The Cross (Alliance Book 2) by Inna Hardison Page B

the last hour crying, her eyes so blue they looked almost violet, but her face was all pink and splotchy. He wished Ams made it easier on her friend. It was cruel of her to make her hurt like that now. But that’s what they did, he and Brody and Ams. They hurt the people they loved.

    “I am packed and ready to go. I just need to change my clothes,” he whispered and walked into the cave to grab his bag and put on a dry shirt. Nobody was saying anything to anybody when he got out. Brody and Laurel had their small backpacks on them already, and he could see an old metal gun strapped to Brody’s belt, and a stun gun at Laurel’s waist. They seemed ready.

    He walked over to Ams and crouched in front of her, trying to look at her face, “I am sorry, Ams. It wasn’t my call, it was Laurel’s. I’ll make sure she is safe, I promise. We should all be back by morning.” She didn’t even look up at him, so he leaned in and planted a kiss on the top of her head, catching Ella looking at him sadly. He kissed his sister on the cheek, and walked into the woods, knowing that Brody and Laurel would follow.

    They had more than enough time to get there, so they walked slowly, not wanting to be exhausted in case something went wrong. He had a feeling that something would go wrong, and couldn’t make sense of it. The plan was solid, he knew that, but he couldn’t keep the feeling of dread from settling on his stomach. Brody and Laurel were walking just behind him, not speaking. It’s as if they all ran out of things to say to each other.

    They stopped for a few minutes at roughly the halfway point, quickly ate a small meal of cold smoked meat and tea, all of it in silence, and were on their way again. After a few more hours of this silent walk, Brody signaled for them to stop. He could see the clearing through the trees now. They still had almost an hour till Hassinger was due.

    He spotted one of Brody’s boys running towards them, gun drawn, and pointing at him.
    “Ellis, sir, is darky a prisoner?”
    “Stand down, Trelix, you idiot. If he was a prisoner, he’d be tied up. Stand down. And don’t call him darky again. His name is Riley and you will protect him.”
    The boy lowered his gun, looking at him with unguarded hatred, “I am sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.” He whistled and the rest of the boys came towards them, no guns drawn this time.

    He took Laurel away from where Brody was talking with his crew, and sat her down on the soft patch of grass, crouching in front of her, “I have to tell you something, Laurel, and I hope you don’t get angry at me for it. I think I know why you want to go back. I’ve seen how everything bad that’s happened since we ran makes you feel, how you don’t seem to get over any of it. So I don’t fault you for not wanting to see the ugliness and the sadness ever again. I couldn’t fault you for that. But I need to be absolutely sure that you know what you are trying to go back to. The ugly things the Alliance does, you couldn’t see it then, not at the compound, but you know it now, you’ve seen it. I think you are the wisest person I know, the way you seem to get everything about people anyway, but I don’t think you’ve thought all of this through.” She was looking at him with those guileless blue eyes of hers, hands playing with the blades of grass.

    “Laurel, I don’t know what’s going to happen in a few minutes, but I have a bad feeling about it. I can’t explain it. I know it’s a good plan, and that Brody is very good at whatever it is he does with those soldier boys, but I am worried, and I think it’s something to do with you. That Hassinger will try to get you to do something that would be dangerous for you, manipulate you in some way. I don’t trust her… She is like that boy Drake shot, Anders. She gets off on other people’s pain, and I don’t trust anyone who is like that. I promised Ams to keep you safe and to bring you back. I have to do