Sovereign (Sovereign Series) (19 page)

“Cori.” 
Dylan is suddenly right beside me. 

“What’s
happening?” 

“It
was supposed to be the first of a routine scanning procedure.  Looking for
suspicious activity.  But there was a security breach after it was announced,
and they haven’t found the source.”

A
moment passes while it all soaks in.  Who would breach security?  I didn’t
think many of us had anything to hide.

“Cori.” 
Alyssa stares at me.  I realize I haven’t responded and my mouth is hanging
open.

“We
have to go.  We have to go now,” I tell them.

“What
are you talking about?  Go where?” Alyssa whimpers, worry now consuming her. 
She’s never seen me this unraveled.

I
look Dylan in the eyes.  “I’ve seen too much.  They’ll kill all three of us.”

“Dylan?”
Alyssa asks, looking to him for a reply that makes sense to her.  His eyes
don’t leave mine.

“She’s
right.  We have to go.”

“How?”
Alyssa whispers.

I
look over my shoulder at the truck we just rode in on, and it’s still loaded up
and the doors hang wide open.  I have no idea how to drive.

“Follow
me,” I tell them.

I
look to my left at the line beside us, one line closer to the truck.  I
sidestep to the back of the line, and Dylan and Alyssa follow.  I fold my hands
in front of me and try to blend in.  I hope they are doing the same.  When my
line steps forward, I sidestep again joining the next line, cutting a few
people off.  They grumble so we move again, making sure to go to the back of
the next line. 

I
spot Jacob making his way onto the platform and looking over the shoulder of
the first operator.  He looks up and scans the lines until he lands on me. 
He’s ready to see what I’ve seen.  I risk a slight turn toward Dylan, trying to
look nonchalant.

I
whisper, “You two get in the cab of that truck.  I’ll catch up.”

“No,
we’re not splitting up.”  Dylan’s voice is a low growl.

“I’m
being watched, we have to.”  I meet his eyes and pray he can see how serious I
am.  The tension in his jaw reminds me that he doesn’t like being out of
control any more than I do.  “Please,” I plead with him. 

The
two of them shift into the next line, and I glance at them to make sure they
aren’t touching.  If I get them out of here safely, they can touch all they
want, but now’s not the time. 

Jacob’s
gaze is still locked on me.  What am I going to do if he never looks away?  Or
worse, if Nathan shows up. 
Where is Nathan?

I
glance around and spot Ginny holding a little one.  They’re next in line at the
first station.  She locks eyes with me and gives me a nod that seems to be
meant as assurance.  I don’t understand.  Her face is so grave, I can’t help
but assume there’s a severe meaning.

I
watch as she climbs the steps onto the platform and then something unbelievable
and utterly confusing happens.  She pinches the toddler on the back of his bare
arm and he instantly begins to scream and kick his legs.  His foot hits the
scan operator in the head, and the operator stands to confront Ginny.

Jacob
and everybody else who seems at all “in charge” out here turn to the
disturbance and most of them head that direction as it seems to have turned
into a scuffle between Ginny--toddler still in tow--and the technician.

I
take the opportunity since no one seems to be watching.  I grab Dylan and
Alyssa by the arms and push them toward the truck.  “Run!” 

The
three of us take off and I open the driver door of the cab and let the two of
them crawl in before I climb up behind them.  I pull the door closed and try to
find the keys, hoping the driver left them in the cab.  I check the ignition,
the visor, the cup holder.  I can’t find them.  How did I not consider this
flaw in my plan?

Two
hands slam into my door, and I jump, grabbing the door handle to hold it
closed.  I look to see who’s caught us and am blindsided to find it’s Titus. 
He looks desperate.  I’m so stunned, I let him open the door.  I see the driver
from our convoy knocked out on the ground behind him.  Titus jingles the keys
at me.  “Slide over.”

I
don’t hesitate to let him in.  He cranks the engine and revs the gas, which I
notice is on the right.  The left must be the brake.  He scans his finger on
the control panel and punches a series of keys.  He looks at the gate, but
nothing happens.  He curses under his breath.  “It’s locked down.  I’m sorry.”

