairwell before turning back to her.
“I’m certain this should come as no great surprise to you that the military has its own secret passage ways around our city.”
Her jaw hung open. It made perfect sense that the military would have their own layer, yet it made little sense that Victor was exposing it to her.
“Follow me down the stairs and I will lead you to the training area.”
He hustled down the hall until he reached an unmarked door, giving it a curt knock before entering.
As Chastity rounded the corner, she could hear a man salute and greet Victor. “Mr. Statesman, sir!”
“At ease. Did you receive the message I sent?”
“Yes, sir. I am to immediately begin firearms training of a newly recruited Council member, Chastity, sir.”
Victor turned back to Chastity and smiled at the ghostly white coloring of her face. “You want me to carry a firearm?” Her voice trembled.
Victor sighed. “It’s the only way I can think to keep you safe. You will train in the use of firearms and any other physical training you, or one of the military personnel, feel you need. This will add a lot of weight to your already hefty schedule, but once you are trained your schedule will return to normal as you will only come here for practice to maintain your skills.”
He turned to the officer and nodded. “I must be on my way now. Take good care of this girl; she is rather dear to me.” He stepped past Chastity but stopped and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “You can do this, Chastity. Don’t look so frightened.”
She tried to respond but choked instead.
What have I gotten myself into?
He left her there with the strange military personnel.
The young, muscular man nodded. “Chastity, my name is Mason. Please follow me and we can get your training started.”
Her mouth was so dry she felt on the verge of gagging. She wordlessly followed him into a room stacked from floor to ceiling with cupboards as he readied her with safety gear. He pulled out two guns casually and placed one down in front of her.
“First, I will teach you gun maintenance. We start with maintenance, so you get used to the feel of a firearm in your hand. Once you have learned the different components of the weapon, I will take you into the firing range.”
Chastity nodded in response and swallowed hard. He began to show her the moving parts, speaking rapidly as they worked. All too soon, he was urging her into the firing range.
“Could I possibly have some water before we begin?” It was the first time she had spoken since they began, and she nearly retched from the dryness of her throat and mouth upon speaking.
“Of course.” He smiled warmly. “I’ll be right back.”
Chastity was relieved he was willing to fetch the water. She didn’t know if her legs would support her weight into the firing range, let alone in search of a water source inside of this labyrinth.
She had previously thought she had access to a great deal of confidential information, yet she had not even known something as simple as the existence of the military underground. Now she was expected to learn to fight like a member of the military. A part of her wanted to laugh.
Mason returned with a large glass of water, handing it to her. She guzzled half of it with no further thought. He took a few steps ahead of her and beckoned with his hand, “Come on, let’s get started.”
A flurry of nerves washed over her, dancing around in her core. He instructed her on what to do with her safety gear and then deftly fired a few shots in demonstration. It was all too soon that her turn arrived.
Sweat glistened on her brow, her heart throbbed in her chest as she raised her arms, taking aim. She prepared herself for the loud noise, bringing herself into a near meditative state before squeezing the trigger.
A shock-wave of tingles radiated through her arms, flowing into her chest as her breathing increased. She fired again, this time ready for the electric sensations which would follow. All the stress and anxiety released from her body with the second shot as a calm, joyous feeling washed over. Mason moved the target towards them to investigate her aim, but she didn’t care. Nothing had made her feel so alive.
“That’s not bad for your first time. You hit the paper and inside the lines of the drawing, at least. It takes a lot of practice before you will hit inside the target.”
So many thoughts rushed at her at once. She didn’t know how she would fit it into her schedule, or how she could explain her extended absence from Lance, but she wanted more. She wanted to feel these sensations every night. She wanted to become an expert at hitting her target. She wanted to be ready for anything this rebellion might throw at her.
***
Chastity’s shoulders hung limply
as she dragged her feet down the hall. A total and utter exhaustion befell her these last few days. She had stayed beyond her normally hectic work shift every single evening for the last two weeks to train in the military underground. It wasn’t long before she switched from practicing her firearm skills to combat training.
The training was both exhilarating and exhausting. She loved every moment. She was already becoming skillful with her firearm. The combat training was a little more challenging as she had never taken an interest in performing more than the States mandatory fitness requirements. Her body was sore, her muscles fatigued, and she wished she had been training beforehand.
She placed her hand on the scanner as she returned to her apartment late in the evening. The cool electronic pad didn’t light up or acknowledge her. For a fraction of a second, she thought Lance had somehow taken over as the sole proprietor of their apartment. In her hazy slumbering state, she looked around and realized she had gone to the wrong apartment. At nearly a crawl, she moved one apartment further down the hall and scanned in once again, but this time received a visual confirmation.
As she walked in. She was momentarily surprised the lights were out. She had expected Lance to be seated opposite the door on their sofa, scrolling through his tablet as she returned from her duty.
It must be late, she realized. Chastity tip-toed through their living room, cautiously pushing open their bedroom door. She could see a lamp on the nightstand still shining. She carefully stepped inside and closed the door as quietly as she could, but soon realized Lance was not sleeping.
“It’s rather late; even for you.” He didn’t bother to look up from his tablet.
Chastity sighed. “I’m sorry, Lance. Maybe when I am detained until such a late hour, I should arrange to stay at the State House as to not disrupt you. It is not fair for me to come home so late and disturb your sleep.”
Lance put down his tablet on the nightstand and stood from the bed. For an instant, she thought he was coming to greet her with a kiss, or perhaps some type of warm affection. It was not long before she could see the rigidity of his movements, the stiffness of his jaw, the wild flare in his eyes. “I bet you’d like that.”
