Cipher, page 10
I couldn’t believe I was out here without my gear. “Dex. Any chance you got one of those bots?”
“You know I never leave home without them. Why?”
“Send it behind us. If there are more coming, I want to know.”
“Sure thing.” He pulled a tiny device out of his pocket. It unfolded and expanded, looking like a mini helicopter. He clicked a button and sent it down the tunnel.
Its features were limited to going in one direction and exploding on contact. In other words, nearly useless. But we were desperate.
After another hundred yards a ladder was mounted to the wall, leading up to what I hoped was a manhole cover. “Wait here,” I said. Emma nodded and I started climbing.
I lifted the cover just enough to scan the area. The power was still out, and it gave people the perfect excuse to act up. It was chaos out there. People running, shoving each other, and fighting. Looting. Random spurts of gunfire.
Damn it. I should’ve gone the apartment route. I’d wanted chaos, but this…
Emma stood eight feet below me, huddled with her friend. She got to me. I knew she would to some extent, but not like this. The way she looked. The curve of her hip. And that awful blue hair. I was so screwed, and I couldn’t blame it on the pairing. The girl kicked my ass at games. Hacking. Everything about her was a turn-on.
It would’ve been idiotic to think that Lady Eva could match me with someone who wasn’t a fit for me. This girl was going to have me wrapped around her little finger if I wasn’t careful. I was probably lying to myself by thinking she didn’t already.
But keeping her safe was my priority. That hadn’t changed. It was just a little bit trickier.
An explosion echoed down the tunnels. Given the speed the bot traveled, we had maybe five minutes before backup was on our ass.
“We got incoming,” Dex shouted.
I dropped down the ladder quickly. “Riots and looting in the streets. We watch the girls, get them to safety. We move fast.”
“Where’re we headed? Safe house?” Dex asked.
“Not sure yet. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible. The grid is out, but with Parson here—that’s not going to last for long.”
“We just need wheels,” Emma said. “I can hotwire any car. Once we’re on the road, it’s easy to disappear.”
“Not as easy as you’d think with today’s—” Wait. She could what? I couldn’t hold back the laugh. Emma was out of control. I don’t know what I’d expected, but it wasn’t this. Not even close. “You can hotwire a car?”
She shrugged. “Sure. Can’t everyone?” She pushed me toward the ladder. “But does it matter? Shouldn’t we be getting the hell out of here?”
“You might be in over your head,” Dex said with a laugh.
“Shut it,” I said. “We’re going up. I’ll lead. You two cover. No one gets Emma.”
“Who’s Emma?” Mona asked.
I touched a strand of her blue hair. “She is Emma.” Did her friend not know who she was? A buzz of electricity shot past me, exploding the closest lantern. I ducked as shards flew past me. “Something bothering you, Em?”
Another lantern broke and I put a hand on her.
She shrugged it off. “Don’t. It feels like you’re sucking everything out of me when you touch me. It’s unnerving. And no using my real name. No one’s called me Emma since I was eight. It doesn’t even feel like my name anymore. And no one calls me Em.”
“I used to call you Em.”
She laughed and it wasn’t a good sound. “There’s only one person who called me Em and he was not you. I’ve never met you before.”
“You sure about that?” She looked at my helix tattoo and then back at my face, but I didn’t give her time to process. “Let’s move.”
I climbed up the ladder and pushed the manhole cover all the way to the side. I took a quick look before pulling myself up, and then reached down a hand. “Let’s go, Em. Fast,” I said when she didn’t move right away. Her little hand was totally swallowed up by mine when I pulled her out. I tucked her hand back in my belt loop. “Don’t let go.” I’d run too many missions to count, and I’d never felt so afraid before—the stakes were too high with Emma in the middle of the danger.
“Any chance you’ve got more of those bots, Dex?”
“No.”
Not good, but understandable. “Oliver?”
“Nothing. I wasn’t going in for a fight tonight.”
