Rory put her fingers to her mouth and whistled into the enthusiastic clapping. He looked for Cadence and spotted Susan watching him a couple of tables to his right. She could’ve bonded easily, she was staking her all on him.
“Once again it’s time for a bonding ceremony. As the summer ends, we prepare for autumn and plant the seeds for our future.”
Zeke grunted. “Did he really say that?” Rory’s elbow met his rib and he grunted again but this time with a smile. That elbow was old Zeke and old Rory. He took it as a sign they were going to work through this new strange place they were in.
“I expect a bountiful crop of new Continuers in nine months, give or take. As is our custom, those couples who have prearranged a bond or determined to stay together for another season will sign the Origin book first. Everyone else wait your damn turn.” That got a laugh. What a side-slapper. “Your name will be called from a hat and you know the rules. But first we have some announcements.”
He tuned out Spencer’s roll call of births and pregnancy announcements and reached for Rory’s hand under the cover of the tablecloth. She batted him away and he couldn’t fault her for it. He was pathetically needy for her and he shouldn’t have done that. He tugged at his hair in annoyance. Seconds later she reached for his hand, weaving her fingers through his and his tension eased. He loved her for understanding he needed that softer contact as much as he’d needed the jab in the ribs.
From the podium, Spence said, “We have some sobering news from the decay.” There were murmurs and a woman cried out as if in pain. “There’s the usual litany of issues. The Ebola crisis has worsened. There’ve been more outbreaks of leprosy. There are severe wildfires in Oregon and flooding in Miami, Texas and New Orleans. This time it’s much, much worse. New Orleans is being evacuated as we sit here.” He let everyone react and then went on. “There’s no way to save the city now. Two hundred thousand people are refugees.”
Wildfires and flooding weren’t new disasters, but Tres would’ve mentioned something as catastrophic as a threat to New Orleans and what Ebola crisis?
“Unfortunately, there is more bad news. The US economy is staggering, and race riots have all but shut down Washington, D.C. Martial law has been declared in too many state capitals to name and California has begun the process of seceding from the United States.”
All of these events might be true; strung together, they were apocalyptic and the effect on folks around them showed that. There were more loud cries now. More conversation burbling for Spencer to speak over. Bastard was eating it up. It would be one of his greatest pleasures to set the truth raging on Spencer’s lies. He rubbed his thumb across Rory’s knuckles. Another pleasure, and a lie of circumstance he could live with for now.
“There’s been another severe outbreak of bird flu that started in Asia and moved across the globe killing millions.”
“Another. All this bullshit has just enough substance to be plausible,” he muttered.
“We knew this was coming. And we’re prepared,” Spencer said. Yeah, he wasn’t the only one. “There’ll be more newcomers on their way to join us in the next few months, but they’ll be the last before we lock down. We think it’s time to practice austerity and ready our defenses.”
That caused a round of agreement and Rory to squeeze his hand. Austerity, lockdown, what did that mean? There was nothing about Abundance, except the quality of the food that indicated the kind of money people had spent to come here had run out.
“Some of you have loved ones on the outside. This is your last chance to convince them to cash up and apply to join us. Paper, envelopes and stamps will be available at HQ.”
Whatever Spencer said next was drowned out by uproar.
“Show me a missile, you fuckers,” he said under cover of the noise, “just one and this is all over.”
He disconnected their hands, pressing Rory’s palm onto the muscle of his thigh. Their eyes met. It was only this morning he’d made her come. It was a moment of delirium, still a live culture in his body. It wasn’t who they were to each other but for that one goddamn sunlit-from-the-inside experience.
“We need to know what this means,” she said.
She was talking about the frenzy going on around them.
A new burst of applause met Orrin as he stepped out onto the stage. After the furor it was celebratory, people leaping to their feet, and calls of support. Orrin held his hands out, made a settling motion, wore the kind of smile that said, trust me, you won’t even feel it as I fleece you of everything you hold dear. The guy had charisma and he knew how to work it.
“Orrin Epcot for President.”
