Rise (New Haven Book 3)

by Sara Jo Cluff

  Saying goodbye to Tina and Dee, I put my hand in Eric’s. He took me to the ladder that led to an alcove. I had been up there many times since I’d first arrived in New Haven. I climbed the ladder first, with Eric right behind me. When I got to the top, I gasped.

  The whole area was covered with strings of white lights, reflecting beautifully against the snow on the trees. On the ground were hundreds of butterflies and flowers of all different colors.

  Reaching down, I picked up a purple butterfly. I ran my finger across it, noticing that it was paper that had been painted. Eric came up behind me and put his arms around my waist, looking over my shoulder at the butterfly.

  I reached my arm around me and touched the back of his head. “How did you do all of this?”

  I could hear the smile in his voice. “I had a lot of help.”

  Taking me by the hand, he walked me to the middle of the alcove. I put the butterfly in my pocket and then he took both of my hands in his, turning me so I faced him.

  “Emmie …” He stopped and cleared his throat. His hands were slightly shaking, but I wasn’t so sure that it was from the cold. “I still remember the first moment I saw you. You were standing in the Recruitment office, staring at your contract. I almost didn’t stop, but something inside me told me I should. When you looked up at me, my heart stopped. You were the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. Of course, I had to play it cool to keep up with my bad boy image.”

  His smile twisted as I rolled my eyes. “But I knew from that moment on that I had to get to know you. And trust me when I say it didn’t take long until I realized I needed to keep you in my life. I was a little worried you’d get sick of me and would eventually brush me off.”

  I smiled. “I could never get sick of you. I was just glad to have a hot guy pay attention to me. I can’t tell you how many flips my heart did when you were standing near me.”

  A smile pulled at his lips for a moment and then his face fell. “Emmie, those two challenges we did in Recruitment pained me. The one where I thought you were trapped and then killed, and then the underwater one. When Mack pulled your body out of the water …” He fought back tears. He looked up at the sky and blinked them away before turning his gaze back to me. “Watching you lifeless on the ground as Mack tried to bring you back to life, I knew at that moment that I was in love with you.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. “Call me crazy, but I knew it. I know it was so fast. We’d only known each other a couple of weeks, but I couldn’t help myself.”

  Eric reached up and wiped away some tears that were running down my cheeks. “Emmie Woodard, you are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. You’re strong, determined, fun to be around, and so kind to everyone around you. You’ve always put others before yourself. You’re completely selfless.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know …”

  Eric put his hand on my cheek. “You are. You have risked your life for everyone in this city without batting an eye. I don’t know what this city would do without you. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  He pulled something out of his pocket and then got down on one knee. Holding up a ring, he looked me in the eye. He smiled and sniffed as he wiped away a few tears from his eyes. “I was supposed to be manly.” I put my hands over my mouth and laughed through my tears. Eric cleared his throat. “Emmie Woodard, will you marry me?”

  I uncovered my mouth but continued to laugh. “Yes!” Standing up, he put his forehead against mine. My smile stretched from ear to ear. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

  Wrapping his arms around me, he pulled me into him and kissed me, his warm lips heating me on the cold night.

  After a minute, I pulled back. “The ring! I want to see it.”

  “Oh, yeah.” He took my right hand and started to put the ring on.

  I twirled my ring made of twine that was already resting on my ring finger. “I don’t want to take my other one off. It means too much to me.”

  The side of his mouth turned up. “That’s why I made this other ring a little bigger so you could slide it over.” He slipped it all the way on, and it fit perfectly. He let out a sigh. “Thank goodness.”

  Smiling, I pulled my hand up so I could get a better look at the ring. Unlike my first ring, it was made of silver. Butterflies were engraved around it.

  “Oh, Eric, it’s perfect.” I put my hands on his cheeks. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” Eric held me close and pressed his lips to mine.

  We were up before dawn. As the guys and Thunder Thighs were packing up the jeeps, Tina, Dee, Maya, Vivica, and Naomi circled me, wanting to hear every second of the proposal. They all took turns looking at my ring. I think Dee squealed at least ten times.

