Smoke (Smoke Series Book 1)

by Mariah Esterly

  “Gertie,” he breathed, reaching out pulling her close with gentle hands on her shoulders. Suddenly, his lips were on hers. She didn’t move at first. But when he tried to deepen the kiss she pulled back, pushed on his chest.

  “No! Liam, no.” He dropped his hands and she backed away from him. “I’m going. Don’t follow me.”

  She continued down the hall to the stairs. Glancing over her shoulder to see him standing in the hall watching her go, she pushed the door open. She felt bad about lying to Liam about where she was going. With any luck, he would report that she was going to Section 5 and she and Vail would be able to slip out of the city unnoticed.

  Now that she was mobile, the tightness in her muscles loosened and she was able to move quicker, descending the stairs rapidly and only wincing every once in a while. It felt good to be active again after days of being in bed. Though by the time she reached the bottom of the stairwell, her legs felt far too shaky.

  The night air was chilly as she stepped into the parking garage. She found the nearest exit and turned right, starting down the street. Vail stepped out of an alley as she passed, once again visible. His face was taut with anger.

  Gertie paused at seeing him, but then continued down the street. The more distance they put between the hospital and them the better. And she was worried if she stopped moving, she wouldn’t be able to start again.

  “What did you and Liam talk about?” Vail fell into step beside her, his hands tucked into the pockets of his black jacket.

  “What?” She gave him a sidelong glance, not turning her head. His jaw was tight.

  “You seemed to be having a cozy little chat. What was it about?”

  “You were watching?” Gertie kept moving, trying not to rise to the bait. “He wanted to make sure I got home safe. I told him no.”

  “Really. Nothing else was said?”

  Why was he so defensive about this? She sighed, “no, that was pretty much it.”

  “You didn’t kiss him?”

  She still didn’t stop, forcing him to continue forward. “No, I didn’t kiss him. He kissed me.”

  He grabbed her arm, but dropped it when she let out an involuntary gasp. “Gertie-”

  She turned to him angrily, cutting him off. “Really, Vail? You want to talk about this right now? Fine! Let’s talk about this right now. Not so long ago I thought about Liam, a lot. He was nice to me when I was away from my family, and I thought ‘He seems like a good guy and he’s attractive, why not?’ A girl from 5th can do a lot worse than a captain of the guard that works at a checkpoint. I imagined marrying him. I imagined having sex with him, and the children that we would have.” Vail flinched. “But that was before, okay? Now can we just drop it?” She started forward again, but stopped when he lightly gripped her elbow.

  He pulled her closer. “Before? Before what?” She didn’t look at him, instead she stared at his chest. “Freckles?”

  “That was before I met you, okay?” The words exploded out of her mouth before she could stop them. She didn’t have to look at his face to know that a grin was spreading across it. She balled up her fist and punched him in the shoulder. “Can we go now?”

  His hands came up and held her clenched fist against him, she could feel the beat of his heart through the fabric of his black canvas jacket. “Are you saying you like me, Freckles?”

  “Oh, God, you’re the worst.” She pulled away and started down the street again. He followed, staying visible.

  They moved through the district as fast as Gertie could go, which admittedly wasn’t very fast. Her ribs ached, restricting her breathing. Vail walked beside her, his hand on the small of her back, urging her forward.

  Gertie could just make out the line of trees that hid the wall to the outside world ahead of them. “Almost there,” Vail murmured, urging her faster.

  Gertie nodded, unable to respond, stumbling over her own feet.

  There came a loud pop from behind them and the pavement on Gertie’s right exploded into tiny fragments. Vail swore and pulled her forward then to the right and down an alley. More pops followed them, hitting the buildings and ground as they ran.

  Vail pushed her behind a dumpster.

  “Are they shooting at us?” she gasped as he pressed her against the wall, protecting her with his body.

