rebel-heart, Rakhibul hasan [recommended reading TXT] 📗

say they were probably important. Lana might know.” Brady gave him a look.

“All right. Maybe when she stops crying every time you look at her, you can ask her.” Brady hid a smile. She’d proven how willing she was to become his companion, a surprise

considering she really did seem fragile in his world. Every moment he spent with her, he felt like he was getting farther and farther away from his ability to walk away without either of them getting hurt. Eventually, she’d find out who he was. Eventually, things would come to a head. But as a man who lived day-to-day, tomorrow was a concept he wasn’t always comfortable with.

They walked parallel to an abandoned highway for a couple of hours until they reached the second fed site. They saw the smoke half an hour before they arrived and approached with caution. Brady’s scouts reported nothing, and they emerged from the cover of nearby buildings.

This was a communications facility, heavily guarded. The tower was in pieces, the building at its base a gaping crater. They tested the bio-elim field before passing through. As with the other site, there were pieces of people but nothing else.

“This is creepy,” Dan voiced his concerns. “Looks like systematic extermination of an enemy’s strongholds.”

“Exactly what this is. The start to another civil war. Let’s not linger.”

They moved on, taking circuitous routes back to the underground entrance in case they were being watched. He dropped his gear in his suite, curious not to find Lana within. Dan met him in the hall, and they went to the cafeteria together.

“Hey, Elise,” Dan said, tapping the button behind his hear to access his personal net. “Where you guys at?”

Brady got his food as the two talked, seating himself before he looked to Dan again. “They’re in the gym,” Dan said. He was trying hard not to smile.

“Is she crying?” Brady asked.

“Don’t think so,” Dan said. “I guess she wouldn’t play this morning at all but changed her mind this afternoon. She was afraid of Benny until Lon told her to pretend like he was you. Sounds like she lost some of that timid field mousiness.”

“Whatever works.” He looked up to find Dan studying him closely.

“You’re damn cranky today. Wanna spar? Maybe with Benny?” Dan asked. “He can beat this funk out of you.”

“Maybe later,” Brady replied grudgingly. He didn’t think his abruptness any more clipped than usual, but Dan would knew the difference. “I want to look at the logs for the past few days to see if any of the scouts have reported any other fed buildings going up in flames. I need to ask Lana about the keypad we found, too.”

He received a page over his personal net.

B: We need to talk immediately. -T.

His mood grew worse.

“I may have to go to the comms site,” he said with a frown. “It’s not good when the big guy calls you. I’ll risk a quick communication from here to see what the urgency is.”

“Not a good sign,” Dan agreed. “I’ll arrange the transportation.”

Restless, Brady returned to his suite. Lana was in the kitchenette, drinking water after her day with Elise. Her face was flushed, her eyes sparkling from the exertion. She wore sparring clothing consisting of snug pants and T-shirt that hugged her shape in all the right places. The scent of her musk and sweat made him look longer than he intended to. His resolve to keep his distance wavered as he thought about pulling her into bed with him again.

There was something else in her eyes that made his blood pound harder. She was angry at him. The raw emotion was more of a turn-on than he expected.

If he were smart, he would have turned around and walked out until Benny beat the fire out of his body. Instead, he sat down on the couch and pulled the keypad free from his pocket.

“Wanna tell me what this is?” he asked, pretending he didn’t see the anger on her face. “I won’t know without my micro,” she replied in a clipped tone.

He pulled her micro free from his cargo pocket and set it on the coffee table beside the keypad. She looked at him hard for a moment before crossing the room to sit on the chair across from him. She was tense, and Brady wondered what happened while he was gone.

Lana flipped on her micro and placed the keypad on top of it. He looked past her into the kitchen to see what she’d been doing. On the kitchenette counter sat her bottle of water—and a micro. It was of fed issue, not army or PMF. Silently, he cursed the blond warrior he suspected gave it to Lana. He should’ve known better than not to warn Dan what Lana could do if she got a hold of a micro, even if it was Elise’s.

“It’s a local energy grid controller,” Lana said. “But it’s damaged. I can’t pull the data off.” She turned off her micro and rose, striding into the bedroom. A few seconds later, he heard the shower.

Leery of the change in her, Brady tucked the two away and crossed to the kitchen. Elise’s micro was locked out. There was no way to see what she’d been doing. Too soon, he found out. His personal net vibrated, indicating someone was trying to contact him. Brady tapped it open.

“You paged me?” Tim asked.

Brady froze. “No. I got a page from you, though.”

“Well, someone … it was her, wasn’t it,” Tim said with a sigh. “I had to get her training in hacking fed systems.”

“Yeah,” Brady agreed, eyes going to Elise’s micro. “Tim, she needs to know. I don’t like lying to her. I don’t think it’s worth trying to snow her anymore. And maybe she’ll tell you what she won’t tell me about what she’s carrying west.”

