Chapter Twenty-Three
She woke to the sound of Nadine singing, her voice loud, off-key, and obnoxious.
Gemma groaned and rolled onto her side, blinking against the too-bright, overhead ultralights. “Illari, make it stop.”
“Morning, sunshine,” Nadine chirped through the frosted electroglass separating their cells. “Sleep well, or did the gas give you some trippy dreams?”
“I dreamt you were quiet. Happy to stay that way.”
“You wound me.”
Gemma sat up slowly, her body stiff. Her stomach felt hollow, and her head throbbed from the sedative. But her limbs obeyed, and her heart—though fragile—kept steady.
“I don’t think I want to talk to you ever again,” she said, her voice hoarse.
“And yet, I have so much to say, and I’m right next door.” Nadine gave a theatrical sigh. “Fate’s got such a flair for drama.”
Gemma didn’t answer. She pressed her shoulder against the glass and waited. Eventually, Nadine’s silhouette appeared.
“Look,” Nadine started, her tone softer, “I know what I did to you was unforgivable. I know you hate me. And maybe you should.”
Gemma didn’t respond.
“But you need to know I never stopped watching out for you. Even now. You’re not alone, Gemstone.”
The weight of those words settled in her chest, fragile and awful. She couldn’t let herself believe Nadine again, not completely. But it still mattered. It always would.
The sharp buzz of the security gate sounded before Gemma could speak. She jumped and stood quickly, wiping her palms against her jumpsuit. Footsteps echoed through the corridor. Three guards approached her cell, a fourth person behind them.
Her breath caught. She’d recognize that frame anywhere.
Christian.
Gemma’s heart slammed against her ribs. She hadn’t wanted him to see her like this, to know his last memories of her would be as a prisoner too dangerous for this world.
But the moment his eyes locked onto hers, she knew letting him go wasn’t an option.
He was her partner, her best friend. She needed to convince him to come for her, to rescue her, to save her.
She didn’t know where they would go, but she couldn’t say goodbye.
The lead guard tapped a code into a small device, and the front panel of electroglass shimmered. Christian stepped through, but the guards didn’t leave.
Christian held up a hand when Gemma tried to approach him. He swallowed. “Since you’re leaving, I think it’s best if we just end this now.”
She stumbled backward, tears filling her eyes. He wasn’t going to fight for her? He’d promised he’d still love her, would be here when she needed him . . . Had it all been a lie?
He gave the faintest shake of his head. “Sit, please,” he said quietly, gesturing to the cot.
Confused, and a massive lump in her throat, she obeyed. Christian knelt in front of her, angling himself away from the guards.
His lips moved carefully, deliberately. Can you tell what I’m saying?
She nodded subtly. Learning to read lips was a skill she’d been forced to learn as a doctor’s apprentice.
Don’t believe a word I say out loud.
Her breath hitched.
“I know this is hard. But it’s best we do this now and get it over with.” His voice remained even.
Say something, he mouthed.
She cleared her throat. “I thought you’d fight harder for me.”
Pain flashed across his eyes before he spoke. “It’s not like I have any other choice. The Systems are doing what they think is right, and I can’t give up my career.”
We’re getting you out. Nadine’s helping. Now, say something.
Gemma clenched her hands against the cot, barely breathing. “I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near me either.” Her voice was practically a whisper.
“I just wanted to say goodbye properly,” Christian said aloud, his eyes pooling with tears, then mouthed, I love you. Still. Always.
Her throat burned. She nodded once, her eyes stinging, too overwhelmed to speak.
Christian stood slowly, giving one last look down at her. “I hope you find peace, Gemma.”
Stay strong. I will be back for you.
And then he was gone.
Gemma stayed frozen for a long moment, blinking rapidly against the tears as her electroglass re-solidified.
Christian still loved her. And he was coming to free her. She just had to bide her time.
Christian paced the floor of his flat like a caged animal, his breath still ragged from the hurried walk back. His eyes burned from holding in tears. He hadn’t expected to break in there. But the way she’d looked at him when she thought he’d actually leave her . . .
He shoved a hand through his hair then slammed his palm against the nearest wall, hard enough to sting. He needed the pain. Gemma was behind reinforced electroglass with guards watching her every hour of every day.
And all he could do was smile and pretend he agreed with it.
A buzz filled the room—someone was pressing the doorbell—in a pattern meant only for him to understand.
Imara.
Christian hurried to pound the unlock, and the door to his flat slid open. Hawk and another man stood next to her.
“Hurry up,” Imara whispered, pushing the guys ahead. “The feed’s gonna re-sync in ten seconds.”
The moment they were inside, Christian shut the door.
“Stars, that was nauseating,” Hawk said. “Ten seconds away from being caught.”
Christian raised an eyebrow.
“You’re being watched,” Imara answered. “They figure you’ll try to break out Gemma, so they’ve warned us not to go anywhere near you.”
Christian turned around, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes. Of course they were keeping an eye on him. Looked like he was spending the next few days in his flat.