  He nodded. “We can’t stay here.” He glanced around as if trying to come up with a plan. Gertie stared up at him, seeing the cogs working. Finally, he gave one sharp nod. “Okay, you count to fifteen and then run down the alley. Stay close to the wall, down the alley to the right, and head for the trees. Got it?”

  She nodded. “What are you gonna do?” She knew without asking and began shaking her head. “No, Vail, no. Don’t leave me.” She gripped his coat. “Please, don’t leave me. I can’t do it alone.”

  He wrapped his hands around hers, disentangled her fingers. “I have to go. It’s your best shot. You can do this.” She continued to move her head back and forth. “Yes, you can. Listen to me, Freckles. You’re a lot stronger than you think you are. You can do this. I’ll meet you in the trees. We’ll go through the fence together. I promise.”

  “You didn’t keep your other promise,” she whispered.

  He grinned. “I will.” And then he was gone.

  Gertie let out a small cry, feeling him leave her. Taking a deep breath, she started counting. When she reached fifteen she darted down the alley hugging the wall, as Vail had told her to do. She pushed through the pain, running flat out, the rubber soles of her sneakers pounding on the pavement. The sounds of gunshots followed her, but as she reached the end of the alley, they ceased. She risked a glance behind her to see three guards grappling with an unseen force.

  She turned the corner and started toward the trees.

  38

  Vail

  Vail hated being separated from Gertie, after over a week of not seeing her, he was loath to let her out of his sight even for a minute. She was looking at him with such desperation, begging him not to leave her that he almost relented. But there wasn’t a way around it. She was injured and needed time to make it to the relative safety of the trees.

  So, he left her. Going invisible and moving on silent feet around the dumpster and closer to the guards at the end of the alley. He counted to fifteen as he stalked toward them. The guards kept their guns trained on the dumpster as they cautiously inched down the alley, waiting for any movement.

  Vail crept closer until he was able to make out the heavy, nervous breathing of the men.

  One of them fired his weapon and Vail knew that Gertie was making her away down the alley. He grabbed the nearest gun with his right hand forced it to the guard next to him while he slammed his left elbow into the face of the man holding the firearm, making blood spout from his broken nose. The guard dropped the gun in surprise and pain. Vail pulled the trigger. One of the guards collapsed to the ground.

  He turned the gun on the third man, but wasn’t fast enough. Pain seared through him as a bullet grazed his upper arm. He pulled the trigger again, and the second guard fell. Arms wrapped around him from behind. Vail dropped the gun, and grabbed the wrists of the man holding him, twisting them in a way that he knew would be painful, but the man held firm.

  Vail struggled forward until he was close enough to a building to brace his legs on it and push back. The guard stumbled backward thrown off balance. He struggled to stay on his feet, but lost the battle and fell. Vail was up in an instant, grabbing the gun from the ground and firing one more time.

  The weapon clattered to the ground as he took off down the alley, following Gertie into the trees.

  It took him longer to find her then he would have liked. She was huddled under a log, peeking out occasionally. He went visible and crept forward, cautiously, just making out the glint of her pale skin in the dark. “Freckles?”

  She was out from under the log and in his arms faster than he would have thought possible, considering how gingerly she’d been walking earlier.
He held her close careful not to squeeze her too hard, remembering the dark bruises he’d seen covering her body. His jaw tightened. He would find whoever had done that to her, and make them wish they had never set eyes on her.

  Gertie buried her head in his chest, taking a deep shuddering breath before pulling back. Her eyes narrowed at the dark stain spreading down his arm. “You’re hurt.”

  He couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his lips. He could hardly feel the wound any longer, adrenaline keeping the stinging pain at bay. “You’re hurt, too.”

  She shook her head, “but I wasn’t shot.”

  He shrugged, “Well, it’ll have to wait until we’re safely on the other side of the wall.”

  She took his hand and pulled him toward the large cement structure that encircled the entirety of their city. “Which way?” He nodded in the direction and Gertie tugged him along behind her, her honey hair swaying over her back with each step.

  “They should be meeting us.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at him as she asked, “who?”