  Terrance walked up to us, his stance wide thanks to all his muscle. “Listen ladies, I know you’re excited, but once we set off, no more talk of the proposal, marriage, rings, or anything wedding related. We need all of you focused on the task at hand.”

  Placing her hand on her hip, Vivica rolled her eyes. “Can’t we have two minutes of fun here? We’ve been preparing for this proposal for months. Excuse us if we’re happy it finally happened.”

  “You’ve had your two minutes.” Terrance folded his arms and looked at Dee. “And no more squealing.”

  Dee glared at him as he walked away. When he was a few feet away, a squeal sounded behind me. Terrance turned around so Dee threw up her hands. “It wasn’t me. I swear.”

  A small figure bounded toward me, her long brown hair messy like she just got out of bed. When she got to me, she threw her arms around my waist. “Congratulations! I’m so happy for you.”

  She pulled back and I squeezed her cheeks together. “Thank you, Miss Rosie.”

  “Rosie, what are you doing up at this hour?” Santiago asked as he walked over to our group.

  She stuck her tongue out at him. “I came to congratulate Emmie, dummy.” She rolled her brown eyes at me. “Brothers.”

  “Tell me about it.” I hugged her tightly. “Are you still going to be my flower girl? You haven’t grown too old on me, have you?”

  She shook her head. “I’m ten now, but I’m not too old. I still want to do it. Can I see your ring?” I held my hand out to her and she yanked it close. “Oh, Emmie, it’s beautiful. I can’t wait to find my Eric one day.”

  “Which will be at least twenty years from now.” Santiago folded his arms. “And if I approve of him.”

  Rosie tapped her finger on her mouth, calculating it out. After a couple of seconds, her jaw dropped. “You can’t make me wait until I’m thirty!”

  Santiago smirked. “Oh, yes I can.”

  Rosie glared at him, rolling her hand into a fist. I put my hand on her chin and turned her face toward me. “You don’t have to wait that long. Us girls have your back.”

  “Thank you, Emmie.” Rosie hugged me and shook me side to side.

  “You only have to wait fifteen years,” I said, running my hand over her hair.

  Rosie looked up at me, her voice coming out in a whine. “But, Emmie! I don’t want to wait that long!”

  “I’m just teasing you,” I said. “When you find the right guy, you’ll know it.”

  Santiago whistled. “That’s if he’s still alive when I’m through with him.”

  Vivica put her hand on Santiago’s chest. “That’s enough. You’re going to give the girl a heart attack.”

  “We need to head out.” Terrance’s voice was loud enough so everyone could hear.

  We said goodbye to Rosie and Naomi and went to join everyone near the jeeps.

  Dante gave me a big hug. He kissed me on top of my head. “I know I already congratulated you last night, but I’ll do it again. Congratulations, Em. He’s one lucky guy.”

  “I know,” I said, hugging him back. He laughed as we went to join Terrance up front. Santiago and Maya were already up there, standing next to him.

  “Listen up.” Terrance had his arms fol
ded and his back straight as he stared out at all of us. Sometimes his demeanor reminded me of Mack. “This will only be about a five-hour drive, but I wanted us to get there in plenty of time so we could scout around while it’s still light.”

  The four revolutionaries were leading the mission, but we asked Terrance to step in and help since he used to be the head of security in Kingsland.

  Dante stood next to Terrance. “Emmie, Maya, Santiago, and I will be the leaders for our groups.”

  “Vivica, Tina, and Luke are on my team,” Santiago said. He rubbed behind his ear where the tattoo of a cross rested.

  “I have Hiro, Will, and Dee,” Dante said. I made him swear to me the night before that he’d protect Dee. I didn’t trust anyone else but him to look after her like I would.

  “Terrance, Bruce, and Gideon are coming with me.” Maya fingered the sword pendant on her charm bracelet. She claimed it was good luck.

  I cleared my throat and tugged on the end of my braid that hung over my shoulder. “That leaves Eric, Joshua, and Rachel with me.”

