“Does everyone in the president’s family have guards?”
“Yes.” Jack rubbed the back of his neck and returned his gaze to the world outside the window. I went and stood beside him, peering through the sheer curtain at the arriving soldiers. There were two—one assumed a position in the front of the house while the other one walked around back. “I had no idea Holt was already out here. All the dinners and meetings I’ve had with that man! The conferences with the other families! How did he keep this a secret?”
He was almost yelling, his voice laced with panic. It scared me to think Jack might lose it. He was the one that always held me together.
“We need to take a deep breath and try to think clearly.”
He continued as if I had never spoken. “You know, I actually believed there was a project that had soldiers testing radiation levels. I thought it was all part of the plan to reintroduce people to a post-nuclear Earth.”
“Jack!” I said sharply to get his attention. “We need to figure out what to do.”
He gave me an apologetic look and pulled me against him. I could feel the tension in his body—it echoed my own—yet the warm contact felt reassuring. It was the closest I had felt to being safe all day. I leaned my head on his shoulder.
“I think I do have a plan,” he said. “If I can get the communication system working, we won’t need to find a way back in. I should be able to get a message to the Alliance and they can fight their way out. But it means I need to stay here and keep up the pretense.”
I lifted my head from his shoulder to look at him. Had he lost his mind? “We can’t stay here. They’ll kill us as soon as they find out we’re wanted.”
“It’s a risk,” he agreed. “And mine to take. You’re out of here.”
“Excuse me?” I said, pushing away from him. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“It doesn’t take both of us to send a message.”
“So are you suggesting I just leave? Walk out the front door, wave goodbye to your security, and keep on going?”
“No! I mean yes.” He stepped away from me and rubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes. “I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out.”
I had never seen Jack this upset or confused. Only moments ago he had seemed so calm and collected in the company of the bourge.
“Jack, you know I can’t leave. I came out here with the heir and they’ll notice if I suddenly go missing.” Picking up his hand, I laced my fingers through his. “Besides, you and I are a team. I don’t want us to split up. We’re in this together.”
He directed his intense blue eyes at mine. “The second I get that message through, we’re both out of here.”
I nodded.
He pulled me back against him. “But, you know what it means to stay, right?”
“That we might be caught and executed?”
“And?”
“And? What?”
“We’re not equals like we were in the Pit.” I wanted to tell him we weren’t equals in the Pit either. Jack was a bourge; I was not. “Do you know how to be a, um, mistress?”
I pushed back a little to look at him. “I have no idea.”
“I’m not too sure myself. My family is against that practice. I can only go by what I’ve seen at social functions.”
“We got through the wedding together, right? We’ll play our parts now the same as we did then.”
A knock came at the door, startling us.
“Who is it?” Jack called out.
“Supply. I have the clothes you ordered.”
Jack left me and opened the door. A young soldier stood holding a large suitcase in either hand. He crossed the threshold into the living room, heaving with the exertion of carrying the enormous luggage. With great care so as not to drop them, he placed the suitcases on the floor.
“Will there be anything else?”
“That’s it. Thanks.” Jack dismissed him. The soldier saluted and left.
Jack closed the door and double-checked the lock.
“We’re going to have to get through dinner,” he said, coming to stand in front of me.
“I know. Don’t worry about me.”
He raised his hand and tucked my hair behind my ear, concentrating more on the task than on me. “You better get showered and dressed. We’ll have to go soon.”
I didn’t want to leave him to go have a shower. He was too upset.
“Are you going to be okay?”
At my question, he looked me in the eyes. I saw the worry hidden there before he pasted a smile on his face.
“I’m fine. It’s just going to be a stressful night for both of us.” He pulled me in for a quick kiss. “We need to get ready.”
“Any idea where the shower might be?” I asked, looking around the house. There were two hallways to choose from or I could climb the stairs to the second level.
“I don’t know.”
The house was enormous. A fireplace dominated the main room and behind it we were surprised to find a kitchen. Not like the big kitchens where Summer and I worked. These were smaller, family-sized kitchens, like in the movies.
“Look at this place,” Jack said appreciatively.
I gave him a sidelong glance. “Don’t get any ideas about me doing the cooking. I don’t know how.”
We continued to explore the main level until we found a bedroom that was bigger than the two-room dwelling I grew up in. The bed was so large I was sure it could fit an entire family. Adjacent to this room we found the bath, well stocked with fluffy towels, soap and shampoo.
“I could get used to living here,” Jack said.
I felt intimated by all the luxury and space—like a stranger who didn’t belong.
“For such a big house, I’m surprised there’s only one bedroom,” I said.
Jack raised his eyebrows. “We need more than one?”
The heat of a blush crept across my cheeks. We had almost made love on our last morning in the Pit, and planned to go back and finish what we started, but we never dreamed the events of that day would lead us outside of the Dome.
I smiled. “No, we don’t.”
