by Dena Christy
She stiffened her spine as they filed out of the cell with Sinclair in the lead. She hoped he knew this compound well since their safety depended on their ability to hide. The building they were in was shrouded in tomb like silence, and thankfully Sinclair had been correct about there not being any soldiers in here. The same could not be said for outside the building. When they got to the exit, a glance outside the small window in the metal door revealed soldiers moving about their business. The only advantage they appeared to have was that dusk was falling, and shadows were cast from the surrounding buildings. The outdoor lights had not yet been turned on, and with any luck the patches of darkness would be enough to hide in. The tough job now was getting into one.
As if some hand of fate was determined to intervene on their behalf, a siren blared outside, stabbing through the late afternoon air. The sound was loud enough to pierce the building, and they all looked at each other in alarm.
“What the hell is that?” Cynric glared at Sinclair, as if he was responsible for the racket. Had the military somehow found out that they’d escaped? Where they going to be recaptured before they went anywhere?
“It’s the alarm that shows that the compound is under siege, I’m sure it’s a surprise drill. We can use this distraction to our advantage. It will be much easier for us to get to your ship in the confusion. But we must hurry since these drills don't last for very long.” Sinclair opened the door. Soldiers were running away from the building, which was tucked away in the corner of the compound. They were moving toward the center of the complex, and no one was paying attention to what was going on at a building behind them.
Sinclair was the first one out, and he tugged Rebecca along with him and they sprinted diagonally toward the building sitting at an angle to this one. The alarm blared through the open door, loud enough to cover any sound that they might make. Sinclair motioned with his arm for the others to come out as he and Rebecca pressed against the side of the building. His beckoning motion was barely visible, and unless someone was looking for it, it would have gone unseen.
Synn and Miranda were next. Synn had her tucked close to his side, and he hustled her over to where Sinclair and Rebecca stood waiting. The alarm blared on and within moments there wasn’t a single soldier in the vicinity. The longer it went on, the less it appeared to be just a drill. But what did she know? She’d never been a soldier, and as long as it kept them safe what did it matter what was going on.
Ryce and Collette were next, and they made it safely to the building across the way just as the others had. Now only she and Cynric remained in the building. She looked up at him. This might be the only opportunity they had to be alone before they made it to the ship, but now was not the time to confess what she felt inside. Once they got to the ship, she’d tell him how she felt. It didn’t matter if he returned those feelings although she hoped he did. She needed to get them out in the open, so that if she had to go on with the rest of her life without him she knew that at least she’d told him what was in her heart.
“Are you ready?” He turned to her, and she nodded. He stared at her for a moment as if there was something he wanted to say. The moment passed in an instant as he gave his head a small shake and took hold of her hand. He pushed the door open, and they were sprinting out of the building. The trek across to where the others were waiting seemed to take much longer than when she’d watched the others do it. She was hyper aware of how exposed she and Cynric were as they ran across the open stretch of grass that ran between the buildings. Had the alarm not been blaring around them, and had the soldiers that had been in this area not all fled toward the center, they would have been spotted for sure.
The hair stood on the back of her neck, and she had a sinking feeling that they were being watched. She didn’t want to risk a look around slowing her down. It was pure paranoia, and once she and Cynric made it to where the others stood, the feeling went away as relief swept through her. They were one step closer to getting out of here.
Sinclair’s face had grown pale, and Rebecca put her hand on his arm. “What is it?”
“The alarms shouldn’t be lasting this long. Something other than a drill is going on.” He led them down along the back of the building away from the one they’d just run from. The shadows and the direction they were facing hid them from view, but Evie could feel the tension in Cynric as she walked beside him with her hand still in his. They were at the back of the group, with Rebecca and Sinclair in the front, followed by Synn and Miranda, then Ryce and Collette.
“What do you think is going on?” Evie looked up at Cynric, and he looked down at her with a shake of his head.
