Rise: Populations Crumble, Book 2

by K. A. Gandy

  Odette snorts. “That’s highly unlikely. The sooner you realize that, the better.”

  “Really, Odette? They’ve been here an hour and a half. Could you keep your bitterness to yourself for once?” Dominic snaps.

  She glares at him icily, before standing and leaving the table.

  “I shouldn’t have said that,” he mumbles and slaps his napkin to the table before following her.

  “Uh, trouble in paradise?” I ask, looking to Carolina.

  She grimaces. “Yes. Apparently, their number is up. They’re being sent to the RID today, so things are . . . tense.”

  Patrick cuts in, “I thought they’d only been here a few months? Why the rush to the Reproductive Issues Department?”

  Carolina exchanges a look with Emmett before leaning in. “Their relationship has been . . . let’s call it troubled. They were sent on an intensive retreat their second month, and apparently things still haven’t improved. They were given the choice between another intensive this week, or referral to the RID for IVF. Odette jumped at the chance for IVF, to avoid more time alone with Dominic.” She shakes her head, clearly judging the decision.

  Emmett puts his hand over hers. “They’ve had a hard time, Carolina. Let’s not speak badly of people who aren’t here to defend themselves.”

  She rolls her eyes. “I appreciate the sentiment, Emmett. But haven’t we all had a hard road? You can’t make it through this as brittle as glass. You’ve got to be willing to give a little, or you’ll break into a million pieces. Not one of us here hasn’t been through something. Not a one.” Her tone is firm, brooking no argument.

  “Well, it’s added a lot of pressure that his ex, Carla, is already pregnant with her match. They found out this morning she’s having a little girl,” Emmett adds.

  “Sounds like we’ve missed a lot,” Nell says, thoughtful.

  “We should get together and catch up,” Patrick says, an undercurrent I can’t quite pinpoint in his tone.

  Atlas eyes him with speculation. “Agreed. I’m sure we have a lot to discuss. Dinner?”

  Patrick nods tersely.

  ✽✽✽

  Later that evening, Atlas and Nell arrive on our doorstep at the agreed-upon time. When I open the door, they’re holding hands and the sight warms my heart by a few degrees.

  “Come in!” I say and step to the side.

  “So, these little cottages are super fancy,” Nell says, wasting no time. “They may be little, but they’ve got a lot of extras.”

  “Yeah, they’re nice,” I agree as we settle around the dining table. Patrick finishes setting up the plates and the food we’d ordered from the dining room for the occasion.

  We all dish our plates, and before I can take my first bite of mac and cheese, Patrick shocks me to my toes.

  “Atlas, we need your help with a few things.”

  Atlas sets his fork down, food untouched. “What do you need?”

  Patrick glances at me once before dropping the bomb. “We need your help to find Josephine. I have a guard friend, Glitch, who’s done some digging into her records since she was taken out of the announcement at the NLC. She is logged in the system as being here, and pregnant. There’s no marriage record, and as far as we can tell she isn’t actually here. We took a tour of the medical facility, but they said there are no pregnant women on site. The only other couples are the two you met this morning.”

  Nell frowns. “How would she already be pregnant? And what happened with that Elijah guy, anyway?”

  “That’s what we want to find out. Glitch is supposed to call back tomorrow with a report, and I was hoping you’d use your expertise to help us find out what’s going on here.”

  Atlas looks contemplative. “How can you be sure it’s not a mix-up? Glitch could be looking at old information, or another woman’s record.”

  Patrick shakes his head. “No, Glitch doesn’t make those mistakes. He’s as close to a tech genius as they come, and he’s hacked into the main databases and flagged her to find this information. It’s not in the normal system, which makes us think something else is going on here.”

  His eyebrows shoot up at that information, but his otherwise stoic features don’t change. “I see. I’d be happy to help you sort this out. But I have to ask, are you sure you want to kick over this rock for one girl? NLC guards are a dime a dozen, and if you get blacklisted, you’ll never work in the system again.”