  “Dicie and Graves.”

  Her fingers tightened on his. “Where are we going?”

  “To a safe house.” He didn’t elaborate. She wouldn’t know the location anyway. He only knew where it was because he’d spent days looking at the map of the area. She seemed to accept his explanation and continued down the wall.

  A tingling at the back of his neck followed by the crack of a stick breaking warned Vail of what was going to happen next. “Gertie, run!”

  A gunshot rang out behind them. She lunged forward, letting go of his hand to be able to move faster. Vail could hear footsteps pounding behind them. Gertie wasn’t going fast enough. He could have easily bypassed her, lead the way down the wall, but he didn’t want to risk that she might be hit by a bullet if she was behind him. “Gertie, you have to move.”

  “It hurts,” she gasped out, stumbling over a root. He caught her by her elbow to keep her from falling and urged her onward. She was taking huge, painful sounding breaths.

  “Gertie, stop!” A voice called from behind them. Vail knew that voice. It belonged to a man whose face he’d imagined slamming his fist into countless times. In front of him, Gertie faltered, slipping on moss damp from a recent rain.

  “Don’t stop,” Vail pressed. “Keep going.”

  “Gertie, please, I won’t shoot you. But I will shoot him.”

  Gertie slid to a stop, clutching her side and breathing hard. Vail pulled up short but, caught off guard by her sudden lack of motion, still ran into her. She cried out in pain, as Vail gripped her shoulders to keep her from falling. “Don’t hurt her,” Liam yelled.

  Vail spun and faced him, biting back a humorless laugh. Liam approached them cautiously through the trees, weapon raised and pointed at Vail’s chest. Gertie was bent over behind him, taking deep breaths.

  “I swear to God, if you hurt her, I will shoot you.”

  At that Vail did laugh. The very idea that he would do anything to hurt her was hilarious. “Are you an idiot?”

  He could feel Gertie grasping at his waist, still trying to catch her breath. “You’re the idiot,” Liam threw back. “Why do you think she’s breathing so hard? She has broken ribs.”

  Vail did his best not to turn to look at Gertie. Dr. Bailey hadn’t told him that when she’d reported Gertie’s location and status to him. Or maybe she had, but Vail had been too focused on getting to Gertie that he hadn’t heard her.

  Gertie was standing up straight behind him, her hands on his shoulders, peeking around him to Liam. “Both of you are idiots.” She snapped, stepping to Vail’s left. He moved with her, keeping her behind him. “Stop it, Vail. Let me talk to him. He’s not going to hurt me.” Her breath was still wheezy, whistling in and out of her lungs in a way that must have been painful. She took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “I know he won’t,” she said gently.

  Everything in his body screaming not to, Vail stepped to the side and let Gertie move in front of him, between Liam’s gun and himself. She held out her hands in supplication. “Please, Liam, let us go.”

  The captain shook his head. “I can’t. He’s an enemy of the state. Even if he wasn’t behind your kidnapping he’s still an Extra.”

  Gertie sighed. “Yes, he is. And so am I.” Vail’s stomach dropped at her words. She shouldn’t have told him that. Now he would have a reason to shoot them both. Liam’s face became a mask of disbelief, but his pistol never wavered.

  “No, you’re not.” He denied. “You’re just saying that to protect him.”

  Gertie shook her head, sending her honey hair shivering over her shoulders. “No, I’m not. I just discovered it recently. Very recently. Vail has been helping me to… understand what my capabilities.”

  The gun in Liam’s hand was steady. “Show me.”

  “What?”

  “Show me your ability. If you say you have one, I want to see it.”

  Vail shook his head. “No, you really don’t. Trust me.”

  “Shut up!” He spat out. “I want to see it.”

  Gertie seemed to consider. She was silent for a long while, her head moving back in forth like she was following a conversation that neither of them could hear. After a while, she shook her head. “She’s threatening to kill you if I let her out.” She glanced over her shoulder at Vail. “Both of you.”