“Orrin is our savior.”
“Abundance forever.”
“Amen.”
“We love you, Orrin.”
“Orrin Epcot for jail,” he whispered as Rory stood and dragged him up with her.
She raised her hands and joined the clapping, big smile almost knocking out the determination in her face. “Let’s get this done.”
Before they’d taken their seats, Orrin called the first name. “Cadence Falstaff.” A shock opening. A crowd pleaser. He hadn’t been able to find Cadence’s face in the crowd, but an expectant murmur went up as she stood. She was at least ten tables away and with her eyes down, well beyond his reach.
“Who do you bond with, Cadence?” Orrin asked.
“Not me,” a guy behind them heckled.
“Not in a million,” said another.
“Not if she was the last cold fuck on the road to the decay.”
Orrin could’ve shut that down, called for order, talked about respect. He let the abuse go on, each heckler’s call riffing off the one before it. Zeke ground his teeth. Rory swore. Cadence flushed at the laugher that rang out, tucking her chin down further and gripping the back of her chair.
If he bonded with Susan, he was abandoning Cadence.
“Cadence,” said Orrin. “You know your duty. Choose or a bond mate will be chosen for you.”
“Cadence,” Rory said. “You can’t freeze now.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw a man stand, pushed upright, complaining all the while. Rory shoved his shoulder. “What are you waiting for?”
If Rory bonded with Orrin she’d be right next door to the seat of power and she had her own strategies for keeping his amorous intentions at bay. The thought of her needing to be close to Orrin was intolerable, but she wouldn’t thank him for trying to get in the way of her doing her job.
He’d go a long way to keep Rory from dancing too close to harm. He’d deal with her displeasure. But he wouldn’t risk creating a new life out of deceit or letting Cadence get hurt. If he bonded with Cadence, he was keeping his promise to her, keeping her safe, making an enemy of Susan and fucking with Orrin.
“Cadence bonds with me,” he called, coming to stand, the surprise of it shutting down the hecklers.
There was a shocked silence. The other man who’d stood disappeared. Cadence didn’t raise her eyes. A look of annoyance stamped Orrin’s face.
“You’re new here, Zack Woods. Do you understand the rules for bonding? You can choose anyone who is free to be chosen tonight?”
“Oh shit,” Rory said.
Damned whatever he did. “I understand. I choose Cadence Falstaff.”
There was a rumble of excitement, concern. Hard to tell. Orrin’s displeasure was clear, but then he nodded and called the next name.
“Way to raise the suspense,” Rory said. “Fun party. Kicks off with descriptions of mass destruction and rolls straight over hopes and prayers, and we are the chosen ones into matchmaker roulette.”
He looked at Susan who stared straight back, fury on her face. What kind of an enemy would she be?
Name after name was read. Couples moving off to sign the Origin book. They watched the procedure, sitting side by side in silence, not touching. The way Orrin barely looked at the paper he pulled from the hat, Zeke would bet there were no names written on them, that he was engineering
this from a plan and there was little that was random about it. It wasn’t a leap to see that Orrin had planned a different outcome for him and Cadence. No telling what damage they’d done by not following the script.
There were crowd favorite couples who got cheers when they declared for each other. Susan was not in one of them. She was claimed by a man in a red waistcoat and looked appalled. She’d gambled everything and lost. The other person not pleased about that was Orrin.
“Cadence will be so uptight,” Rory said. They’d both been scanning for her, hoping she’d come back to her seat. “You should go find her.”
The group had thinned quickly. He had no incentive to move. “Orrin wants you to be left here alone. The only person unclaimed.” Another humiliation.
She nodded, bumping her shoulder to his. “Something has changed, escalated. It’s time for me to let him think I’m breaking down.” She bumped his shoulder again, but this time didn’t shift away, turning her face to his. They stared at each other for too long. He pulled away first because there was a tissue-thin veneer of restraint stopping him from gathering her into his arms and holding on to her forever.
“Go, find Cadence and make everyone believe you love each other,” she said.