“I don’t know and don’t care. We will use the chaos to our advantage and get to the ship.”
They reached the edge of the building, and Sinclair poked his head around to the side to see if the coast was clear. The skin on the back of Evie’s neck crawled, and she let go of Cynric’s hand to rub it. Her back felt exposed and vulnerable, and the urge to turn around nearly overwhelmed her. She fixed her eyes on Sinclair as he pulled his head back and turned around to look at him. Before he could say a word, his eyes widened and the blood drained out of his face.
An iron hand clamped around Evie’s upper arm and yanked her back. Her body went cold as her heart stuttered for a second. It resumed beating, this time at a frantic pace as her body slammed against a male one and the muzzle of a pistol dug deep into the flesh on the underside of her chin. The paranoid feeling of being watched, the notion that someone was behind her, had not been a figment of her imagination. Someone had been behind her, and he held her to him now.
“So this is where you went off to, Lieutenant.” A chill crawled down Evie’s spine as she recognized the voice of the man who held her. Clancy.
Their escape attempt was over.
A deep burning anger went through Cynric when he saw the woman he realized was the love of his life in the clutches of his enemy. Clancy’s pistol was buried in the vulnerable flesh under her chin and there was no way he could get her away from him without risking her life. Why hadn’t he been more alert? How could he not have known that his enemy had been behind them until it was too late? Why hadn’t he told her how he felt in that moment before they’d fled the prison?
It had been there, on the tip of his tongue. He’d even opened his mouth to say something in that moment when they were alone once the others had fled the building. The mark had not appeared, but he didn't need it to tell him how he felt about her. She meant more to him than any other person had before, he would gladly lay down his life for her, and he wanted to hold her to him for the rest of his life. Mark or no mark, that had to be love.
The alarm still blared around them, and not only had it provided a distraction for the surrounding soldiers, it had also distracted him. It had muffled the sound of Clancy’s footsteps behind them and hidden his presence until it was too late. He’d had no sense that his enemy was that close, and now they were caught, and Evie was in his clutches. As soon as an opportunity presented itself, he would get her away from him, but he had no way of knowing how long that would take. Clancy would be on his guard, especially since he knew what he and his men were capable of.
Cynric raised his hands in surrender, and the others followed suit. Sinclair stepped forward, putting Rebecca behind him. Clancy’s eyes were especially venomous when he looked at him. The betrayal of one of his men had to sting him, and the look he gave Sinclair said it all. If they did not get away from Clancy, Cynric was certain that Sinclair would be the first to die.
“There is no need for anyone to get hurt, sir.” Sinclair’s voice and eyes were steady when he looked at his commander. He held his body straight, and Cynric couldn’t help but admire the courage he presented when facing his superior officer. It would have been easy for him to hang back, to let the others be a shield for him, but he’d stepped forward and faced Commander Clancy without flinching. It was a foolish move to draw attention to himself, but it was a brave one no
netheless.
“Don’t ‘sir’ me. I knew there was a traitor in my company, and I see my suspicions were correct. I should have known as soon as you agreed to spy on Dawson that you couldn’t be trusted. If I didn’t want to have the satisfaction of seeing you court-martialed and executed as a traitor, I’d shoot you down right now like the dog that you are.” Clancy had to shout to make his voice heard over the still blaring alarms, and he looked at the sky as if it was deliberately offending him. “Whatever you’ve done to cause this distraction, you need to shut it down. The base is in chaos.”
“We have done nothing.” Sinclair looked at Clancy steadily, and Clancy scowled back at him. That was interesting. Commander Clancy didn’t know why the alarm was blaring. Perhaps there was something about the situation causing it that could be used to their advantage to escape from Clancy. “I thought it was just a drill. If it’s not, something else is going on. This is the alarm for an invasion, so something or someone is coming.”
