Boom’s soldier stepped in front of Connor.
Connor grunted and turned toward Boom. “Do you really think he’s gonna stop me?”
Boom frowned. “Without Jeff, she never would have made it here. Don’t you think you should hear him out before you pass judgment?”
Connor didn’t want to hear anyone out. He wanted to throw punches. His hands balled into fists and ached for the chance to swing at Jeff’s face. With one swing, Connor could break Jeff’s nose and maybe knock out a few teeth. “Without his interference, your men probably would have found her, and she could have gotten medical attention much sooner,” Connor replied.
“Possibly.” Boom’s eyes narrowed. “It doesn’t matter. Do not touch him. Not in my camp.”
Connor closed his mouth against all the retorts that formed on his tongue. Nothing good would come of him dressing down Boom in front of his men. Instead he studied Jeff who was watching Liberty.
Boom sent the lingering soldiers back to digging graves and kneeled beside the medic to lend a hand. Ashley released her protective hold on Jeff and sat next to Liberty. The girl tucked her small hand into Liberty’s and begged her to wake up.
Connor scooted closer to Jeff and asked, “You know they’re going to question you, right?” When Jeff didn’t answer he added, “Your father will flag you as a traitor.”
Jeff nodded. “I’m sure there’s already a price on my head.”
“These soldiers will never fully trust you.” Connor nodded to Boom’s company.
Jeff didn’t respond.
“So why’d you do it? Why risk your life to save her?”
“My father is a very sick man,” Jeff admitted. “Liberty, she’s … she doesn’t deserve to die like that.”
Neither of them had to voice the horror that would have happened to Liberty in the major’s camp. Connor watched her, willing her to wake up. Dried blood ran from her lip to her neck. She had one black eye and multiple bruises covering her arms. Connor was more worried about the wounds they couldn’t see though, knowing her ribs would have to be checked out and hoping there was no internal bleeding.
“Well, thank you,” Connor said after a time.
Jeff chuckled. “No offense, but I didn’t do it for you.”
The medic brought out a small vial of ammonium carbonate, uncorked it, and held the container under Liberty’s nose. Her bright green eyes opened and Connor released a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.
Liberty glanced from Boom to the medic, looking agitated and confused. Her brows knit together as she pushed her upper body off the ground, coming to a sitting position. She groaned and put her head in her hands.
Connor fell to his knees beside her, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder. “Easy.” He wanted to scoop her in his arms and rush her to be fitted for a helmet and full body armor.
Liberty tensed at his touch. She turned toward Connor and her eyes narrowed into hard slits. “You! You!” She lunged at him, swinging. Then she winced and held her head. “You lying, backstabbing, abandoning, tail-chasing, lousy excuse for a human being!”
Jeff laughed. “At least there’s nothing wrong with her memory.”
Connor glared at him.
“Do you have any idea what you did to Ashley?” Liberty continued. “Do you even care? Do you—” Liberty’s eyes widened. “Wait, where is Ash?”
Ashley’s voice cracked when she answered, “Right here.”
Liberty stopped in the middle of her rant to embrace the girl. They held each other and cried. Then Liberty pushed Ashley out to an arm’s length so she could check her over. “You’re not hurt, are you?” she asked.
“Me?” Ashley replied. “You’re the one who’s been hurt.” Then she recapped what she remembered of their experience, concluding with Liberty waking up.
“Jeff brought me?” Liberty asked. She craned her neck, until she found him standing behind her. “Thank you,” she said with a smile.
He blushed, nodded, and stared at the ground.
Connor once again wanted to hit Jeff. A hand appeared on his shoulder and he turned to find Boom’s frowning face.
“I could use some help.” Boom gestured toward the bodies.
Connor nodded and reluctantly followed the commander. Boom wandered from corpse to corpse, muttering his customary prayers over the deceased. He picked up a handful of dirt and scattered it above the dead as Connor looked on. Lifeless faces of Progression boys stared back at him; most too young to shave.
“Are they all this young?” he asked.