Neither was I. The only reason I was armed was because I never went anywhere without at least one weapon.
Mona was next. I kept searching for trouble as I pulled her out of the manhole. “There’s a parking lot at three o’clock.”
Some asshole rushed past us—not a threat until he tried to grab Emma. “Hey!” She screamed as she wrestled his grasp. I spun, punching my fist through his nose. Blood splattered as he fell to the ground.
People were bumping into us as Dex and Oliver climbed up. Someone tried to pick my pocket, but I grabbed the guy’s wrist. “Nice try. Pick someone else’s.”
As soon as Dex and Oliver were out of the tunnel, I kicked the cover back in place. The guys had been working with me for so long that we didn’t need to speak. We moved as one, covering each other as we worked through the mass of people. Looters ran by—carrying as many electronics as they could hold. Kids in filthy rags ran from minimarts with food spilling from their pockets and cradled in their shirts. A fight broke out in front of us—two guys trying to assault a girl—and I moved around it. On my way past I kicked the closest guy’s knee and heard the crunch as it broke. Oliver took care of the other guy. It went against the grain for me not to stop, but giving the girl the chance to run was the best we could do.
The parking garage was a five-story structure with stairwells running up the corners of the building. A couple people were partying on the stairs. Trash was kicked against the walls and it reeked of piss and body odor.
“Let’s go,” I said as we entered the ground floor. A few gangs of kids were already busy breaking into cars.
An explosion went off on one of the floors above.
The touch of Emma’s fingers against the small of my back weighed on me. The pressure to get her to safety… My hands were sweating as I gripped my gun. “I’ll stop at the best vehicle that can fit us all.”
We got a few aisles in, and Emma tugged on my pants. “This one.”
I checked the car over. It was a late model sedan painted an unassuming gray. No bells and whistles. “No. We need something faster. Or more sturdy.”
“No. This one. No one will look at it twice.”
Before I could stop her, Emma slipped away from me. She pushed a few buttons and the door popped open.
She was already in the car. How did she get in the car? “How’d you break the lock so quickly?”
She rolled her eyes. “Everyone knows this model has a hack.”
I couldn’t help but smile at the snark in her voice.
“The keypad was defective. Most were recalled, but I took a chance on this one. It’s a shitpit. Thus, probably stolen.” She swept a bunch of trash off the floorboard, sending it scattering down to the garage floor. “Next time you see a beat-up S580, press star-four-zero-eight-zero-six-star-star. Usually works. They’re an eyesore, but the horsepower is pretty solid.” She twisted so her head was under the steering column and ripped off the panel.
I put my gun away. “I can get the car started. I don’t want you to get electrocuted.” As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I realized how dumb they were. I was making a hell of an impression on her.
She laughed. “Are you sure you know me? Because, seriously, if you actually knew anything about me, then you know how incredibly stupid that was.”
“Habit. Didn’t want you getting hurt.”
Her gaze met mine for a second, and I felt it all the way to my bones. “That’s sweet, but not necessary.” She stripped the wire with her teeth. “I’m pretty good at taking care of myself.” She flicked the wires together, the engine turned, and she twisted them to hold the connection.
I pulled her out of the driver’s seat and pushed her toward the back of the car.
“What? What are you doing?” She tried to wiggle away, but I kept my grip on her arm.
“We’re going in the trunk.”
“No!” She punched me in the stomach, but it wasn’t hard enough to do any damage. “No! I’m not going in a trunk. And definitely not with you.”
Was she going to argue with me about everything? God, I hoped not. “Yes, you are. The Seligo will probably get surveillance of every girl who entered that club and you can bet they’ll find the blue-haired one who got away. They’ll have checkpoints set up to search every car for us. Once we get outside the blackout zone, the cameras will be looking, too. I know it’s not ideal, but we’re riding in the trunk.”
“By that logic, we should all be riding in the trunk. They’re going to know about all of us.”