  “I’m sure you’re right, but this is more important. Josephine may be one woman, but that doesn’t mean we can let this go. And there’s one more thing—I’m not just an NLC guard. I’m Patrick Royce, the prime minister’s son.”

  Nell’s jaw nearly touches the table. “Shut the front door. Haven't you been all over the news all week? And, oh, my word, that means you’re the mystery wife!” She claps a hand over her mouth in shock and grabs Atlas’s arm with the other, who is unmoved by the declaration.

  “Patrick, are you sure about this?” I ask, shocked myself that he’s revealed his identity to two relatively new acquaintances.

  “I’m sure. It’s time we take this search to the next level, and I won’t put anyone else in danger to keep my own secret. The time for that has passed.” His shoulders are straight, his voice firm, and in that moment I see it—I see the man who could lead an entire continent.

  Atlas looks thoughtful, the only motion in his giant frame the slight ticking of his jaw muscle. “There could be major political consequences to this. I’m not going to sit back and ignore it if we find something illegal happening, and your father has endorsed this program. Are you prepared for that?”

  “He may have endorsed this program, but there’s no way he’d endorse this. I refuse to believe he knows what’s going on. And it’s become clear to me that something more is going on.” Patrick says, and I get a chill down my spine.

  “I’ll call some of my contacts later this evening.”

  Nell has finally recovered from her shock, and focused in on the seriousness of the situation, “What is it exactly that you think is happening? Do you think they’ve locked her up somewhere, since she caused trouble? There’s already a facility for troubled women. They very well could have sent her there. God love her, she refused to go with the flow. I doubt that changed once the sedatives wore off,” she says with a frown.

  “Glitch checked there first. There is one facility where they send troubled women, but there is actually a very low number of women there. Most get released based on health grounds and sent home. She was not checked in there. Her records vanished from the normal system. If Glitch wasn’t as . . . talented as he is, we wouldn’t have any idea that she was here.”

  And willing to break the rules, I add internally.

  “I’d like to speak to Glitch when he calls you. I think if we can pin down more about where he’s getting his information, we’d have a better starting point for our search. There’s no good reason for a woman’s records to disappear if she wasn’t released from the program.”

  “You don’t think she’s in danger, do you?” I ask, both relieved he agrees with us and troubled that he thinks something is going on.

  “It’s impossible to say, but if she’s on site, they wouldn’t do anything to physically harm her. They need her healthy enough to carry the pregnancy.”

  There’s a whole lot of harm possible that isn’t only physical. My mouth presses into a grim line.

  “We’ll find her, Sadie.” Patrick squeezes my hand.

  Nell picks up a rib and takes a big bite. “Y’all sure know how to honeymoon,” she says around a mouthful.

  I snort. “You can say that again.”

  ✽✽✽

  The next day passes in a pensive blur. We go to Nell and Atlas’s cottage down the beach to await Glitch’s call. Unfortunately, all he has to offer is another blood test record confirming Josephine’s pregnancy is progressing, and it’s still stamped at the Mairmont resort. Atlas and Glitch talk tech for a few minutes before they end th
e call, but we’re no closer to a lead on Josephine than when we started.

  “It doesn’t make any sense,” I say after a few minutes of the men discussing the issue.

  “What doesn’t?” Patrick asks.

  “They have her records on some hidden database, right? So, in theory, nobody here knows anything about her. The other couples haven’t seen her, and we wouldn’t know she was supposed to be here if it weren’t for Glitch’s special access.”

  He nods.

  “Well, the records are a secret, so they have no reason to hide the location. That means she is here, but they can’t have her here in the main house, or else someone at some point would have seen her. She’d be out with everyone else, and there’d be no point to hide her records. Didn’t one of the guides tell us this place has nearly five hundred acres? Why so much space, with no activities that use it?”

  Atlas’s eyebrows furrow. “There are no activities on the grounds? No trails, no livestock, nothing?”