Chastity looked off to the side and then back again. She felt as though no matter what she said, it would be wrong. He had the same gleam in his eyes he did the night of their fight.
“It might be simpler. I want to ensure you get the rest that you need. I know you need to be alert as your civil duty demands your focus.”
“Oh, so this is about me and my sleep?” He spat. “How thoughtful of you. It’s so nice of you to take the time to pretend you care about anything that goes on in this apartment.”
Chastity slumped down on the corner of the bed. She could appreciate his anger yet didn’t have the energy to protest. “I’m sorry. Victor said it won’t be like this for much longer. I will have a more normalized schedule soon.”
Lance paced a small square. “Victor? Is that what you call him? I didn’t realize the two of you were so close.”
She shrugged and shook her head. “I speak with him daily. We are not the type of household that addresses each other formally.”
“Yeah? Well, I’m beginning to question just how informal that relationship is!”
Chastity winced and looked up at him sideways. “What exactly are you saying?”
Lance stopped pacing. He faced her, raising a pointed finger at her aggressively. “I’m saying, I think there’s more to your relationship than what is normally considered work related.”
Through the fogginess of her tired brain, his accusation settled in. She rolled her eyes and looked away from him lazily. “Oh, please. Don’t tell me you’re jealous of Victor. I see him as more like a father than anything else.”
Lance didn’t move away or soften his threatening stance. “And why should I believe you? You’re never here. I never see you. And it’s been over a month since you’ve even touched me.”
Chastity wished he would stop. That he would just let her sleep, but she knew he wouldn’t. His accusations and manner of speaking started to ignite her temper. How dare he speak to me like this? Especially when I’m in the service of my government.
“I guess you would see things that way.” The anger lifted her exhaustion, giving her a new source of energy. She rose to her feet to face him. “You wouldn’t understand, you’re just a Security officer. I am the right hand of the Head of State. Maybe if you had higher aspirations for your life, you wouldn’t—”
She didn’t even see it coming. Mid-sentence, Lance struck her. Her body was thrown off balance as the hot pain radiated through her neck and head. She spun to the side and toppled over against the wall.
He stepped in closer to her, leaned down and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her to face him. A droplet of spittle dripped from his bottom lip. “You know that the State treats adultery as treason.” He gave her hair another firm tug, dragging her to the corner of the room and spit in her face, releasing her hair from his tight grip.
Chastity grabbed onto her scalp, trying to soothe the stinging pain. She stayed hunched in a tight ball in the corner until Lance stepped out of the bedroom and into the bathroom.
Once she heard the bathroom door close, she scrambled to her feet. She hardly even glanced at the bathroom as she ran out of their apartment. She only looked back after she had scanned to call the elevator. She was hyperventilating as she watched their apartment door, waiting for Lance to come down the hallway for her.
The elevator door opened, and she quickly stepped inside, hoping the doors would close in time before he could get to her. Once in the underground walkway, she ran. She ran until she reached the State House and secured herself inside. She pressed herself against the closed door, knowing it was a place where Lance could not follow, no matter his determination.
She fell to the ground, curled with her back against the door and wept. She wept with no regard to protocol or her surroundings, not considering if Security would come and remove her from the State House as it was not her allotted time to be in the facility. She simply cried out all her tears, all her exhaustion, all her feelings of betrayal.
She was completely unaware of her surroundings until she felt a gentle hand touched her shoulder. She flinched, trying to skitter away on the floor and Victor instantly held his hands up defensively.
“Chastity! What is the matter?” He took a step back from her. “I’m calling a doctor.” He turned back to his office.
“No!” Chastity cried out. “I don’t need a doctor. I just need a place to sleep tonight.”
Victor turned slowly and looked her up and down for a moment and then continued walking back to his office. She worked to wipe away the moisture from her face and gain control of herself. He returned shortly and crouched down a short distance from her. “Chastity, I called in a nurse. I don’t know if you’re aware, but your lip is bleeding.” He watched her cautiously for a moment.
She raised her hand to her mouth and pulled it away to see red on her fingertips.
He stood from his crouch and cautiously reached his hand toward her. “Please, Chastity, get up.”
She accepted his outreached hand and got to her feet. Her legs were shaky, her balance unstable. He placed one arm around her waist and kept his other hand secured on her arm as they walked to the apartment containing the hatch of the military underground. He eased her onto the sofa and returned with a glass of water. Just as she took her first sip, a nurse entered and immediately began to examine Chastity’s face.
“Someone hit you?” The nurse asked
Chastity could barely offer more than a nod in response.
“Did they hurt you anywhere other than your face? Do I need to check for broken bones or internal bleeding?”
Chastity stared blankly at the floor, trying to believe the horror in her mind. She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
The nurse glanced at Victor and with no explanation, he understood her request
and vacated the room. The nurse helped Chastity undress until she was sitting in nothing more than her underclothing. After the nurse carefully examined her body and checked for other signs of trauma, she helped Chastity change into sleeping attire.
Once the nurse finished disinfecting the cut on her lip, she pulled out a juice box, plunging a straw inside. “Victor requested you be sedated this evening due to the trauma. Drink this; it will help you sleep.”
Chastity slowly sipped the odd cherry flavored liquid as the nurse packed up her supplies and exited the room.
Victor came back and sat on the opposing side of the sofa. “Chastity, I need to know before you fall asleep, who did this to you? Are you in any further danger?”
She opened her mouth, choking on her response. Swallowing hard, she tried again. “Lance.”
Betrayed: Book Five of the State Series Page 18
