Chapter 27 #2
“No. I’m out. For now.”
I’m finally able to breathe again. “Okay. Good—wait, what do you mean, ‘for now’?”
“I’ve been summoned to a meeting with my brother tomorrow morning. One on one. Travis said after the meeting, we’ll know where we both stand.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know. But I don’t like it.”
“Me, neither. He just murdered sixteen people on a live broadcast. Killing one more won’t make a difference to him.” A fresh wave of fear coats my throat. “Cross, you need to get out of—”
“No, I need you to listen to me right now,” he interrupts. “Can you find a way for us to meet tonight? We need to talk.”
“Let’s talk now.”
“No. I’m dealing with something. Do you remember your airfields from Silver Block training? The runway in Ward E, the one that was decommissioned—meet me there. Midnight.”
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to get a transport—”
“Try.”
Xavier and I near the mess hall, where I catch sight of Teriq and Gray on their way to the door.
I hurry toward the two men, managing to intercept Gray before he can slip through the door. I grip his arm. “Can we speak alone for a second?”
Frowning, he lets me pull him aside so we’re not blocking the doorway. “What’s wrong?”
“I need another favor.”
Immediately, his expression darkens. “Fuck’s sake.”
“Please.” I bite my lip. “I need transport to Ward E tonight.”
“Not going to the brothel this time?” His voice contains a sharper edge now, a malice that wasn’t there before.
“Please, can you fly me out there? For midnight? I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. Dire, even.”
He’s quiet for a moment. His tense body language tells me he doesn’t want to do this. But then he surprises me by jerking his head in a nod.
“You’re in luck. I’m taking Declan back to Bramble Base tonight.”
Hope sparks inside me. I remember him saying the base is in Ward H. That’s just south of E.
“We were going to leave earlier, but I can hold off until closer to midnight.”
“Thank you.” I squeeze his arm in gratitude, but he shakes me off and stalks away.
We take the hybrid. Declan sits with Gray in the cockpit while I’m in the jump seat behind them. I haven’t seen Declan since he was whisked off to the medical bay, weak and panting. Now he looks like he’s in perfect health.
“Was there any permanent damage to your heart?” I ask him.
“No. Fiona ran several scans. Good as new.”
“I’m glad.”
Declan twists around in his seat. “Darlington, what happened to Neema…I heard Evlynne took it out on you, but it wasn’t your fault. Just failed intel on our part.”
A lump clogs my throat. “Thank you for saying that.”
We don’t even land for Declan’s drop-off; I can’t help but grin as I watch him parachute out of the aircraft after Gray announces that we’re nearing Bramble Base.
When we’re alone, I feel Gray giving me sidelong glances. I know he has questions about this clandestine meeting of mine, but he doesn’t voice them, each time shifting his green eyes back to the windshield.
The moon guides our way, as once again we’re flying dark. I’m still amazed by this acute awareness he possesses. He never gets disoriented by the lack of horizon, always trusting his instruments.
Like last time, our landing is smoother than butter, and we touch down on a runway bordered by forests on three sides. I don’t see any signs of life as I peer out the window. Cross said he’d provide instructions when I arrived.
“Just landed,” I report. “Where are you?”
“One click west of your location. Come by foot.”
“How much time do I have?” I ask Gray.
“No more than an hour. I’m jamming the plane’s signal, but I won’t risk grounding myself any longer than necessary.”
“Understood. I’ll be quick. Keep your feed open.”
I jump out of the plane, boots colliding with the dark tarmac.
“I’m on my way. What am I looking for? Give me a landmark.”
“You’ll know it when you see it.”
Well, that’s cryptic.
Near the one-kilometer mark, the trees open onto craggy terrain, and I find myself in a small rock quarry. It’s not in use and hasn’t been for a while, judging by the weeds and vines creeping all over the remains of old, broken equipment.
I feel exposed, and for a moment, fear thickens my throat as I wonder if I’ve been led into a trap. Then I banish the thought, because Cross would never betray me. I have no doubt of that.
“Where are you?”
“Right here,” comes his deep, husky voice.
I spin to see him appear from the side of a crumbling structure that I assume was an office at one point but is now a sagging heap of wooden beams.
Despite the uncertainty in the air, and the lingering ire from this morning’s broadcast, I run toward him. He catches me, one muscular arm sliding around my waist, holding me tight, while his other hand cups the back of my neck. I feel his lips against my hair. I hear him inhale deeply.
“Fuck,” is all he says.
I wholeheartedly return that sentiment.
When he pulls back, his blue eyes are tormented, swimming with unhappiness. I cup his cheeks, rubbing my thumbs along the sharp edges of his jaw, the prickly stubble there.
“You can’t be here anymore, Cross. Not when your brother is murdering Mods in cold blood.”
“I know.”
Relief shudders through me. I thought it would take a lot more arm-twisting to convince him to desert.
“But first we need to talk about something. After we met at Haven, I started digging into my brother’s dealings. He put three tails on me?” Cross scoffs. “I tailed him right the fuck back.”
I manage a weak smile. “Of course you did.”
“I’ve been watching Travis for weeks, and there are things happening in the background that you need to know about. Projects our father had approved. Secrets he’d been keeping from us.”
“What kind of secrets?” I say warily.
“I’m still trying to uncover all of them, but right now? The most pressing matter is your Uprising. Do you remember the hospital room you found during that mission, the one full of fragmented Mods?”
“You mean the Mods that the Company has been experimenting on? Because there’s no other reason why that room had freezers full of blood vials.”
“Maybe. I don’t know about any experiments. If my father asked his people in Biotech to conduct research, it’s a secret I haven’t unearthed yet. But that’s not my concern right now.”
I tamp down my impatience. “What do the fragmented Mods have to do with anything?”
“Nothing,” he says quietly. “I’m not talking about the fragmented. I’m talking about the corrupted.”