  I shake my head. “No, I asked the first week if they had a stable, and I was told no, something about the location was incompatible. There are a few hiking trails, but not five hundred acres’ worth. Most of the activities take place right by the beach, or off site. They’ve left everything else forested.”

  “You think there’s another medical facility here, somewhere else on the property? Like, secret agent style?” Nell asks, seeming enthused by the idea.

  “Maybe her records aren’t the only thing they’re hiding. Maybe they’re hiding her.”

  “The idea has merit. Do you two have a map of the hiking trails?”

  Patrick goes to retrieve them from our cottage, and when he comes back he flattens the map out on the coffee table so we can all see. Atlas retrieves a permanent marker and starts putting Xes on the map along the edges of each defined hiking trail, activity location, and main drive in and out of the property.

  When he’s done, there are two huge swaths of untouched woods on either side of the main entrance. “That’s plenty of space to hide a building or two. I’ll have one of my guys come out with a drone and do some targeted fly-bys. In the meantime, I think the four of us need to do a little exploring.”

  The Hunt

  The four of us spend the next few days hiking every single trail the eastern side of the property has to offer, keeping eyes out for any offshoots or side trails that might lead to another medical facility. Each night, Patrick and I collapse, exhausted, into our bed. Each morning, we wake up entwined together. In sleep when my defenses are down, the man draws me in like a magnet. The fourth day is no different, except for the first time since we’ve been here, I wake up before Patrick. The days of vigorous exercise must have finally worn him out. I prop myself on one elbow, and take him in.

  The sun from our window is playing over his relaxed features, and I reach over absentmindedly and push a lock of dark hair back from his tanned forehead. He turns his head towards me but doesn’t wake. As I drink in his quiet magnificence, I can’t help but turn our relationship over in my mind. We’ve been here a month now, living together under the same roof, and I can honestly say he’s the same man I thought he was, before he told me his secret. As much as I have held him at arm’s length, he’s won me back over, day by day, never pressuring me. He’s made finding Josephine his top priority, stood up to the medical director, and been kind and considerate. He opens every door for me, and is always attentive.

  So why am I holding back from him? Is it really him, or is it this situation? The thought strikes me, and I can’t let it go. Am I still keeping us apart because of what he did, or because I don’t like the fact that control over my own life, over my own body, is being taken from me by this program? Would it matter if it were any other man lying in the bed next to me? We only have about two weeks left until my next fertile week starts, and the deadline is looming in the back of my mind.

  I shake my head because I don’t want anyone else lying next to me. Then I freeze, as if he might be able to pluck the admission from my wayward thoughts. Oh, my. I don’t want anyone else, only him. That’s terrifying. What if he lies again? What if he’s acting so perfect now, but the instant we take things to the next step, or I get pregnant, he changes? The thought is troubling, and I flop back against my pillow. I don’t think that will happen, but I didn’t see it coming the first time, either. Can I trust my own judgment where he’s concerned?

  I lay there, mulling over it all for a while longer before he rolls and captures me. His arm wraps around my rib cage, and his ear nestles against my chest, right above my pounding heart. Staying still so as not to wake him, his warmth sinks into me in sharp contrast to the chill of the fall air in our room. I carefully wrap my free arm around him and play with the collar of his shirt. He smells nice, too. Masculine and woodsy and warm.

  He stirs again, and this time reaches up to rub his eye with the heel of his hand. It’s his turn to freeze, and I barely contain my laugh when his cheek moves slightly, checking where he’s landed. He ever so slowly pulls back as if he’ll escape without waking me, and the laugh breaks free.

  “I’m sorry, Sadie, I didn’t mean to invade your personal space.” He’s bashful, and it’s cute.

  “It’s all right, you were asleep.” I give him a small smile, and to my everlasting wonder, a blush creeps up his cheeks.

  “We’d better get going! Atlas and Nell are supposed to meet us at the trailhead, and we overslept. Well, I overslept,” he amends, and quickly shuffles out of the bedroom to the hall bath. I hear the door click softly behind him and get up myself.