“Not all, but most,” Boom replied. “The young are easier to inspire—easier to manipulate. That’s why we shut down the Progression before. Why we voted against the MTCT in the first place.” He shook his head and crossed himself. “Deadly children.” Spreading more dust over their bodies he muttered the final words. “Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust.”
The tangy scent of blood started to fade as bodies cooled and the essence of life dissipated. Soon they’d be stiff with rigor mortis, followed by a rapid decay. After a while, nothing would be left of these children but bones. They’d never play ball nor date girls. Their lives had been centered around training, killing, and death. It was a sad, stark realization. Connor stared down into the empty brown eyes of a slim, young boy and felt despair. “There has to be a way to save them,” he said.
“Conman, they recruit, and they kill whoever they can’t recruit.” He motioned to his gun. “This is the only thing they understand.”
“But maybe—” Connor’s mind raced, suggesting, disqualifying, and dismissing ideas.
“No.” Boom was suddenly in his face.
Connor bristled at the challenge. “But what about this grace you’re always talking about? Are children not worthy of grace?”
The side of Boom’s mouth turned up into a lopsided smile. “I mean no, you don’t get to talk strategy, civilian.” He practically spat the last word. “Unless, of course, you’re ready to give up on this retirement nonsense?”
Connor studied the young bodies stiffening at his feet. Soldiers came and pushed them into the trench that served as a mass grave. Boom moved on to pray over the next bunch.
“To do what—kill children?” Connor asked, walking behind his friend.
Boom sighed. “Those beyond our help must be destroyed. They cannot be allowed to ravage this country. We must uphold the laws. But those we can help, we will.” Boom stopped and released more dust over bodies, muttering. Then he turned to Connor.“You’re not the same man I once knew. You’ve changed.”
Connor chuckled. It seemed like such a bizarre assessment. The whole world had fallen apart, yet Boom was surprised to see that he had been altered by it?
“And what of Liberty?” Boom asked. “Who is she? Where did she come from? I never thought I’d see the day a woman took down the great Conman. Bah. Legend indeed!”
Without thinking, Connor’s eyes sought Liberty. He watched as she ran her fingers through Ashley’s hair, comforting the girl. Jeff stood entirely too close to them, like some stoic royal guard, waiting to throw his life in front of a bullet to protect them.
Boom chuckled. “There. I see the way you look at her. Even now.”
Connor tried to look away, but he couldn’t. He wanted to be beside her. “I don’t know what happened,” he admitted with a shrug. “One minute Ashley hated me and I wanted to strangle Liberty, then next thing I knew, they’re my entire world. I was taking them to Canada.”
“Why Canada?”
“Liberty has a friend there, and was hoping that things would be different north of the border.”
Boom shook his head and chuckled. “You were fleeing to Canada?”
Connor held up his hands in surrender. “Guilty as charged, but could you make it sound a little less cowardly?”
Boom laughed. Then he quieted when his eyes landed on Jeff. “Who is he? I heard what you said to him.”
“Jeff?” Connor’s eyes narrowed. “It app
ears he’s the son of the Progression major whose camp you just destroyed.”
Boom nodded. “That explains your hostility. What’s he doing here?”
Sitting entirely too close to Liberty, Connor thought. Instead of voicing that concern, he admitted that he didn’t know.
“Your Liberty.” Boom nodded in her direction. “Do not underestimate her role.” He watched as Liberty and Jeff talked.
“What role?” Connor watched as Liberty’s smile infected the soldiers who kept creeping closer to her. “She’s not military. This life isn’t for her, Boom.”
Boom smiled. “Look at her. What do you see?”
“A woman?” Connor asked.
“No,” Boom replied. “Look harder. She is so much more than that.”
Connor looked around and noticed the way that several soldiers leaned in to listen as Liberty spoke. Even though the night was dark, something about her glowed. Everyone around her seemed drawn to her. Connor had to contain himself from going to her.
