Ryan retrieved his keys from his pocket and unlocked the cell. She smiled with gratitude and stepped from her confinement.
“Thank you.”
“Would you like to wash up and change your clothes?”
“Yes, please.”
“We should probably get your wound seen to first.”
“Thank you.”
She offered another smile and was rewarded with a brief responding lift of his lips.
“Come with me.”
He led the way through the tunnels. After several turns, and after passing several dozen doors, he stopped and opened one. He gestured for her to enter.
Several beds lined the room, made up, and empty. A female, not much older than Mackenzie, stacked shelves with supplies. When they entered, she turned and smiled.
“You got another one for me?”
“This is Mackenzie, she is … she has a head wound.”
Her name being said for the first time from his lips sent tingles over her skin. She wanted to hear it again. His deep voice caused what she could only guess to be desire to heat her blood.
If the healer was surprised to see Mackenzie or wondered who she was, she didn’t show it. As Mackenzie had no idea how many of them lived down here, it could be possible that they didn’t all know each other and the girl assumed she was one of them.
This thought almost made her giggle. One of them. The idea appealed to her more than it should.
“Hi, Mackenzie. I’m Georgina. Take a seat.” She gestured to a chair by one of the beds near a trolley loaded with different medical supplies. “This might sting a bit,” she said with a smile before cleaning the wound with a cloth and something from a bottle on the trolley.
Mackenzie winced through the sting and then the throb that followed. Her head also felt bruised. She no doubt looked a wreck, but not anywhere near as bad as Troy she thought with a sick feeling in her stomach.
“It doesn’t seem too bad. You won’t need stitches. I’ll cover it for you, but it should be okay to remove it in a day or so. You’ve got a nasty bruise too. You must have hit it pretty hard.”
Mackenzie smiled, unsure of what to say as she studied the other girl’s expression. There appeared to be no hostility in her bright blue eyes. Mackenzie assumed she probably had no idea she was a citizen. Would she be so nice if she knew?
“All done.”
“Thanks, Georgie,” Ryan said. “Let’s go.”
“Nice to meet you, and thanks,” Mackenzie said as Ryan grabbed her elbow to guide her from the room.
Georgina answered with a quick nod, but her smile was wary. Perhaps she knew more than she let on.
Again they wound their way through several tunnels before Ryan stopped in front of another door, unlocked it, and led her inside.
The small room housed little furniture. A tattered couch and table, an overflowing bookcase, and sheer red curtains separated what she guessed to be two other rooms.
He closed the door behind her, and disappeared behind one of the red curtains before returning with folded clothes.
“These were my sister’s. They’re a little old, from when she was a teenager. They should fit you.”
“Um, thanks.”
She looked around wondering exactly where she was supposed to ‘wash up and change’.
“There’s a bathroom through there.” He pointed to the other curtain. “There are towels in the cupboard and the water will only stay on for a short while. You have to pump the handle for a bit to get it started.”
Pump the handle? Their bathroom, like the kitchen, was fully automated.
“Um, okay, thanks.”
Stepping into the bathroom, she found a small bath with a nozzle hanging above it. A pipe ran from the nozzle to the wall. Two taps and a handle joined the pipe, which crept up the wall and through the roof. She assumed it joined a tank above the ground. Having a shower, even in an un-automated one, would be better than none, so she shrugged and turned the taps. Nothing happened. Remembering the handle, she pumped it up and down until the pipes groaned and water trickled from the nozzle. Better than nothing.
She undressed with haste, not wanting to miss out on any of the water that would apparently ‘run out’. For one brief moment Mackenzie was conscious of only a sheer curtain hiding her nakedness. She shrugged again, climbed into the bath and stood under the water. It was warm and refreshing. She rinsed her hair and let the water run over her face.
When the water cut off, she was surprised at how clean she felt. She stepped out of the bath and located two towels from the cupboard. She wrapped her head in one and dried off with the other. Picking up the folded clothes, she took a deep breath and dressed. The clothes fit her surprisingly well. She welcomed the fresh feeling. She towel-dried her hair before she folded both towels, and left them on the bath.
When she stepped through the curtain, Ryan glanced up from his position on the couch, holding a book. His eyes locked with hers.
Now what?
8
Secrets and Lies
Uncomfortably aware of how close a naked Mackenzie was through a red sheer curtain, Ryan attempted to busy his mind with a book. After reading the same sentence three times, he gave up the pretence, and glanced towards the bathroom. He felt like a voyeur so he averted his gaze again.
He couldn’t exactly see into the bathroom, but staring towards it felt wrong. His imagination ran overtime about the girl only a dozen strides from where he was sitting. Would her skin be golden all over like her face?
Stop it, Taylor.
He heard the shower stop and ensured his eyes remained fixed to his book until she exited. When she came through the curtain, Ryan lifted his eyes to hers and found himself unable to draw them away. He couldn’t stop staring. Her chestnut hair wet and tousled around her face sent shots of lust through his veins. Rhianna’s clothes fit better than he’d anticipated.