“As if I’d believe you had nothing to do with it. It doesn’t matter. We’re going to the command center, and we will wait for General Rogers. He’ll decide what’s to be done with you.” Clancy shifted his pistol away from Evie’s chin to wave them in the direction that he wanted them to go. Cynric’s eyes darted to the pistol and back to Evie, as he calculated approximately how long it would take Clancy to react if he charged him. The pistol was still too close to Evie to be worth risking it. He’d have to bide his time, but as he looked into her frightened eyes, he vowed he would get her away from Clancy somehow.
“Sir, why don’t you take me as a hostage and let the woman go.” None of them made a move to go in the direction that Clancy wanted, and Sinclair took a step closer to his former commander. He stood straight and tall, and if he felt any fear, it was not visible.
Clancy’s reaction was instantaneous. He swung the pistol around and pulled the trigger on his weapon, and a red bolt of light shot out of it. The beam arrowed straight into Sinclair’s head and burned a hole through his skull. Rebecca cried out and went to him, clutching him to her as he sagged to the ground. A strange stillness hung over the group, and the only thing that could be heard was Rebecca’s heart wrenching sobs as she rocked her brother’s lifeless body against her. Clancy’s pistol came back to rest under Evie’s chin, and the military commander appeared calm and unruffled as if he’d only spoken to Sinclair instead of killing him.
“If you don’t want to join the man you are clutching, I suggest that you stand up. He would have been court-martialed and found guilty. I’ve saved him a traitor’s death. My way was much quicker. Now move.”
Cynric could see Rebecca’s anger at Clancy building. One death was more than enough, so he took a step forward and gently grasped her arm. Her lower lip trembled as she looked up at him, and she let go of her brother as he drew her to her feet.
“Your brother would not want you to die for him. Do as the commander says and I swear to you that he will not be the one to live through this.” His words were meant for only her ears, and she took a deep breath.
His pledge to kill Clancy put steel into her spine, and she stared straight ahead as she and Cynric walked back to the group and started off in the direction that Clancy wanted them to go. Clancy brought up the rear, with Evie clutched to him. Cynric hated that she was so vulnerable, clutched to the man who wanted nothing more than to harm her. There was little good he could do for her at the moment, and as he marched forward his mind raced over the possible ways he could get her away from Clancy.
There had to be a way to do it which wouldn’t bring harm to her, but Cynric couldn’t see it. If he moved even a single toe aggressively toward Clancy, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill Evie. The only importance Evie had to him was leverage, and if she couldn’t be used for that, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her. He’d seen a deep hatred in Clancy’s eyes when he’d looked at Evie, and the only thing keeping her alive was that their good behavior was more important to Clancy than killing her. So he’d behave and do what he was told. And when Clancy let his guard down, he’d get her away from him.
The alarm continued to scream, and Synn sidled up closer to him.
“What is going on? Why is the alarm still ringing?” Synn spoke to him under his breath. Cynric didn’t know what to tell him. Surely Clancy would have known if this was a drill, and that he’d questioned Sinclair about it, told Cynric that something else was going on.
“I have no idea. It could be a drill, and Clancy was not informed about it, but I doubt it. It’s gone on for too long. Something is coming. Let’s hope it’s a friend and not a foe. We’ll have enough to deal with trying to get out of this without fighting our way past more enemies too.”
“Quit talking up there.” Clancy’s voice rang out from behind them, and Cynric’s mouth tightened in frustration. He didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize Evie, so he moved back to where he'd been. There was nothing more he could tell him. Something was going on, something bigger than their escape from their cells. Hopefully they wouldn’t be killed when they found out what it was.
Chapter Sixteen
The muzzle of the pistol was buried deep in her flesh, and Evie was certain that this was it, this was the end. Roland was pushing them to slaughter and there was nothing they could do to stop it. They were being herded toward the center of the compound, and she didn’t know if it was the blaring alarm or the precariousness of the situation that caused the throbbing pain behind her left eye.