“This is Theo, by the way,” Imara continued. “Nadine told me to recruit him the second we got here. He’s a janitor, stationed in the prison block, and one-hundred-percent loyal to the Dissent.”
Christian faced them again, and Theo nodded a hello.
“Did you talk to Gemma?” Hawk started.
Christian nodded. “She knows we’re breaking her out and that Nadine’s helping.”
“Good,” Imara said. “I briefed Theo a while ago, so he knows what’s at stake.”
Theo offered a slow nod. “Nadine suspected if things went sideways, she’d end up in one of those cages. Didn’t expect to be breakin’ out two people, but she gave me full clearance to help however I could.”
“And you’re sure we can trust you?” Hawk’s voice cut in, steady but sharp.
“If I wasn’t trustworthy, Nadine woulda slit my throat years ago.”
Christian exhaled hard. “All right then. We’ve got less than a week until they’re both transferred to Capital City. We need to move before then.”
“Three days, actually,” Theo said. “We get updates, so we know when to clean the cells.”
Christian’s stomach twisted. They had even less time than they thought.
“We can make it work,” Theo continued. “The day of, there’s a narrow window of time when they’re leadin’ ’em to transport. That’s when you grab ’em. I can get a message to Nadine. I got janitorial duty tonight, and they never check what we carry as long as we’re logged.”
“Perfect,” Imara said. “Lysa’s waiting to hear from Nadine. Can you deliver a message to Lysa too?”
“I’ll head into Perileos right after my shift ends, yeah. Where do I find her?”
“Gallowood House.”
A pause. “You gotta be shittin’ me. How the fuck you think I’m gonna get a message to her in there?”
“His sister’s smart,” Hawk said. “She knows a message is coming. Nadine wouldn’t have picked you unless you had the skills to stay undercover. You’ll figure it out.”
Theo sighed loudly. “Whatever. Just make sure you get the girls out. I’ll help Lysa prep the route back into the city. We ain’t got much time, but it’ll get done.”
“Perfect,” Imara said. “Where do we meet you once we’re out?”
“Nadine’ll know. She’ll get ya inside.”
Christian’s eyes narrowed. They were putting a lot of faith in Nadine. “And after that?”
“I have creds to call in some favors. I’ll slip you into the outer sector of Perileos under ‘maintenance logs.’ But you’ll have to move fast. Once you’re in, we’ll get ya safely into hiding.”
“And you’re willing to risk your life for this?” Hawk asked.
“I seen what the Systems do to people like her. Like us. I been waitin’ to be activated for years. It’s time to leave this fuckin’ place.”
“Then it’s a plan,” Imara said.
Theo’s voice dropped. “One more thing. I’ll be deliverin’ a small parcel to Nadine tonight. Inside’s a stealth patch—a modified comm. She’ll use it to coordinate the final timin’. Once she’s out, you follow her lead.”
Christian rubbed the tension from his neck. “Copy that.”
“Oh, and here.” Theo pulled a small metal box out of his pocket and handed it to Imara. “You’ll be wantin’ this. Short signal EMP. Won’t fry everything like Colton’s did, but it’ll provide ya enough time to get outta the building.”
Imara’s eyebrow flicked up. “Nice.”
“Y’all get my girl back to us, y’hear?” Theo said.
“You bet,” Hawk replied.
“Now, how do I get outta this room without gettin’ caught?”
Imara took a thumb-sized button out of her pocket and pressed it. “Go now. The camera’s feed is frozen, but you only have thirty seconds ’til it’s back online.”
Theo saluted them and hurried from the flat.
Imara crossed her arms. “All right. So, how do you propose we grab them mid-transfer? That sounds fucking impossible.”
Christian paced. “We need to know the exact time and route of the transfer.”
“I can get that easily. Learning how to hack data logs always came in handy for my clients.”
“Somehow, I’m not surprised,” Hawk joked.
She shot him a playful glare.
“So, once we have that,” Christian continued, “we can plan a split assault. Hawk and I can take down the guards and grab the girls. Can you steal us a skimmer?”
Imara snorted. “Of course I can.”
“Again, why am I not surprised?” Hawk joked.
She stuck her tongue out at him.
“All right,” Christian interrupted, his nerves a second away from fraying. “Once you get the skimmer, I’ll use that EMP thing, then we’ll grab the girls.”
Imara nodded, her eyes full of excitement.
“You think we can trust Theo to get us into the city?” Hawk asked.
“If Nadine vouched for him . . .” Christian sighed. “I believe it. And my sister is stubborn. She’ll make sure they have every detail planned.”
Several heartbeats later, Imara broke the silence. “We only get one shot at this. If something goes wrong—”
“It’s not going to go wrong. I’m getting her out of here, even if I have to take down every single person in this building. I learned a lot of things in the Falaichte. And I will use every last one of them to save her.”
Another short pause.
“So, we’re really doing this, then?” Hawk said. “Turning on the Systems? Never thought that would happen.”
Christian frowned. “You can still back out, you know. I won’t hold it against you.”
Hawk snorted. “Yeah, fuck that. Blood doesn’t make a family.”
“Couldn’t have said it better,” Imara replied.