Now what?
“Can I get you anything?” he asked.
“No. Thanks. You’re very hospitable considering I’m your prisoner.”
He shrugged. He no longer thought of her that way, as wrong as it was. She stood awkwardly in front of the bathroom curtain. He should show her it was all right to trust him. His hatred for all Edwards’ had vanished now, replaced with sensations he couldn’t fathom or identify.
“Please sit down.”
He offered what he hoped to be a welcoming smile. She returned a smaller one, and came to sit on the opposite end of the couch. There wasn’t anywhere else for her to sit. She sat as far from him as it allowed.
“Is your sister here too?”
Her question surprised him. “No, she’s dead.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Her tawny eyes filled with compassion.
He couldn’t comprehend that this sweet girl was related to the malicious Cody.
“Do you have any other family?”
“No, they were all killed many years ago.”
“Oh, how awful for you,” she said softly, breathless. Her caring eyes stared at him.
Her empathy overwhelmed him. “You want to know the truth? How this war started? Why we fight?”
“I think so,” she said quietly. Her expression said otherwise.
“You saw Troy. He was lucky he came back at all.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The GAP doesn’t take prisoners.”
“Do you mean they …?”
“Yeah, usually.”
Her eyebrows knitted together and her eyes grew sadder. She lowered them. He assumed she did so to hide her tears.
“Cody?”
“The orders obviously don’t all come from him, but I would imagine he makes a lot of the decisions. Some orders would come from government officials. He’s the General of the army following directives.”
She blinked. “He said the rebels started the war because you didn’t want to conform.” Her head lifted and her gazed locked on to his, begging him to tell her the truth.
“At first it was simply protests. My parents were part of a very large group against government control. It was mostly peaceful stuff, rallies and meetings. On the day troops, led by your father, came to one of our meetings stating we all had to be branded with a BIT, the protest turned ugly. Many were arrested by the newly formed GAP and were never seen again. The raids started after that.”
“Our father and Cody both told us you opened fire on them in the streets one day. You declared war and rebelled against conformity. Cody told us you chose to continue to fight. He said the gangs on the streets are all part of your group. Our father was killed during a battle waged by one of these gangs.”
“Yes, your father was killed by one of the gangs, but it had nothing to do with us. Every battle was started by the GAP. That is, until they began the raids and started …”
He lowered his head, not sure if he could bring himself to tell her, to trust her. To look into her eyes as he broke her heart.
“What?”
When he brought his gaze back to her, he found her stare unwavering yet anxious as she worked on her lower lip. He couldn’t stop the words from escaping.
“They stormed our homes and killed anyone who wouldn’t join them or be marked.”
Her golden skinned paled, and she shook her head, her eyes not leaving his. It hurt her to hear, yet he could see she needed him to tell her.
“Are you sure you want to hear this?”
She nodded but her clenched hands had whitened her knuckles. She was still chewing on her lip.
“Your brother led the troops who came to our house. It was almost a year after the government was elected. We held out for a year, but after the raids started, when the gangs formed and GAP was out in force, we had no choice but to go underground.” He stopped, not sure how to proceed.
“What happened to your family?”
Ryan craved to tell her, but hesitated. Would she believe him? He cast his eyes over her beautiful face. He had to tell her the truth not matter how much he shattered her. She deserved to know how things really were.
“It was the middle of the night when they came. I was seventeen, my brother fourteen and my sister nineteen. They dragged us out of bed and demanded we receive our BIT. They ordered my father, my brother and I to go with them to either join the army or the government. When my father refused, they made us watch …”
Another barely audible gasp. “Cody?”
“Only gave the orders. When they’d all had their turn with my mother and sister they demanded again for us to join them. They held us down in turn and gave us a BIT. When they tried to take Riley and me away, my dad pulled his gun. They shot him first, then our Mum. I couldn’t let them take Riley, and I had no idea what would happen to Rhianna if we went with them, so I fought back.
“They held me as they shot first Rhianna and then Riley. My hatred for them saved my life. I told them I would join them and then, when the first possible opportunity arose, I fled. I went to Simmo, who I knew from school, as I’d heard he’d formed a group who escaped the GAP and whose families had met the same fate. The group got bigger. When the rogue gangs, the real rogues, began to fight us, we started digging.”
His eyes remained glued to the floor as he told his story. He couldn’t look at her while he destroyed her faith in her brother and shattered her world. Finding out your brother is a malicious killer would be a shock. He hated to be the one who informed her of how it was.
He sensed her before he felt her hands on his. Was she comforting him? When he brought his gaze back, Ryan found her staring at him, her face full of horror and remorse. This was no act. She hadn’t known how it really was until this moment.
“I’m sorry my family did this to yours. When my dad died it broke my heart. I thought I would never get over it, but this … how awful. I’m so sorry.”
His heart broke. The news he’d just given her was devastating, yet here she was apologising to him.