Boom chuckled. “Now you see it. Liberty has been commissioned by a higher authority. If you truly love her, tell her. She will need you in the days to come. Don’t let her walk this road alone.”
Connor turned to ask Boom what he meant, but his friend was walking away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
ASHLEY, JEFF, AND I were sitting on the ground talking when Connor approached with the man Ashley pointed out as the leader of the camp.
“Liberty,” the man said by way of greeting. He extended his hand to me, and when I grasped it, he hefted me to my feet. “My name is Commander Ortega, but my friends call me Boom.” His dark eyes sparkled and small laugh lines had been etched into the sides of his mouth. His touch was firm but gentle, and he seemed authentic and kind. I liked him instantly.
“Thank you.” I brushed the dirt from the seat of my pants and helped Ashley up. “My friends call me Libby.”
When Boom smiled his whole face lit up. “Connor has told me much about you.”
I narrowed my eyes at the referenced slime-ball, and he raised his hands defensively.
Boom chuckled. “No, all good, I assure you.”
My eyes returned to Boom’s smile. “I hear you’re quite the orator, Boom.”
His smile shifted toward Ashley. “Have you been telling tales on me, Ms. Ashley?”
She shook her head. “No, it was Jeff. He heard you speaking before he rode into the camp.”
“Oh?” Boom extended his hand to my other companion. “And you—you must be Jeff.”
Jeff shook Boom’s hand. “Y-Yes, Commander. Jeff Thompson.” He looked around nervously, as if waiting for someone to pounce on him because of the revelation.
“Where do you stand, Thompson?” Boom asked. “Do you intend to join us?”
“What?” Jeff stared at Boom. “But my father is—”
Boom shook his head. “The son is not responsible for the actions of the father. I’m asking who you will become.”
Jeff’s forehead creased. “You would let me join you?”
Boom took a step back. “You have proven your courage, and we always have need of that. Walk with me a moment. I believe we have much to discuss.”
Jeff glanced at me and I smiled and squeezed his arm. “You can change who you are,” I said. “You just need a little help sometimes.”
The next thing I knew, Jeff had his arms wrapped around me in a loose hug, showing obvious consideration for my poor ribs. “Thank you,” he whispered into my ear. Then he released me and followed Boom.
Connor and Ashley shared a look and she threw her arms up in the air.
“I know, I know,” she said. Then she hugged me. “You two need to talk. I want to go pet the horses, anyway.” She jumped at Connor and he caught her midair and pulled her into a hug, spinning around twice. Then he kissed the top of her head and put her down. As she scampered to where the horses were being stabled, he called after her to be careful.
I watched them, seeing a man and his daughter for the first time. “You told her, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “We finally had that talk.”
“I’m glad,” I wasn’t really, though. Now they had this happy little family that I had no place in. I wondered where Gina was, and why she wasn’t here sharing in their moment. Connor had left us. He’d abandoned us and ran off with some hoochie and had gotten off scot-free. Maybe Ashley had forgiven him, but I couldn’t yet. “I hope it all works out for you guys.”
I turned to leave but Connor grabbed my arm. “We need to talk.”
“No.” I frowned. “We really don’t.” My heart hurt too much for words. Connor had led me on and I had been foolish enough to buy every ounce of false affection he sold me. Any ‘let’s be friends’ speech he was preparing to bless me with would only make my misjudgment more painful.
“Please?” Connor’s eyebrows rose.
I pulled away from him and crossed my arms. “We don’t have anything to talk about. I get it. I really do. I knew who you were from the beginning and I was stupid to …”
“You don’t know me at all,” Connor replied. “You think you have it all figured out, but you know nothing. And now you won’t even let me set the record straight? That’s pretty closed-minded and judgmental, don’t you think?”
Sometimes I hated Connor. Especially when he was right. “Fine. Talk,” I said.
“Not here.” He grabbed my hand and led me away from the camp, to the edge of the trees. The forest around us had recovered from the battle. Crickets and frogs started singing from the river and a pair of owls hooted as the moon crested trees.