She could sense a change in Roland. He’d lost the methodical coldness that he operated under when she’d known him before. There had been a light in his eyes when he’d shot Serena, and she imagined it was still there. She didn’t know if he was coming unhinged, or if this was the real Roland, the man he had not shown her when he’d been courting her. It didn’t matter. Not now at any rate.
“Your father would be so ashamed of what you’ve become, Evangeline.” Roland’s lips brushed against the shell of her ear as he spoke to her. She didn’t think there was anything sexual about the move since the alarm made it necessary to either scream out loud or to talk directly in someone’s ear.
She didn’t bother to answer him. Why should she? He didn’t know her, and neither did her father. Her father only thought he did. It was why she’d escaped. Her mother had been loving in her own way, and had never been cruel to her, but she had been pushing her toward the life her father wanted for her, toward a life with the man who now held a pistol to her.
Her eyes went to Cynric as he walked forward. He had his back to her, but his presence gave her hope. Perhaps it was a false hope, but she clung to it. They would get out of this. They had to. Roland couldn’t win, not now that they were so close to them all getting home. It couldn’t all end here. If only there was a way to get the pistol away from Roland.
It was impossible as long as he had it buried in under her chin, but he couldn’t keep his guard up forever. As soon as she noticed that he had relaxed his guard even a fraction, she would do whatever it took to get it away from him. Miranda’s baby needed a chance to grow up. She and Synn needed to live the life they’d fought so hard for. Ryce and Collette deserved to be together. And even if it wasn’t with her, she wanted Cynric to have the life he wanted, safe and whole away from this place.
“Nothing to say?” Roland was still behind her, still talking. She wanted to shut him out. She hated the sound of his voice, hated how close he was to her and despised the pistol he had pressed against her. She gave her head a slight shake. She would not talk to him, there was nothing she could say that he would want to hear.
“It’s just as well. It’s too late for words now. I’m going to kill you, you know. I’ll most likely kill the one you're screwing too. General Rogers wants them alive, but accidents happen. He’d still have two to study.”
Her insides quaked at the venom in his words, and she ground her teeth together to keep the fear and anger churning inside her from coming out. It was what he wanted, to g
et a reaction from her and she would not give that power to him. He had her at his mercy, but only because he held her at the point of a gun. She could control what she showed him, and this was something she could deny him. If he was going to kill her, he would kill her. If they didn’t get away from him, then her death was a foregone conclusion. There was too much baggage between Roland and her for him to want to spare her now.
A bright light appeared in the sky, illuminating the surrounding shadows. A red beam shot downward from the source of the light, and a building in the distance exploded. The alarm ceased its wail, and the world around them was suddenly silent, as if the whole compound was collectively shocked by what had happened. They froze where they were, and Evie noticed Roland’s grip getting slack. The pistol was not pressed so hard into her flesh, and she knew that he too was staring at the fire in the distance, as they all were.
“We’re being invaded.” There was a note of disbelief in his voice, and the pistol dropped another fraction. This was her moment. Her chance to get the pistol away from him, and she took a deep breath. She was dead if he got her to their destination, and they couldn’t stand here in the open and stare at the fire. As a distraction the fire was perfect, and she needed to take advantage of it now.
Moving as fast as she could she reached her hands up and shoved the pistol away. It flew out of Roland’s hands and landed on the ground a short distance away.
“What are you doing, you bitch?” He gave her his full attention, and his grip turned to iron. He may not have the pistol on her any longer, but he still had her in his clutches. That was about to change.
She twisted her torso as she flexed her right hand back and drove it under his chin, snapping his head back. His teeth snapped together, and as he stumbled back she wrenched her arm from his, getting out of his clutches. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cynric scoop up the pistol, and she backed away from Roland, clear out of the line of fire. She knew what he meant to do, and while she never thought she would want anyone’s life to end, she knew that this was necessary. Roland wouldn’t stop until he killed them. It was them or him, and she wanted to live. She wanted Cynric to live.