“You’re
the breach,” Dylan accuses Titus.

Titus
nods.  “You’re going to have to do it yourself,” he tells me looking intensely
into my eyes.  “P means park, D means drive, R means reverse.  Don’t use N.  My
code is 6698745.”

“Okay,”
I say, with a tremble growing from within and appearing as a quiver in my
bottom lip. 

Titus
kisses me on the forehead and jumps out of the cab leaving the door hanging
open.  People just can’t seem to stop touching me, but my heart still hurts
watching him go.  I slide into the driver seat. 

Titus
runs to the manual control panel on the gate and punches his codes.  The gate
begins to open and I shout to him, hoping he can make it with us after all. 
His eyes meet mine but he’s frozen still.  He mouths “go” and I finally notice
the blood splotch on his chest.

I
vaguely hear myself screaming as Dylan reaches across me and pulls the door
shut.  I try to pull the truck into drive but I can’t move the lever.  I push
the brake and try again, and it shifts.  I hit the gas and fly through the gate
as a soldier tries to close it, but we make it through.  In the side mirror I
see a handful of soldiers chasing us, but they fall behind.

We
travel through the wide open space, and more than halfway through I see a truck
approaching us from the perimeter.  In the cab, a shocked Nathan pulls a weapon
at the last second and he fires a shot right before we pass them--but he misses
me.  We’re almost to the border. 

I
reach up and punch in Titus’s code, 6698745.  Another car comes through the
portal on the right of a pole so I have no choice but go left.  And I hope it
works.

Bullets
hit the truck from all around, probably from the towers.  I yell as I drive
through the opening, unscathed. 

“Get
down.”  I glance over at Dylan whose hand is covered in blood and pressed
against Alyssa’s neck.  My heart sinks.  That shot was meant for me.

Not
long after the perimeter, we enter the woods which get dense really quickly and
the truck slams into a tree. 

“Can
you carry her?” I ask, desperately.

“She’s
gone,” Dylan says, fighting back tears.  I kiss Alyssa’s hand and jump out of
the cab hoping Dylan will follow.  I run deeper and deeper into the woods and
hear Dylan’s heavy footsteps close behind.

Rifles
shoot relentlessly in our direction and I hear men barking orders somewhere
behind us. 

“We’re
not going to make it,” I cry out.

“Run
faster.”  Dylan passes me and begins to lead the way, and for a huge guy he’s
surprisingly quick on his feet.  He jumps bushes and fallen limbs, and dodges
trees.  He changes direction several times, and I manage to keep up, trying my
best to follow his steps exactly.

We
run, duck, dive, dart.  I try to count up the hours it’s been since I’ve held
food down as I feel the fatigue beginning to overtake the adrenaline.  Dylan,
however, shows no sign of fatigue, nor emotion.  He’s a machine.

I
focus on Dylan’s feet, which begin to slow some time later.  “We can’t stop,” I
breathe out.

“That
way,” he points the other direction and I take the lead, having no idea what he
saw that made him want to change course.  I see a break in the trees up ahead
and run full speed toward it. 

“Woah,
woah,” Dylan says, and he grabs my shoulder.  He looks cautiously at the
clearing, which I realize is a street.  We look both ways and see nothing.  I
squint to see into the woods on the other side of it, and it looks clear. 
“Okay.”

I
take a tentative step toward the street, and hear a click beneath my foot. 
“Stop,” Dylan hisses, too late, as I retract my leg. 

A
piece of metal flies out of the ground and spins in the air, a blue laser
spinning with it.  The laser stops on my chest and the chunk splits in half,
the larger piece flying at me and what’s left falling to the ground. 

When
the device slams into my torso, I feel my skin breaking as the device attaches
itself, then an acidic, burning sensation pipes in and blurs my vision. 

I
sway under the chemically induced weight and sense the pavement getting close
to my face.  Dylan’s arms catch me before the blackness takes me under.

