Chapter 14 - Eve

I’m not a rebel!

I felt like screaming it. I didn’t want any of this. I didn’t want to shoot the guards. I didn’t want to lose my comfortable, successful life. A life I no longer had. A life that disappeared the night Micah showed up at the Capitol to rescue me.

“SHOOT, EVE!”

I aimed. I pulled the trigger. The bolt of electricity jolted the gun. My shot went awry, but still caught one of the guards in the arm. His hand went limp. He dropped his own paralyzer gun. I pulled the trigger again. And again. I missed more than I hit anything, but the fact that the guards had to pay attention to me now helped Darion.

He grabbed my hand again, yanking me forward. “Can you run and shoot at the same time?”

“I’m not a rebel, Darion.”

He grinned. “You are now.”

I scowled and the smile slid off his face. He didn’t speak again as we charged the gates.

Darion slid his security card into the lock. It actually surprised me when it worked. “They haven’t revoked your security yet?”

“It takes ten minutes to shut down the security and reboot it. My guess is that it took a while for word to filter down that it was me who helped Micah escape the National Prison.” He turned away and pushed open the gate. “Let’s go.”

I glanced back at the Capitol. Guards poured toward us. I gritted my teeth. I could’ve done so much.

I responded to the tug on my hand, following Darion through the gates without looking back again. We sprinted along the wall. Instinctively I looked over my shoulder when I heard the roar of an engine. A black sports car raced up the street toward us.

It skidded to a halt, throwing up gravel around us. The passenger door opened. “Get in.”

Darion hesitated. I recognized the blond young man that was with Micah the night President Dannah died.

“He’s a friend of Micah’s,” I said.

Darion nodded and slid behind the passenger seat into the back. I jumped in next to the blond boy. He pressed the accelerator. The car shot forward before I had my door closed.

“I’m Tanner,” the driver introduced himself with a glance over his shoulder at Darion. “I promised Micah a long time ago I’d keep an eye out for his sister. I figured Isoli would turn pretty quickly on her once Micah escaped. Looks like you did all the dirty work for me, though. I would’ve had a heck of a time breaking into the Capitol to get her out.”

Darion smiled. “No problem.”

“Olivia says I can trust you. Is that true?” Tanner’s gaze slid over me. He looked hard at Darion. Heat rushed into my face. I thought maybe the question had been for me.

Darion held up his wrist. I caught the bar code, but Darion pulled his arm back before I saw the numbers. “You can now.”

Tanner’s eyes betrayed surprise, but he didn’t react beyond that. He nodded curtly. Why did Darion’s bar code earn him Tanner’s automatic trust?

“What’s the quickest way out of Phoenix?” Darion asked.

Tanner shook his head. “Isoli ordered the wall up about five minutes ago. Phoenix is sealed nice and tight.”

I turned to look out the window, ignoring the buildings blurring by us and the red and blue lights behind us. Instead I tried to pierce the darkness to see if Tanner was right. I only remembered the iron wall of Phoenix emerging from underground once in my life; the day my parents were taken. Without warning Tanner swung the steering wheel to the left. I banged my head against the window.

“Sorry,” he apologized.

“It’s okay.”

“Did Micah get out of town?” Darion leaned forward between the seats.

Tanner nodded. “The plane was in the air before Isoli locked the city up. I don’t think Isoli has considered that Micah might’ve been on that plane.”

The heat pulsed in my face, but I kept quiet. I didn’t know how true that was. “What plane?”

“Dr. Braga--the elder,” Tanner corrected quickly, “has a private jet. It’s taking Micah and a few other rebels to our headquarters in southern Utah.”

Darion sighed and leaned back. “You can help us, though, right? You can help us get to the rebel headquarters?”

Tanner paused several moments before he answered. “You know Isoli better than I do. And I know the chances that he’ll let her out of Phoenix are slim to none. If he’s figured out Micah’s already out of the city, he knows Eve is his last link to Micah. He’s going to do whatever it takes to get to her.”

Darion’s gaze met mine. Concern dominated his eyes. Warmth spread through my veins like tentacles. Why did Darion risk everything to save me? Was it something in the numbers on his wrist? Could it possibly be just me?

“So what do we do?” he asked Tanner.

“Until we can figure out how to get two of the most recognizable faces in Phoenix out, we’ll have to hide in plain sight.”