Page 37

“Understatement,” John muttered, stroking my arm.

Kimmy looked inside my left ear with her light and declared what I already knew: my eardrum had ruptured. Thankfully, my other ear was intact and had mostly stopped ringing. She said the ruptured eardrum would heal on its own within a few weeks; I’d just have to keep it clean and free of infection.

John then cleared his throat and looked back at me. “We should get Gizzi or one of the other tech people started on disabling your tracker. Once we do that, we can bring you back to the White Rose’s offsite camp. It’ll be safer for you there, outside the compound.”

I didn’t know exactly what he was talking about, but I nodded anyway. Disabling my tracking beacon seemed to be the most important step for my escape. I moved to hop off the table, but John caught me and swung me up into his arms.

“Your feet are hurt, and you have no shoes,” he chastised, but the effect was ruined by the fact that he couldn’t stop smiling at me. “On top of that, you could lose your balance.”

I gave an amused huff. “I’m fine, John. I can walk. You just saw me walking.”

“You probably shouldn’t, though,” Kimmy said with a sly smile. “Just in case.”

“See?” he remarked, hoisting me more securely in his arms. “Doctor’s orders.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed, draping my arms around his neck as he carried me out of the infirmary.

“I’m glad to meet you,” Ayanna said a few minutes later, when John carried me into her office. She looked sweaty, tired, and heavy-hearted. Despite that, she was a pretty woman, with clear, dark skin and beautiful hair expertly coiled into two-strand twists that framed her oval-shaped face. “I wish it were under different circumstances.”

Kimmy trailed behind us, looking a bit uncomfortable, but I didn’t know what could’ve caused her change in demeanour.

“Me too,” I murmured. “Did you sustain heavy losses today?”

“No, actually,” she answered wearily. “The Order turning up was an unexpected surprise that helped us by taking out a bunch of the Delta military before we even started shooting. Unintentional on their part, I’m sure, but it meant we only lost a couple today. That said…the civilian death toll is predicted to be high, and that’s never a good day for us.”

John took a seat in a chair across from Ayanna’s desk, holding me on his lap. We were both tired and dirty from the day’s events, but I still drank in the sight and feel of him. My heart felt so full every time he looked at me, and when our eyes met, he leaned in and kissed me again, like he couldn’t resist.

“They do that a lot,” Kimmy said dismissively to Ayanna. “Go into their own little world together. It’s gross. You’ll get used to it.”

I broke away from the kiss with an embarrassed laugh. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s nice to see how committed you are to each other,” Ayanna said, but she was staring at Kimmy still. “The world needs more of that.”

I glanced at John, wondering if he knew what was going on, but he was still just looking at me. He brushed a lock of hair off my forehead and tucked it behind my ear, distracted, and I wanted to laugh again. Kimmy’s right, but it has been three weeks in hell.

Still, there was an important question burning in my mind that demanded an answer.

“Why did your men attack me today?” I asked Ayanna. “John said you’d given orders not to hurt me, but they chased me across the library.”

A crease formed between Ayanna’s brows. “You’re sure they were ours?”

“They were dressed like us,” John said, at attention now. “And I saw them firing on the Delta soldiers before they went after Claire.”

Ayanna shook her head in confusion. “Where are they now?”

“Dead,” John answered bluntly. “On the second floor of the library. They kept going after Claire. We didn’t have a choice.”

“If they’re ours, then their bodies are being transported back here, though they’re probably not here yet. Can you identify them?”

“No,” I said. “They were masked the whole time.”

Ayanna sighed. “Naturally. Well, we can ask the cleanup crew who was found on the second floor. It shouldn’t be an issue. We’ll figure it out.” She leaned back in her chair. “I radioed Gizzi to come here with her equipment to deactivate your tracker, Claire. She should be here soon. You should go take care of yourself in the meantime. There are spare boots in the armoury for you.”

That was all the permission John needed to scoop me back up into his arms as he stood, then carry me out of the room. Kimmy stayed behind, talking in a low voice to Ayanna. He took me to the armoury, and once we found a pair of boots for me to wear, he finally set me down.

“You hungry, baby?” John asked as we walked outside, toward another of the garrisoned buildings.

My stomach chose that moment to gurgle, and he smiled. He led me to a makeshift cafeteria that really only consisted of a few spare chairs, two sad-looking folding tables, and a stack of crates full of packaged, preserved meals made for the Delta military. John and I had eaten them before when we returned to the Cave to find medicine for Kimmy. They weren’t terrible, but they weren’t exactly gourmet, either.