  There were a few snickers from the group, but I kept my face as straight as I could. It was going to be a long trip.

  “The leaders will drive,” Dante said. “Let’s head out.”

  As I headed for our jeep, someone shouted my name. I turned around to see Derek running toward me. Well, it was more of a slow jog. He wasn’t in shape. He was out of breath by the time he got to me.

  He bent down, resting his hands on his knees and panting. After a few seconds of deep breathing, he looked up at me. “Were you really going to leave without telling me?”

  I shrugged. “You weren’t home by the time I went to bed last night.”

  “You could have woken me up this morning before you left the house.” Derek stood straight, stretching out his back. He had started lifting weights to gain some muscle on his long, skinny arms, but so far, it wasn’t working.

  “I tried. I went into your room, shouted your name, shook you pretty hard, and even threw a few things at your head.”

  He scratched his head. “Really? Well, that would explain the random items in my bed when I woke up.” He eyed me. “Including a shoe. You threw a shoe at my head?”

  “Yes.” I twisted my ring on my finger. “And it didn’t work.”

  “Well, now that I’m here and semi-awake, don’t you have something to tell me?”

  “You already know.”

  “I haven’t heard it from your mouth.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Does it make a difference?”

  Derek nodded. “Uh, yes, it does.” He looked over at Joshua who was sitting in the back of my jeep. “I bet you told him already.” They were both my half-brothers but from different sides of the family.

  I rubbed my temples and groaned. It was too early for Derek and all his Derekness. “He was already awake since he’s coming with me on the trip!” I sighed. “It doesn’t matter. Derek, Eric officially proposed to me last night.”

  “What did you say?” Derek had his eyebrows raised, waiting in anticipation.

  “No.”

  His face fell. “Why would you do that to him? I actually like the guy. He was going to take you off my hands!”

  “Derek, of course, I said yes. I’m wearing the ring!”

  He folded his arms and huffed. “Well, you haven’t shown it to me yet.”

  I held out my hand and he took it in his, eyeing the ring way too closely. He scratched his chin. “I love the detail. This is some amazing work.” He twisted the ring, examining every inch of it.

  I snapped my hand out of his. “That’s enough.”

  Derek’s eyes lit up. “Did you see the flowers and butterflies I made you?”

  “Yes, they were scattered all over the ground with everyone else’s.”

  He furrowed his eyebrows. “Mine were different than everyone else’s.”

  “How so?”

  “Guess you’ll have to wait until you get back and see for yourself. You kept them all, right? I mean, we poured a lot of time, sweat, love, and blood into those babies.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Blood?”

  Derek waved his hand. “It’s a saying. But you kept them, right?”

  “I did. Eric thought I was crazy, but I made him clean them all up with me so I could save them. They’re in a box back at home.”

  He clapped his hands together in excitement. “Good! I can’t wait until you see mine.” He looked over at Eric who watched us from the passenger seat of the jeep. “She’s already got you cleaning up after her, huh?”

  Eric smiled at me. “She’s worth it.”

  Derek pointed a finger at him. “I would have to disagree with you there.”

  Thunder Thighs grunted. “Me, too.” She was sitting in the back next to Joshua. She looked him up and down, her eyes lingering way too long. Joshua glanced over at me and then slid farther away from her.

  “Well, congratulations, little sis.” Derek pulled me into a hug. “I’m so happy to finally get rid of you. It will be the greatest day of my life.” He looked at Eric. “You have my permission to get married on your trip. That way you can just have her move in with you the second you get back.”

  “I wouldn’t do that to her,” Eric said. “I love her too much. She’s getting the big wedding she deserves.” His smile turned mischievous. “But I’m more than happy to have her move in with me when we get back.”

  Derek glared at Eric. “Not happening. No hanky panky until you tie the knot.”

  “I second that,” Joshua said.

  “Me, too.” That came from multiple sources. I heard Dante, Will, Luke, Santiago, Bruce, and Gideon yell out.