The
air is heavy.  My clothes and hair are damp.  The ache in my head is so strong,
my temples throb, and there’s pressure behind my eyes.  A shiver is settled in
my ribcage and feels like it’s been there a while.  A warm hand rubs my arm,
and my eyes pop open.  What at first is a blur becomes Dylan’s face directly in
front of mine.  My senses slowly come back and I realize his arms are wrapped
around me.  Mere inches separate us, and we’re lying down...together.

I
shy away but bump into something.  I put my hand on his chest to push him from
me, but he doesn’t budge.  I’m constricted--there’s no room to move.

“Shh,”
he whispers as he tries to restrain me.  He’s pure strength, yet he doesn’t
hurt me.

I
reach all around and there’s nothing but walls, boundaries.  I tremble harder
now.  There’s only a faint light so I can’t make out where we are.  My hand
returns to Dylan’s bare chest.  “Where’s your shirt?” I ask, trying to keep
myself calm.

“Shh,”
he whispers again.  “We’re okay.  We have to keep quiet.”

I’m
still shaking.  “Where are we?”

He
looks around.  “A hollowed-out tree.”

I
reach behind me and drag my fingers across the rough wood.  I close my eyes to
keep from feeling claustrophobic.  As I focus on the pitter-patter of rain
outside our hiding place, I breathe in and out, forcing myself into a rhythm. 
As the rain slows, I open my eyes again.

“How
are you feeling?”

“Where’s
your shirt?” I ask, again catching myself with my hand on his chest, mostly to
maintain the distance between us.  His skin is smooth and his muscle tone
remarkable.  I can’t help but admire his physique.  I’ve never seen an
undressed male up close.  And I’ve certainly never touched one. 

“You’re
wearing it.”

“What?” 
I look down and confirm his statement.  “Where’s my shirt?” I ask, suddenly
feeling a deep blush coming on. 

“I
had to get the bot off you.”

My
hand darts to my chest, feeling for the machine.  Waking up like this with
Dylan in my face, I’d forgotten all about it.  “Where is it?  What happened?” I
ask, a little panicky.

“I
removed and deactivated it.  I had to get the shirt off to check out the
puncture wounds.  They’re not too deep.” 

He
took off my shirt. 

Insecurity
as I’ve never known it sweeps over me and my cheeks burn red.  I can’t tell if
the pain in my chest is from anxiety or from the wounds.

Then
something dawns on me.  I touch my chest again, beyond relieved when I feel the
stupid bra still there. 
He didn’t see anything
.
 If I ever see Ginny again, I’ll have to thank her.

But
I’ll never see Ginny again.  I’ll never see a lot of people again.  A cold pain
pricks my heart for Alyssa and Titus.  I can’t seem to focus on which one I’m
more distraught over, not that choosing would make things easier.  Two more notches
in my belt--the death toll. 

“They’re
gone because of me.  I got them killed,” I mumble.  “Twig, too.”  The three are
proof that I shouldn’t let people close. 

One
of Dylan’s arms is still wrapped around me, supporting my neck.  His free hand
moves toward my face, but he stops himself before making contact.  At least he
tries not to touch me.  “Listen to me.  Nathan is responsible for their
deaths.  Not you.”

I
can’t bring myself to meet his eyes even though I feel his gaze.  He can’t
possibly mean that. 

“I’m
sorry, Dylan,” I force out, fighting off tears.  “I’m sorry about Alyssa.”  He
should hate me.

“I’m
sorry, too.”  How could he be so kind?  I go back and forth over what I should
say, if there’s anything I even could say, but he beats me to the punch,
knocking me completely off guard.  “Who are you crying for?” he asks. 

“What?” 
I didn’t realize I was crying.

“Titus?” 

I
can’t hide the pain the mention of his name causes, but
I
don’t even
understand it.  Titus and I were barely friends, but there was something in him
I felt connected to.  Besides Dylan he was the only person who saw me.  And
here’s Dylan seeing me now--seeing me falling apart when I’m supposed to be
strong.  I was
supposed
to be the one with the plan, the grand escape to
save my friends.