  ✽✽✽

  We arrive at the trailhead to find a grumpy Nell, and an amused Atlas. She’s leaning into his tattooed bicep, nursing a travel cup of coffee.

  “We have got to start these excursions a little later in the day from now on. I know it’s important, but I need my beauty sleep, okay? I thought honeymoons were supposed to be all about lying on a beach and lazy afternoons in bed, not all this action and adventure crap.” She blows on the coffee and takes a sip. “Bah! Still too hot.” She grimaces.

  Atlas just smirks at her complaints.

  “Sorry, Nell, we can start later tomorrow.” I pat her on the shoulder, and she waves me off.

  “I have some news from my team. One of the guys brought a drone out, and canvassed the areas we outlined. He did not get a visual on any buildings.”

  “Well, shoot. So all this freaking hiking is for nothing? Can we go back to bed then?” Nell interrupts.

  “Nope, sorry. He didn’t get a visual on a building; however, we still have a lead.”

  “What did he find?” Patrick asks, eagerness coloring his tone.

  “It’s not what he found, it’s what they didn’t want him to find. He searched seventy-five percent of the area without issue, and then something shot the drone down. The last thing the camera caught before it was destroyed was a black combat boot.”

  The only sound is of our boots crunching up the dried fallen leaves in the path as we all take in this new turn of events.

  Patrick is the first to speak. “Was the area near one of the main roads? Every honeymoon resort and NLC has guards. They may have assumed it was being used to plan another kidnapping attempt.”

  “That was my first instinct as well, but he sent over the coordinates this morning. It’s nearly dead center to a patch of unmarked woods on your hiking map.”

  A shiver rolls down my spine. “What is a guard doing in the middle of empty woods?”

  “That’s the million-dollar question,” Atlas responds.

  We walk for another ten minutes before Atlas stops and pulls the map out of the small pack on his back. He’s marked a red X on the spot where the drone went down.

  “That’s on the other side of the grounds. So, this hike is probably a bust today,” I say with disappointment.

  “Not entirely,” Patrick says, “This is our last hike on this side of the grounds. If we finish them all, we’ll have a good reason to go f
urther afield without raising suspicion. We take this hike today, and next week we focus on hiking that side.”

  “None of the trails go anywhere close to that area,” I point out, unclear how more hiking is going to help us.

  “I guess it’s time to tell the staff about our latent love of camping,” Atlas says drily.

  Nell’s only response is a weary groan.

  ✽✽✽

  That night the four of us share dinner with Emmett and Carolina in the dining room. I make it a point to go on at length about the beauty of the hikes, and how much we’re looking forward to next week’s itinerary. The conversation flows easily, and dessert is served—a lovely cheesecake with strawberry topping. I’m stealing the last bite off Patrick’s plate when a sudden buzzing overtakes the table, followed closely by Merengue music emanating from Atlas’s general direction.

  “What the heck? Is this thing broken?” Nell shakes her wrist.

  “Oh, no honey. That’s your fertility alarm. Looks like you’ll have to postpone your hiking adventures until next week, I’m afraid,” Carolina says kindly.

  Atlas figures out how to stop his blaring alarm, and silence falls over the gathering.

  “Well, we’ll see you guys later. Have a good evening!” Emmett excuses the two of them from the table, and they make a hasty exit.

  “Well that was awkward,” Nell comments. “What an obnoxious way to announce to everyone that my eggs are droppin’.” She looks at Atlas and shakes her head.

  “It’s horrifying, isn’t it?” I agree.

  “Well, you two can still take the planned hikes the next few days, and we’ll join you as soon as we’re able.” Atlas is straight back to business.

  “Agreed. Well, we’ll let you guys get to it,” Patrick says, and I smack him on the arm, boggle-eyed.

  “Really, Patrick? Get to it?” We leave the table with a final wave to a laughing Nell and Atlas.