  “Can you just do it to piss all of them off, please?” Vivica asked. Santiago turned to her and shook his finger. Vivica rolled her eyes. “Oh, so you and I can …”

  “Excuse me?” Dante asked. Using the top of the jeep as a handhold, he pulled himself up until he was standing and glared at Santiago.

  Santiago gave an exaggerated laugh. “She’s just kidding! We’ve never done anything like that. We’re good, wholesome, clean people.”

  “That couldn’t be farther from the truth,” Tina said. Almost everyone nodded in agreement. Except for Dante. He was fuming.

  “Enough!” Terrance glanced around at everyone. “We need to leave. Emmie, say goodbye to your brother.”

  I hugged Derek. “Bye, brother.”

  “Goodbye, sister from another mister.” He laughed. “That never gets old.”

  “Yes, it does.” I pulled away and looked up at him. “Love you.”

  “You, too,” Derek said. “Drive safe.”

  As I was getting into the driver’s seat, Derek called after me. “Oh, and feel free to name all of your children after me. Derek, Derekette, Derekina, Captain Awesome … anything along those lines.”

  “Not happening,” Eric yelled out.

  I looked through my rear-view mirror and saw Derek throw up his hands. “Just giving you some amazing options.”

  I took hold of Eric’s hand. “Are you positive you want to marry into my family?”

  Running his eyes over me, he winked at me. “You’re hot enough.” He leaned over and kissed me on the lips.

  “Get a room,” Thunder Thighs said.

  “No!” I couldn’t tell how many people had said that. I groaned and settled into my seat. I needed to move my wedding date to the closest day possible.

  The cold air pricked at my skin. Austin thought he could wear us down by making us uncomfortable, but it wasn’t working, and it never would. He underestimated my will power. He underestimated a lot of things.

  Shuddering, I stood and paced the room, trying to get the blood pumping through my body. We had turned the medical trade school building into our Headquarters. I didn’t have much time to prepare my retreat after I heard Austin had murdered Whit. When I glanced over a map of River Springs, I knew I wanted to take over the Lake and Mountain Precincts.

  The medical tr
ade school building was in the Lake Precinct. It would come in handy if a battle began.

  I'd gathered some supplies, made my announcement, and then immediately set off for Lake. I wasn’t sure who’d support me. A part of me wondered if I would show up in Lake only to find everyone retreating to Austin’s side. Or worse, staying there as if my announcement was meaningless. If that had happened, it wouldn’t have been long until I was in Austin’s custody.

  Luckily, a little over eight thousand did support my movement. I still wasn’t sure who supported me, Emmie, or just was against Austin leading Infinity Corp—which would, in turn, make in him charge of all River Springs— but right now, I didn’t care. They were here, willing to fight off any and every one of Austin’s advances.

  My head hadn’t stopped buzzing since I’d first arrived here last year. I was surprised we’d survived this long and that the revolution was still underway. My nights were restless. I was growing tired. Every time I felt like throwing in the towel, Whit came to mind. He was the one thing keeping me alive. I needed to get vengeance for his death.

  Countless times I had told Whit that we couldn’t trust Austin. We could never trust an Oliver, especially after what Frank did to our city. He turned his back on us and supported my daughter and her childish imagination. He’d gotten himself killed in the process, started a war in his own city, and turned our residents against each other. And now Whit was dead. None of it was necessary. It could have all been avoided. But arrogance and pride could ruin everything in the blink of an eye.

  I pulled my cardigan tighter around me and sighed. I loved wearing skirts and dresses, but there were certainly days where I wanted to wear pants and bundle up. Especially when I was this cold. My button-down blouse and plaid skirt weren't providing much cover.

  It all needed to come to an end, but I wasn't sure how I would accomplish that. We couldn’t continue living on like we were. No one could function when you were always on alert. We had to keep security around the clock to make sure Austin wasn’t trying to attack. He kept sending in spies, which was incredibly stupid of him. I was offended he found me so daft and naïve. I was smarter than him. I could win this. But I would need help.