“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I shrugged. “Nothing. It’s just that I can’t help but think if she could do it to one man…” I let him finish my thought.
“Leisel is in love with me. She trusts me.” He was almost yelling.
“I’m sure she does trust you.” I forced my voice to stay calm. “You’ve been very useful to her. Did I say useful? I meant helpful. You’ve been very helpful.”
He slammed his fist down on the arm of the sofa. “I think it’s time for you to shut up.”
I could tell by how angry he was that I should leave him alone. Now I just hoped the seeds of distrust I had planted would take root. If Desmond stopped working for Leisel, there would be no one to do her dirty work. No one to bother Reyes. The plan was weak, but I couldn’t think of another.
After a few minutes of silence, Desmond got up and paced the room. He was obviously deep in thought. I had never manipulated anyone like that before and was surprised at how easy it was. Leisel was a good teacher.
I kept my gaze on the floor, glancing at Desmond every so often. The look of confusion and anger on his face told me that my plan was working. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but I knew she would be back soon. Of course I had to keep in mind that Leisel really was the master of manipulation and she could easily calm all of his fears and have him wrapped around her finger again.
I nearly jumped when there was a sharp knock at the door. Desmond was immediately alert and went quickly to the door.
“Who is it?” he demanded.
“Leisel sent me to pick up the prisoner,” said a male voice from the other side of the door.
Desmond gave me a sharp look. I gave him my best “I told you so” look. Angrily, he pulled open the door and was met by the butt end of a rifle smashing into his face. He dropped to the floor, obviously dazed by the blow. A Domer walked in, letting the door close behind him. I recognized Jack under the visor.
Desmond sprang to his feet and reached for Jack’s rifle with both hands. The two men struggled, sending a vase crashing to the floor. The noise was so loud I braced myself for more guards to come running in, but none did. Jack had Desmond backed against a wall and used the rifle like a bar to pin him there. With his visor still on, Jack head-butted Desmond, smacking his head into the wall. A vacant expression came over Desmond’s face, and Jack let him drop to the floor.
“Miss me?” Jack asked as he crossed the room and untied my binds.
“How did you find me?”
“I saw them take you. I recognized Leisel’s pet.” He motioned with his head in the direction of Desmond.
“How did you get in here?”
“Leisel has the cameras jammed again, and I’m beginning to suspect she owns the guards on this level. It explains why they disappear whenever she needs them gone.”
“Did you find Terra?”
“She’s fine. Or I think she is. She was giving birth when I left to come up here.”
“Thank God!” I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. “Leisel will be back any minute.”
“Then let’s get out of here.” Jack returned to Desmond and stripped the uniform off his limp body.
“Leisel is going to go after Reyes.”
He handed me Desmond’s uniform, and I put it on. It was too big for me, but with a few tucks and the added weight of the bulletproof vest, I could pass.
“What does she want with Reyes?”
“She wanted to know where you were, and I told her we went our separate ways after we escaped. But she knew that Autumn Jones has been living with someone and wanted to know who that someone was. When I wouldn’t tell her, she guessed it might be my boyfriend that I told her about when we were drinking wine in your apartment that night.”
“Does she know his name? What other information did you give her that night?”
“I didn’t give her his name, but she’s going to try and weasel it out of Summer. And I don’t know what else I told her. I was drunk. I don’t remember.”
“Yeah, you were pretty drunk.” Jack chuckled.
Once I had the uniform looking like it fit, I put the belt with the tear gas and knives around my waist. It was heavy, and I cinched it as tight as I could. It fell off.
“Leave it. Maybe no one will notice,” Jack said.
I dropped it on the floor and slung the rifle across my back. The final piece of the uniform was the helmet, and I took a moment to tuck my hair up inside it. Jack opened the door, looked both ways, and then motioned for me to follow him.
It took every bit of my will power not to sprint down the hall and out of view of Leisel’s apartment. I breathed a sigh of relief when we made it into the stairwell and closed the door silently behind us.
“We can’t go back. She knows where we live,” I said.
“I figured as much.” He started down the stairs.
“Where are we going?”
“To the Pit.”
“What’s happening in the Pit right now? Are they still fighting?”
“It’s on lockdown, although not many people went willingly to their homes. It’s not pretty down there.”
“Jack, we can’t go back down there. We might start another riot if a guard recognizes us and tries to take us into custody. Everyone’s been through enough with Crystal’s execution.” My voice was hoarse with emotion. I didn’t want to start crying now, not while we were trying to escape Leisel. But regret for not coming to Crystal’s rescue earlier plagued me. Why did we wait?
Jack stopped suddenly and walked back up the few steps separating us. He pulled me roughly into his arms. “What happened to Crystal is not going to happen to you. I won’t let it.”
I could plainly see that her execution had affected Jack just as much it had me. If watching her die wasn’t horrific enough, we both knew we were doomed to the same fate.
“Jack, you might not be able to stop it.” I pulled away just far enough to look into his eyes. “But that doesn’t make it your fault. If anything happens, you need to understand this was out of your control.” A series of emotions played across his face until he hardened his lips into a straight line.
“I’ll do everything I can. As long as we can get back down into the Pit we’ll be okay for a few hours. David and Terra are waiting for us.”
“We can’t put them in that kind of danger.”
“It’s safe. Even if the guards run a routine check-in during the lockdown, no one is going to come in and search the apartment. There’s no reason to.”
I hesitated, but had little choice left for a place to hide. I followed him down the ten flights of stairs and out into the main lobby. We walked through the lobby as if we had every right to be there. No one questioned us. When we got to the door, a guard asked us to scan in. Jack kept going right past him, and I kept pace.
“No time. There’s an emergency down there,” Jack said gruffly and quickened his pace. Domers outranked guards assigned to the Pit and reception duty, so the guard didn’t question Jack any further.
We strode through the doors to the Pit and descended the stone stairs. I could hear a distant hum of voices, and as we came closer to the first level, I made out hundreds of voices singing Crystal’s song, just as they had the night before. The emotions bubbling up inside me threatened to cut off my breathing, but I fought back the tears and won.
I wished with all my heart I could just go back to our apartment, curl up beside Jack on our bed, and have a good cry. But we didn’t have a home anymore. There was nowhere left to run.
As we passed each level, I saw at least three or four Domers still on duty. I guess with everyone singing about rebellion they weren’t going to take any chances. I was relieved to see the army gone. I wondered how many people had lost their lives that day. How many more would follow. The fighting was so senseless. All we were asking was to be treated with respect, but they couldn’t even grant us that.