Connor stopped walking and turned toward me.
I pulled my hand free from his grasp and gently leaned against the trunk of a large evergreen, trying to play off cool and standoffish, while my mind and body were a bruised and battered mess. Connor’s beard had almost fully filled in, giving him a ruggedly-handsome look that worked for him. Too well, in fact. But I stared into his dark eyes and remembered the way he had cast me aside for Gina. Why are the cute ones always weasels?
And Connor was definitely cute. The firelight played on his features. Expression thoughtful as his dark eyes watched me. It hurt so much to be this close to him. My mind kept drifting back to the times he’d held and comforted me. To distract myself, I started picking at the tree bark. Lying, manipulative, skirt-chasing jerk. I felt my resolve fortify around the thoughts. Dang you for making me believe … for making me even consider you. Never again. I’m done. So done. Please just let me go away. I still have Michelle and Canada. The thought was incredibly liberating, reminding me that I was free to come and go as I pleased. I didn’t need Connor’s permission. I could leave.
But what about Ashley? My heart sunk.
Connor continued to watch me. His top lip was barely visible under the shadows of his mustache. As he pursed his lips together, stupidity and desperation made me want to kiss him again. The first kiss was a fond memory and I wondered if the second would bind me or set me free.
“I can almost see your thoughts,” Connor said.
I startled and felt my cheeks heat at that idea. After allowing myself to be thoroughly embarrassed for an ample amount of time, I channeled the awkward tension between us into anger.
“If only you could see my thoughts,” I replied. “Or any thoughts, for that matter. Probably difficult to see anything past Gina’s fake—” I paused and shook my head. “Where is she anyway?”
“Gina?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowed. “Libby, nothing about that was real. I was just using her to find out who they were and what they wanted. She’s the daughter of the Progression major and she’s just as much of a sociopath as he is. I wouldn’t touch her with a ten foot pole.”
“Really?” I asked. “Because you were doing a whole bunch of touching before you pulled that disappearing act together.”
Connor rubbed his temple. “Again, I was pumping her for information.”
“Pumping her?” I asked. “N
ice choice of words. I bet you were.”
“Is there anything I can say that you won’t twist around to your own purpose?” he asked.
I thought about it for a moment then replied, “Probably not. Therefore, this whole conversation is a complete waste of time. We should call it quits before it comes to blows.” I took a step toward the camp, but he grabbed my arm.
I winced. My body was a minefield of bruises and Connor’s hand was too large to avoid them.
“Sorry.” He quickly released my arm. “Would you just listen? Please?”
I glared at him and leaned my head back against the tree.
He shuffled his feet then said, “You’ve been judging me since you first laid eyes on me. Well, you know what? I’m sick of balancing on your scale. Would it kill you to give me a chance for once?”
He was crazy. I’d given him lots of chances and he’d blown every one of them. Still, I didn’t want to seem unreasonable, so I uncrossed my arms and replied, “Listening.”
He took a step closer. “I screwed up. Big time. But I never betrayed you guys.”
I snorted. “Really? ’Cause—”
His finger pressed against my lips, cutting me off. “You said you were listening. Look, I knew we were in trouble, but I thought I could handle the situation.”
I pushed his hand away. “Situation? You mean Gina? Because it looked like you were handling her just fine. I’m pretty sure you didn’t even mind. That’s okay. I get it. I was … what? Pre-season, preparing you for the real game?”
“No—”
“The appetizer before the main course?”
“Lib—”
“But it’s my fault.” I continued. “Because I did give you a chance. I dared to think that you could be different than every other man in my life. I wanted to believe that I could have feelings for you and you would return them.” My eyes stung, but I refused to knuckle them in front of Connor. He didn’t deserve to know how he affected me. “I should have listened to my gut, but none of that matters anyway. How could you do that to Ash—”
“Shh.” He put his hand on the tree above my head and leaned into it, invading my personal space. “Can I talk now?”
Rescuing Liberty: Perseverance Book 1 Page 22