  “She?”

  Gertie took a deep breath, making her shoulders raise. “I have a shade.”

  “Gertie!” Vail hissed.

  She spun around and glared at him, her black eyes intense. “You want him to let us go? He needs to know the truth. I’m tired of lying.” Her voice was a plea, begging him to understand what she felt she needed to do. She would tell Liam whether he approved or not, better to let her think he supported her. Hesitantly, he nodded his head once.

  She turned her back to Liam. “I have a shade. I didn’t know about it until right before I was kidnapped. That same day, actually. But she made herself known a few weeks before that, when three men attacked me in my apartment. I woke up... covered in their blood and Vail helped me. He took me to a safe place.”

  Vail could see the gears in Liam’s head working, putting together the pieces of the puzzle. “If you have a shade, that means that you’re…”

  Gertie nodded, but didn’t finished the sentence, so Vail finished it for him. “A St. Clare.”

  Liam shook his head slowly, trying to take in all that he’d learned. Vail felt a little sorry for the guy. “The government was watching her too.” He offered. “We took that as a sign that they suspected who she really is.” The gun pointed at them wavered, but didn’t drop. “And the reason we are trying to get her out of the city is to keep her safe. We received word that they were planning on taking her into custody on suspicion of being an Extra.”

  Gertie glanced over at him in surprise. “You didn’t tell me that.”

  He gave her a wry smile. “We didn’t really have time.”

  The sounds of shouts reached their ears, though they were still far away, they would no doubt find them soon. Gertie’s head swung back to Liam. “Please,” she whispered, taking a step toward him. “Please, let us go.” The gun didn’t drop. She took another step, and another, until the muzzle pressed against her chest. Vail clenched his fists at his sides to keep from grabbing Gertie and pulling her behind him, to protect her. His heart was beating too loud in his chest, drowning out whatever words she was murmuring to the man holding a gun to her breast. He closed his eyes for a moment, imagining what he would do if Liam pulled the trigger and Gertie fell. The only thing he could think of was blood red rage.

  The gunshot never came. Gertie cautiously raised her hand and wrapped it around Liam’s, pointing the gun down. The captain let out a shaking breath, then glanced over Gertie’s shoulder at Vail. “You’ll need to hit me.”

  A grin of anticipation spread over his face. How many times had he imagined doing just that? “With pleasure.”
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  Gertie stood on her tiptoes and brushed her lips over Liam’s cheek, while wrapping her arms around him. He returned her embrace, dropping his head to her shoulder. “Thank you,” she whispered, before letting him go and stepping away.

  Vail was already there. As soon as Gertie was out of the way, he swung his fist, catching Liam in the temple. The guard crumpled to the ground.

  Gertie cried out, dropping down to make sure Liam was still breathing. She glared at Vail. “You didn’t have to hit him so hard.”

  Vail shrugged, shaking his hand to release some of the pain. “Yes, I did.” He took her arm and pulled her to her feet, began tugging her along the wall. “Trust me, if he was conscious when they found him, he would be in big trouble.” He tugged her along. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d broken your ribs?”

  She shrugged and winced. “It didn’t seem to matter at the time.”

  They reached a point in the wall that was heavily covered in foliage. Ivy climbed up the concrete to the top of the wall, where it spread out to drip down the other side. Vail plunged his hands into the depths of the leaves, feeling for an opening that Atkins had sworn would be there. His fingers brushed against the hard stone, and then air. “Here.”

  The space was small only about a foot wide, they’d have to go through sideways. Vail pulled Gertie forward, and placed her hand in the open space. “You go through first.” She nodded and disappeared into the hole in the wall. Vail followed taking the time to fluff the ivy out again so that it fell in what he hoped was a natural way over the hole. No doubt the guards would find it, but there was no need to make it easy for them.

  Gertie was waiting for him on the other side of the wall, examining the world outside the city. Well, as much as she could in the dark. She glanced over her shoulder as Vail came through to join her. “Where to now?”