“You're nothing like him and you have nothing to be sorry for. I shouldn’t be the one telling you this. I assumed you knew and were just like him.”
“I believe you. I wish I didn’t. A lot of things the government did over the years never felt right to me. I just never imagined that they … that this … Cody …”
Ryan removed his hands from hers to touch her still damp hair.
“I can’t believe you’re so different to him. When I first saw who you were, I wanted to kill you or at least leave you there for Blade.”
“I don’t blame you. I thought you would be just like he said. I thought you would … well, you know. You’re nothing like the kind of person Cody portrayed. This is why I believe you. I just can’t believe the brother I loved all these years hid this side of himself so well.”
“I’m sure how he feels about you is genuine, but his thirst for power and control rule his life. I’m surprised you believe me. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.”
“Why would you need to lie to me? You could quite easily not have said anything, and kept me a prisoner downstairs. I don’t know why, but I trust you.” She brought a hand to his scarred wrist and rubbed her finger back and forth over it. “Have you all done this?”
“Everyone who had one. Some avoided it, and a lot were lucky enough to go into hiding with us before losing their families. Simmo and I formed our own army. We learned about weaponry and self-defence while we were still teenagers. We’ve been fighting and defending the community ever since.”
“How many people live here?”
“Almost two hundred.”
“Why did Blade walk away yesterday?”
“They know better than to go against us. In the early days they intimidated us, but over the years we’ve learned to fight back.”
“Have you killed many people?”
Her innocent eyes searched for the truth in his. He couldn’t lie to her. He dropped his hands and his head. To his complete chagrin he cared what she thought.
“Some, when I’ve had to.”
“Ryan.”
He lifted his head.
“I don’t know if I want to go back.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You have family. You’re a citizen.”
“With no choice or freedom.”
“Well, you can’t leave until I let you go anyway.”
A pretty, genuine smile spread across her face.
The urge to kiss her overcame him. “You are the enemy.”
“Please don’t take me back down there.”
That thought was the last thing on his mind. What to do with her, though?
“I won’t, if you promise to stay in this room. Try and run and I won’t be so easy on you.”
9
Unchartered Waters
Shock overcame her when Ryan left to retrieve some dinner. She smiled wryly when he bolted the door. He still didn’t trust her, but she couldn’t blame him. The thing she found amusing was, even if she did leave the room, even if she wanted to leave, finding her way out of the maze would be impossible.
Did she want to stay? Her mother and Ryder would be concerned about her. If only she could let them know she was all right. Cody, on the other hand, was another story.
As much as she hadn’t wanted to, she believed every word of Ryan’s story. It certainly explained a lot. Why they continued to remain hidden and live underground. Why they continued to fight.
The brother who’d stood up to bullies for her at school, the man who took the role of father figure when their father was killed, was the same man who raped, killed and destroyed families. Everything she knew about her life had been torn apart in twenty-four hours.
She hadn’t lied when she said she didn’t want to go back. Aside from Astor and Ryder, what did that life have to offer her? Conformity? A boring job she loathed? Her childhood ambition of nursing had been crushed years ago by a government with a lust for power. Confusion filled her mind, an emotion she was becoming familiar with of late.
Added to her bewilderment wer
e her overpowering feelings for Ryan. His hard exterior sheltered a broken, lost boy forced into early adulthood by war. His external scars tiny compared to the internal ones. When he touched her hair in such a gentle manner, her broken heart raced in excitement. She craved to kiss his troubles away. To love him. Love? How crazy. Like he said, they were enemies, she his bargaining tool. Yet she couldn’t deny the electricity that prickled her skin when his eyes met hers, and her hands took his.
A cramped, fitful night’s sleep along with a headache from more information than she knew what to do with had her feeling tired and overwhelmed, so she lay down on the comfortable couch. The throw cushions were soft and inviting. She curled up using one for a pillow. She would only rest for a moment, until Ryan returned.
Her thoughts flew to Cody, and hot tears stung her eyes. How could her brother conduct such cruel and horrendous things? Burying her face in the cushion she allowed the sobs to escape. Her life would never be the same. Cody was a stranger to her now.
Ryan grabbed a tray and two plates, and then made his way across the buffet, choosing several foods to cover a variety of tastes.
He pondered over his beautiful prisoner as he made his way along the line. The biggest question swimming through his mind, what to do now? Not wanting to send her back to sub level and have her spend another night in a cell left him few options, so he decided his couch and quarters would have to do. At least until he decided the next course of action.
“Getting dinner for me, Taylor?” Simmo came up behind him.
“No.”
“Are you extra hungry tonight or something?”
“It’s for the prisoner.”
“Awfully generous with our food, aren’t you?” Contempt filled his voice.
Ryan felt an urgent need to protect her. “I don’t know what she likes.”
“Who cares? She’s lucky to be fed at all.”
Ryan understood Simmo's disdain, but it was grating on him. “She deserves to eat.”
“Speaking of the prisoner, what are you going to do now?”
“I haven’t decided.”
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