“Unfortunately, I think you might be right. Bring her to the comms site. I’ll be waiting on this end,” Tim directed in resignation. “I’d hoped to have this conversation with her in person, if at all.”

“Will do. Brady out.”

Brady stared at the door to his bedroom, torn between relief and regret. He hadn’t wanted to lie to her about Guardian or Tim. At the same time, Tim was about to bring the rest of her world crashing down around her. He doubted she’d rush into the arms of the Guardian again. Brady wiped his face, preparing himself for a confrontation. He sat down in a chair, waiting.

Lana emerged at last. She crossed her arms when she saw him and wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Looks like it’s time for us to talk,” he started.

“I don’t want to talk. I understand what I need to.” “I don’t think you do.”

“You and Tim are PMF. He sent you to protect me. You were my Guardian.” Were. The word stung, irritating him.

“I did what I had to,” Brady replied. “I will make no apologies for that.”

“As I said, I understand,” she said. “You lied to me and used me. Both of you.”

“Lana,” Brady said, rising. It was all he could say. He knew this day would come. He’d done the right thing in protecting her, even if the wounded look on her face made him feel both inadequate and frustrated. “We need to go somewhere. Are you ready?”

“Whatever you say,” she said softly.

Brady bit back what he wanted to say and motioned towards the door. His hope that she’d trust the Guardian even if she hadn’t trusted him faded. Her silent treatment and quiet anger lasted through the long helo ride back to the secret comms center. He waved the helo away and led her to the hidden entrance.

Tim was already on the viewer. Lana froze for a moment then started forward jerkily. Brady closed the door behind him, watching. There was an awkward pause, and he saw her reach for a chair with trembling hands. He crossed his arms, unable to quell his sudden desire to wrap his arms around her and promise her he’d find a way to make things right.

Mr. Tim was as Lana remembered him. He looked like he was on vacation rather than facing the end of the world. She’d been trying to reconcile his connection to the PMF since discovering the link between him and Brady earlier that day. Everything—the net call that brought her to the Peak, the encrypted messages she’d read, Brady’s protection—had fallen into place. Brady hadn’t just been lying to her about being the Guardian. She’d been trying to avoid the crushing sense of betrayal building in her breast.

“I imagine I owe you an explanation,” Mr. Tim said. “Yes, sir,” she said.

“I am third generation PMF, like Brady. Our families have fought side by side for over fifty years. Our purpose isn’t what’s in the government modified documentation; we fight to unify the country and return the rights stolen by the government to the people.”

“You used me.” She couldn’t help the words.

“You were one of the PMF’s best sources. I got you access to as much as I could, and I let you do what you do best. Everything you did for me I sent to the PMF,” Mr. Tim said. “When an attack was imminent, I called Brady and made him swear to take care of you. Then I called you and brought you to the Peak.”

Lana listened. Similar to Brady, there was no remorse in his admittance, and her throat tightened. “Brady is one of the best and brightest soldiers the PMF has, as well as a personal friend. You’ve been like a daughter to me, Lana, and I placed you in the best hands I could.” His words were gentle.

“I don’t think fathers use their daughters as you did,” she whispered.

“You know better. You were exposed to the upper-class circles long enough to know that even betraying you I’ve been kinder than most. The government is splintering, Lana,” he continued. “Another civil war has started, but we can fix it before things get even worse. I need you to tell me what you found out.”

She shook her head and clenched her hands together, torn between fury and sorrow.

“Lana, you know enough about the PMF to know they’re the only force—perhaps in the world—with the ability to survive the government tearing itself apart. We’ve all but taken over the military and have people in all levels of government. We’re the only ones who can influence the outcome of this.”

What he said made sense—it always did, even when he was lying to people. She knew when he lied; she’d spent twenty years with him. He wasn’t lying.

Right now, she didn’t want the politics. She wanted to know why he’d hurt her. Her throat was too tight for her to ask.

“Lana, I need you to tell me what you know.” “I need a minute,” she managed.

There was a pause. “Very well. I’ll call back in a few.”

She waited until the viewer flashed off before slumping. She pressed the meat of her palms to her eyes. If someone told her a few months before she’d be here, now, hearing this, she’d have thought them insane!

Yet the worst part was that she knew he was right. The PMF was the only party standing while the government tore itself apart. If anyone had the resources to make things right, the PMF could.

“You want me to leave?” Brady asked.

“You betrayed me, too,” she said without looking at him. She wanted to hate him but couldn’t. The Guardian had been her closest friend. Even knowing who he really was, she wanted her friend back. “You’ve been there for me since this all started. Why couldn’t you tell me?”

“I care more that you’re alive than what you think of me,” he said firmly. “It was safer for you if you didn’t know who I was. It was