“That’s why we’ll be splitting up soon. The helixes will follow the three of them on a wild goose chase in this car, thinking we’re hidden in the backseat or trunk, and we’ll go our own way once we get to a safe house in a dead zone. Eventually they’ll ditch this car and make sure they’re on tape so it’s clear only three of them were together. We’ll be off safe, and by the time Parson’s people realize it, they’ll be too busy backtracking trying to find us to go after the others.”
“What if they get caught? Mona’s my best friend.”
“That’s on Dex and Oliver. They’ll keep her safe. But I’m here to make sure you don’t get caught.”
The war she was waging with herself played across her face. She might think she hid her emotions, but she didn’t. She was scared and didn’t trust me. Not yet.
The trunk popped open, and I climbed in and held out my hand. “Please. Trust me this little bit. I promise I won’t let you down.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she muttered.
Her hand touched mine, and a little wave of electricity ran up my arm. Good thing I’d spent all that time maxing out how much voltage I could take. When I’d first gotten the modifications that paired me to her, I couldn’t take much, but it was like a muscle. The more I worked at it, the stronger I got. Now, I figured that I could take about as much as she could give without it stopping my heart or frying my insides.
She stepped awkwardly into the trunk, settling on her side with her back to me. I held her against me, and then reached to shut the hatch. We were instantly in the dark. Her hair fell in my face and I couldn’t help taking a whiff—it smelled like coconut.
“Did you just smell me?”
Busted. “Yes. Yes, I did.”
“Why?”
“You smell like coconut. It’s nice.”
She wiggled and her butt rubbed against my crotch.
Keep it together. One hundred thirty-seven divided by three. Four carry the one…five with two remaining.
I gripped Emma’s hip to steady her as the car started moving. I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, but I was a guy and even long division wasn’t going to stop my body from reacting if she didn’t stop wiggling.
The muffled sounds of people shouting grew louder. Someone slammed hands on the trunk as the car jerked forward.
Emma’s elbow hit my stomach and I grunted.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I relaxed, and pulled her into me. I brushed her hair away from her neck and ran my finger along her skin. She was so soft.
“What are you doing?”
Goose bumps ran down her arms, and I wanted to cheer with satisfaction. My touch was affecting her. “Nothing.”
“That’s not nothing.” Her voice was a little more raspy than usual.
I couldn’t really argue with that.
“How do I know you?”
“Do you remember me at all?” I was hoping she would just know, but that was probably unrealistic.
“No.”
“You haven’t asked me my first name.”
Emma rolled to face me and I grinned.
She was holding her breath for too long. “You okay?”
“You can’t be him.”
“Yes, I can.”
“How?”
I breathed deeply. “That’s a long story. What you did, it got me out. Free. I can never repay it, but I’m going to do my best to make it up to you.”
“You don’t need to repay me. I did the same thing that anyone else would do…or maybe not exactly the same thing. I didn’t mean to…you know…zap him.” She said those last few words really softly. “Sometimes I get upset, and I hurt people, but I don’t let myself get close to anyone. Not anymore. I’m too dangerous.”
“Not to me.”
“Yes. To everyone.”
“Not to me.” I sighed. “And I do have to make it up to you. What you did cost you a lot.”
“No. I was a ticking bomb. My mom hung onto her relationship with Jack, which was probably the reason everything happened. If I hadn’t gotten caught that day, it would’ve been a different day. It was inevitable. But what happened—”
Shouting came from outside. Dex or Oliver—I wasn’t sure who was driving—laid on the horn. Something slammed against the trunk and Emma jerked into my arms.
“Sorry,” she said.
“You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
“Are you really Hunter?” Her voice was even softer as she asked, like maybe she was afraid of the answer.
“Yes. A year after you took off, I went through the Trials. Earned a spot at the Academy and got my helixes a few years later.”
“Why’d you do it?”