He returned my smile, but the strain showing in his face prevented it from reaching his eyes. It worried me. I held my hand out to him and he took it.
“We’ve come this far, Jack. We’ll get through this too.”
He nodded. “Go get your shower.”
The shower was a lot like the one in Leisel’s apartment, so I turned it on and stripped off my dirty clothes. At the sight of myself in the mirror, I almost laughed. The skin exposed to the sun had turned bright pink, leaving behind the outline of my t-shirt. I turned sideways to see the bruise on my back. It was several different shades of purple and black.
I stepped into the spray and nearly screamed when the hot water hit my pink skin. Jumping out of the hot stream, I grabbed the faucet with both hands and turned it toward the cold setting. The cooler water felt better, but within seconds I was shivering. I finished my shower as quickly as I could and gently dabbed my sensitive skin dry.
Wrapping the big towel around myself, I left the bathroom in search of clean clothes. Jack was in the bedroom investigating a vent.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Looking for cameras or listening devices. I never even thought of it when we first came in. I haven’t found anything.”
He had brought the suitcases into the room. I rummaged through the survival pack for something that might help my sunburn and found a lotion for skin irritations. I looked up to see him staring at me wide-eyed.
“What happened to you? Is that from radiation?”
“Doc told me it’s a sunburn,” I said. I went over and looked at his arms. They were pink as well. “You have one, too.”
“I do not.”
“Take off your shirt.” He pulled it over his head, revealing an outline of his t-shirt. I touched the pink skin on his upper arm.
“Ow!” he exclaimed. “What did you do?”
“Nothing. I just touched you. It stings because it’s a burn. Haven’t you noticed everyone out here has darker skin?”
“Are you wearing anything under that towel?”
“You can think of that at a time like this?”
He tried to look down the top. “It’s never really far from my mind.”
Maybe I should have chastised him, but I liked it when Jack flirted with me, and I was relieved that he was in a better mood.
I opened the tube of lotion and massaged some into his arm. “How does that feel?”
“Okay,” he said, never taking his eyes off me. “What is it?”
“I don’t know. Some kind of lotion.”
“So you’re testing it on me? Nice. I’m going to shower it off before my skin disintegrates.” He kissed the top of my head before he disappeared into the bathroom. At least he seemed in better spirits, even though he was still jumpy.
I sat down on the bed and put the lotion on my own stinging skin. It didn’t seem to help.
My suitcase was sitting open on the floor. It was full of short dresses, lingerie, and other clothing I would never wear. I was beginning to lose hope there was anything useful in the case when I came across short pants and t-shirts. There was even a pair of laced work boots.
While I was getting dressed, I heard Jack turn on the shower and scream. Wincing, I silently apologized to him. I should’ve warned him.
As I brushed my hair, I explored the rest of the house. Climbing the open staircase to the second floor, I discovered three more bedrooms and another bathroom. The place was huge. From the top of the stairs, I had a full view of the living room and kitchen below. It was a beautiful home, but what I liked most was all of the windows and the view beyond. I had to keep reminding myself that the mountains, blue sky and white clouds weren’t just a vision on a television screen.
As I came back downstairs, Jack emerged from the bedroom, clean-shaven. He wore a white t-shirt, combat pants, and boots. There was a time when seeing Jack dressed like that would have frightened me; but now all I noticed was how the t-shirt accentuated the muscles of his upper arms and how his snug pants were belted against his flat stomach.
He looked up at me as I descended the stairs. “What are you wearing?”
“The only decent clothes I could find in the suitcase.”
“There must be a dress in there.” He returned to the bedroom and I followed him.
“Yeah, but I’m not wearing them,” I said, just as he produced three.
“You’re expected to wear a dress. Pick one.”
I rolled my eyes and chose the one with the most fabric. He left the room, giving me privacy to change. The dress wasn’t tacky like the green one I had been forced to wear at his bachelor party. This was just a dress.
“Pink’s a good color on you, Mrs. Kenner,” Jack said brightly when I emerged from the bedroom. He was strapping a pistol around his thigh. “It sets off your fiery hair.” He winked at me. I wondered if he was just trying to make me feel better.
“You have a gun,” I said enviously.
“Yeah. I wasn’t sure they were going to issue me one. Glad they did. I’m feeling a little more in control.” He tossed a small bag at me and I caught it. “I found that in the suitcase. You better put some on.”
The bag contained makeup. I had no idea how to use the stuff. The only two times I had ever worn it were for the bachelor party and the wedding, and I wasn’t the one who applied it.
“Um…I don’t know how.”
Jack gave me a blank look. “Isn’t that an instinct with women?”
“No, Jack. It’s not instinct.”
“My mom put it on everyday, and my girlfriend in…” Jack’s voice trailed off. “Leisel wore a ton of it,” he said instead. “I’ll try to put it on you.”
“You know how to apply makeup?”