That might be harder than it sounded.
He’d had more practice pretending not to be in love.
Chapter Twenty
Once Zeke went in search of Cadence, Rory considered abandoning the table, but the brute who’d stopped her taking a walk earlier was watching. She had an inkling that if she tried to leave again, he’d block her and that would be more of a scene.
Maybe she wanted to make a scene.
Oh hell, she wanted to put her head on the table and sob into her arms, because this whole bonding ceremony had been too much. Spencer’s news of the doomsday made Zeke angry and he’d hesitated in claiming Cadence for so long she’d almost claimed the girl herself. He was off-center and that was concerning. He was bonding with Cadence and after an hour of mostly happy couples pairing off, that’d given Rory vertigo. Zeke wasn’t interested in Cadence, apart from saving her from sex and a pregnancy she didn’t want.
He’d have been happier with Susan.
Susan was attractive, she had spark, she was the sort of woman Zeke had fun with, took to bed and then to breakfast. Often. The thought of Zeke having sex with Susan made Rory’s stomach somersault.
For just a moment she rested her face in her hands and took a few deep breaths. This was only an amusement park ride for her and Zeke. Everything about it was artificial, engineered to make you forget which way was up. Designed to make you worry that your best friend in the world might like another woman more than he liked you.
Which was out of order for so many reasons, not least that they both had jobs to do.
Five people, including herself, left. Three left. A big cheer for the final couple who matched. That’s it, she wasn’t sitting there any longer as Orrin’s punchline. She pushed away from the table, knowing there were eyes on her, but staring only at Orrin before she made for the exit.
His door brute stopped her.
“He wants to see you.”
Now it was time for a scene.
“Tell him I’m tired. I’ll stop by tomorrow.”
“Cute.” Brute made a turnaround gesture with a finger thick enough to be a gearstick. “Don’t want to be late for your intention ceremony.”
What fresh twist was this? She picked up a length of her maxi skirt and flashed it about, drawing Brute’s eyes. “I’m really not dressed for intentions.” If he’d caught a glimpse of her shin he’d been lucky. What was Orrin’s intention, other than keeping her starved for company and deprived of making a contribution, until she begged him to bond with her.
“Quit being a smartass,” the brute said.
Presumably Orrin wasn’t going to wait for her to beg.
“I assume people are full of compliments about your winning ways, but frankly, I don’t care for them,” she said stepping around Brute-boy, full-tilt Scarlett O’Hara.
She waited for a hand, a grab and it came; a heavy paw clapped down on her shoulder. “Aw look what you made me do,” he said.
She knew at least three ways to put this man on the ground with a broken bone to deal with. Maybe four. Just knowing she could do it, let off steam with some retaliatory violence was a comfort. The event was breaking up, the band was back on stage and she was no longer of any interest, but it was still too big a scene to create.
“Take your hand off me.”
“I assume people are full of what the fuck about your bad manners. Do as I fucking say.”
She ducked out from under Brute’s hand and faced him. If she put him on his back it would be out of character for Rosie Woods. Likewise if she broke his nose. “Lead on then.”
He was mid stride when she kicked the back of his knee out, yanking on his arm and putting him on his ass. He could yell all he liked. She kept moving as if it had nothing to do with her until she was standing in front of Orrin. He had a circle of admirers around him, three faces she recognized. Spencer, Zeke’s boss, Mike, and Beth. The woman looked straight through her, no ally.
“Ah Rosie,” said Orrin. “What happened to Daniel?”
She shouldn’t have dropped him. That flare of temper, so sudden bright and overwhelming it blocked out all reason was what got her into trouble when she split with Cal. She had to be better than that. And if she let emotion overtake her again she could make a mistake harder to wriggle out of.
She looked back over her shoulder as if surprised by the question and shrugged. “I guess he tripped.” If she was pressed she’d admit to helping him do that. “You wanted to see me.” Her feet wanted to curtsy. It would be in character for Rosie Woods to be flippant, but there was still too much of Rory Archer’s righteous anger in her limbs.