I blew out a breath. How much should I tell her? I wanted her to trust me, but there were things about being a helix that I wasn’t too proud of. And for a while there, I nearly drank the water. Almost believed the crap they were selling. It wasn’t until I was on a mission and did something I didn’t think I could live with that I remembered why I joined the helixes.
“You.”
“That was a long pause for a one-word answer.”
I shrugged. “It’s the truth. I heard your uncle ranting about Red Helixes. Before then, they were monsters that would come get you in the night.” She laughed, and I took that as a good sign. “But after that, I wanted—needed—to pay you back. You lost a lot to save my life, and I knew you were in danger. I figured that by joining the helixes, I could find a way to help.”
“And did you?”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I’m here in a trunk with you, but I’m not sure if I can trust you.”
She would. I’d make sure of it. “The thing about trust is that it takes time. Remember when we first met?”
“Yeah,” her voice was so quiet, I almost didn’t hear her.
“It took me a while to trust you. To care about you. But you kept coming back. I’m willing to wait you out. I’ll show you that I can be trusted by my actions, not my words. Eventually, you’ll know that I’m here for you.”
We were quiet for a bit. It would be good to give her some space to think about what I’d said, but there wasn’t a ton of that in the trunk of a moving vehicle.
The sounds of rioting quieted as the car rolled on and we passed the thick of the chaos. Emma’s forehead rested against my sternum, and I itched to pull her closer yet didn’t dare. It was probably my pride, but I’d spent all this time chasing her…now I wanted her to come that last little bit on her own. Patience was something I’d struggled with, but I’d gotten good at it.
I couldn’t rush and I didn’t need to. With Emma, I was in it for the long haul.
The car stopped, and I pressed my fingers to her lips.
“Identification,” a stern voice said.
Checkpoints already? They’d moved faster than expected. “I’m on leave. We’re taking a little trip,” Oliver answered.
The light flickered in the trunk, and I gripped Emma’s hand. Her gaze shot to mine.
“No,” I mouthed.
Her eyes were wide as her hand squeezed mine. I could feel her heart pumping, and I couldn’t keep the distance anymore. I pulled her flush against me, rubbing my hand up and down her back. “It’s going to be okay,” I whispered. “Oliver is good at this. Trained for this. Just stay calm.”
Her breath hitched.
“You’re a Black? What are you doing out here? Everyone was either called into the Voids to search or sent out to blockades.” The man outside paused. “Your chip isn’t coming up.”
“That’s not right. Wait, the green light’s off on your unit. You sure you charged that?”
“Yeah. It was working a second ago.” He banged something. “Damn it. It’s broken. How the hell did that happen?”
Dex. The guy was handy.
“Wow. That sucks,” Dex said so earnestly that I nearly laughed.
“We have our coms off, so I don’t know what’s going on in the Voids,” Oliver said. “I requested this leave months ago and I’m not going to let anything get in the way of me, my six-pack, and this girl here. She’s freaking hot and has the tiniest pink bikini.”
The guy laughed. “I hear you. Well, you better get out while you can. I’m not supposed to let anyone go, but a couple of fellow helixes and their chick should be fine.”
The car started moving again.
I focused back on Emma. Her breath came in pants, and electricity licked along my skin—it jolted me like I’d had a few too many cups of coffee.
I pounded on the back of the trunk. “Get us to the safe house. Now.”
“What’s going on?” Mona said.
“She’s having a panic attack.” I took Emma’s face in my hands. “Breathe with me.”
“I should’ve left. I should’ve left. Why did I stay when I should’ve left? Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.”
She kept chanting the word and I wrapped my arms around her. “Where’re we going, guys?”
“Another safe house,” Dex said. “It’s on the outskirts of town, twenty miles out. We can regroup there.”
I ran my fingers through her hair. “Not long now. We’re fine. You’re safe with me.” She was shaking, and it was killing me. I held on tight.