“I said I could try.” He steered me into a chair, picked up the makeup bag, and took a few things out. He swiped some pinkish-red powder onto a big brush and came at me with it.
“I don’t want to look weird, Jack.”
He swept the brush across one cheek and then the other. Taking a step back, he studied me, and then repeated the process. “Hey, I let you color my hair with a piece of coal. I looked ridiculous.”
“How do you know you looked ridiculous? There are no mirrors in the Pit.”
He put the brush away and looked through the case for something else. “By the look on your face whenever you finished.” He raised both his eyebrows, challenging me to deny it. I couldn’t. He came at me with something that looked like a pencil.
“What’s that?” I tried to push my head away from the sharp-looking object, but the back of the chair stopped me.
“I think its eyeliner.”
“You think?” How did I ever sit still for Leisel? He was about to make contact with the pencil on my eyelid and I instinctively turned away. “Maybe I should try it myself.”
“If you want, but I thought I was doing a good job.”
“I’m sure you were.”
I took the makeup bag from him and went back into the bathroom. The blush he applied was on a little thick so I wiped some off. I wasn’t sure how to use the eyeliner, so I just dabbed some mascara on my lashes and lipstick on my lips. It would have to be good enough.
When I returned to the room, Jack said, “You look pretty, Mrs. Kenner.”
“I’m not sure I want to look pretty, Mr. Kenner,” I admitted.
“I’m not sure I want you to either. Don’t stray far from me tonight. And if anyone lays a hand on you, scream and I’ll be there.”
It sounded like a good plan in theory, but I wasn’t sure how it would actually play out if it came to pass.
“You trained me well in the Pit, Jack. I can look after myself.”
“No you can’t, Sunny. You’re not that good.”
I stopped in my tracks and stared at him, wide-eyed. “What?”
“I didn’t mean it that way,” he said quickly. “I meant every soldier out here has had years of training. Trust me, our sessions in the Pit don’t compare.”
I looked at him feeling a little deflated. Up until now, I was fairly confident that I could take care of myself if a situation arose. “When push came to shove with my supervisor, I won.”
“She wasn’t trained, so it was an even fight.”
I hadn’t thought of it that way…and now I was beginning to see the bigger picture, too. “Why did you agree to teach everyone in the Pit to fight if we don’t stand a chance against a trained army?”
“Because they don’t really need to know how to fight.”
“Excuse me? How are we supposed to win a war if we can’t fight?”
“Training is more than just learning how to fight. It builds camaraderie and confidence. Think about it—there are thousands of desperate, angry people in the Pit and if they can pull together and focus that energy, they’ll vastly outnumber the Dome’s army.”
“So you’re saying desperation is our best weapon?”
“It’s a powerful one.”
I hoped he was right. “I feel like I’ve been duped. You should’ve told me I sucked.”
Jack laughed softly. “You don’t suck.” He closed the gap between us with a few steps and gave me a hug. “Our sessions gave
you the confidence to take on your supervisor, right? I don’t want you to lose that confidence. I just want you to recognize your limitations so you don’t get yourself into trouble.” His words were meant to soothe, and yet I still felt useless.
A knock sounded at the door and he thrust me away from him.
“That’s Alex,” he said nervously. “Are you ready to go?”
I took a deep breath, hoping it would calm the nervous flutters in my stomach, but it only reminded me I hadn’t eaten in over a day. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said.
He went to answer the door but stopped halfway and came back. He took both my hands in his. “I’m not comfortable about tonight for a lot of reasons. No matter how I have to act, remember I’m on your side.”
I gave him a reassuring smile. “We’re a team. I trust you.”
Taking a deep breath, he dropped my hands and answered the door. “Alex,” Jack said brightly.
“Now you’re looking more like the Kenner I’ve always known. Ready to go?” Alex asked.
“All set. Come on,” he said over his shoulder to me.
Reluctantly, I left the small shred of safety the house provided and stepped out onto the front porch. I tried to recall everything Wynd had taught me at the bachelor party about serving the bourge. It was the only experience I’d had with bourge dinners and I had managed to get through that night.
I tried to convince myself tonight would be easier.
Chapter Four
Jack’s security detail fell in behind us as we began our trek into town. The temperature had cooled considerably, although it was still warm. The light breeze blowing against my skin felt foreign. Goosebumps grew wherever it touched me. I hurried to catch up with Jack.
“Leisel’s not in a rush to come out here,” he said to Alex. “She’s happy with all the comforts she has in the Dome. There’s no one here to do her hair and nails.”
“There won’t be for at least another year,” Alex said.
The two men talked amicably until we reached the main street. In stark contrast to the quiet residential area we had just left, people strolled along the sidewalks, most heading in the direction of a building with a makeshift sign that said “All Ranks (temporary).” Alex headed there too.
Worlds Collide: Sunset Rising, Book Two Page 3