Orrin moved forward, putting distance between the two of them and his posse. “I have a present for you. Give me your hand.”
This would be interesting. She held out her hand and he placed an old iPod nano in it.
“That’s not mine.”
“You said you missed your tech. I thought you might like this.”
Rosie Woods was confused. Rory Archer wasn’t far behind her. “Why are you being kind to me? I don’t understand.” What was his game? Why a present, why this present? Why not her e-reader? Now that she might’ve learned to love him for.
“I want you to be happy here. I know you like to run. I thought you might like music in your ears.”
He knew about her running. On its own that wasn’t a problem, but it proved he was keeping track of her outside of work hours. She’d have to take more care on her nighttime expeditions. And God, if anyone had seen what happened in the barn...
She turned the iPod over. It was metallic pink and pocket-sized, fully charged. “It won’t work without the earbuds.” She held it out to him.
He put his hand in his pants pocket and pulled out a tangle of cords. Rosie Woods reached for them. Rory Archer wanted to wrap them around his neck and pull tight.
He yanked the buds out of her reach. “Why did your brother choose Cadence?”
She was left with her hand raised. “You can ask him.” Which of course was obvious. Orrin was slippery. Stay sharp.
“I’m asking you.”
She slapped her hand to her side. “He likes her. What’s the big deal?”
“Are you telling me the truth, Rosie?”
“You’re not going to give me the buds if I lie to you.”
He laughed and put the buds back in his pocket. “You have to earn them. Did you push Daniel over?”
He’d expect her to dodge responsibility. Better to keep him guessing. “Yes.”
He angled his head, studying her. “You’re a very good liar. The decay, your addiction, taught you that. You don’t need to lie in here. And never lie to me.”
“I took self-defense classes. I can show you.”
“Rosie.” H
e shook his head. He was convinced she was a liar, but he was only concerned he couldn’t pick the lies. “I was hoping you would be ready to integrate by now. I’m disappointed in you. Tonight, I wanted us to make a commitment. In front of my closest friends I wanted to formalize our intention to bond. I see I was wrong to think you were ready for that honor.”
There was a point in every scam when you had to give to get. Here marks the spot. She lowered her chin, changed the pattern of her breathing and spoke to the grass underfoot. “I don’t know what I have to do to get you to let up on me.”
He lifted her chin with a finger. He’d be seeing watery eyes and wobbly lips. “I’m doing this for your own good.”
“You’re punishing me.” She coughed the word punishing out in two parts. Would he buy it? “I’m so lonely and now that Cadence and Zack are bonded I have no one.”
Orrin’s expression was inscrutable. She read that as not shopping. Calculating he wouldn’t buy tears from her either, she wrenched away. Let’s see how rejecting everything he’d built affected him. “I hate you. I hate this place. I want to leave. I want to go back to my old life.”
He had to give her something for this tantrum to work. For the second time tonight, she needed a man to touch her. This time she’d make herself melt into his arms.
“I don’t think you hate me. I think you’re lost.”
She sagged, letting her knees go soft, her shoulders fall forward. Orrin stepped closer. “I think I’m the only one who can help you, but you have to stop fighting me and let me love you.”
“You love me?” she said, with truly award-winning pathos.
“I love your fire and your passion. You’re a beautiful woman. I will love a new life into you and you won’t be lonely anymore.”
Now that was slick. It was also nauseating. To her own ears her mock gasp sounded like gagging, but Orrin read it as capitulation. He drew her into his body, holding her carefully at first as if she were a skittish child and when she didn’t fight it, he hugged her like a man who was thinking about how quickly he’d have his conquest naked.
She’d had a lot of uncomfortable hugs like this in the service of greater ambitions. They were usually the moment she knew she was going to clean out her conquest’s bank account. With Orrin, the hug was just the beginning of a more tangled dance where she got close enough to him to learn how to bring him down, but not close enough to ever give him what he wanted.
The Mysterious Stranger (The Confidence Game Book 3) Page 18