Page 93 of Devotion

“I love him,” I go on hoarsely. “What you saw wasn’t him using me. It was an act of love. Please help us.” I’m shaking helplessly now. It feels like I might fall apart at any minute.

But I don’t regret what I said even though it stripped away the final layer of protection around my heart.

The woman looks back at Ben again. It’s another speaking gaze that only the two of them understand.

I don’t see any indication of response on Ben’s rough, stoic face, but the woman clearly does.

She says, “Your note said you have something that might be of interest to us?”

“Yes,” Gabriel replies, sounding calm even though he’s clutching my hand so hard it hurts. “Plans to the Arsenal. Layout, guard rotations, and organization. We’ve hidden the plans. If you get us safely across the border, I’ll tell you where they are.”

I’m surprised but don’t show it. I never saw him hiding the plans. I assumed he still had them in the inside pocket of his jacket, but maybe he did it while I was dropping off or receiving the message back in the settlement.

There’s a long, tense pause before the woman says, “Okay. We’ll get you across. Then you’ll tell me the location of those plans. We’ve got two-way radios. I’ll have a couple of my men stay here and check the hiding place before we let you go, in case you’re looking to double-cross us.”

“Agreed,” Gabriel murmurs, relaxing just slightly.

“But we’ll only do it on one condition.” She turns to meet my gaze again. “I understand you love him, but sometimes our hearts blind us to the ways we’re being hurt.” Before I can object, she goes on, “We’ll get you both across the border. But I’m not leaving you in his hands. We’ll take you to your family, but he can’t be with you when you go. When you’re safe with your family, you can make a freer decision about how you really want to spend the rest of your life.”

I don’t like that. At all. I don’t like what she’s still implying about Gabriel’s nature and motives.

But Gabriel responds immediately. “Agreed.” He squeezes my hand one more time before he lets it go.

The next severalhours are confusing and scary.

Our first stop is our hidden motor, where we get our pack from the trunk. Before he straps it on his shoulders, Gabriel opens the hood to the motor’s engine and removes the battery. He then leans over to unlatch a compartment where he pulls out the spare battery.

They’re fully encased in impenetrable metal. The only way to open them to see how they’re constructed or repair them is with a key that only officially licensed mechanics in the Capital have access to. That’s how they’ve been able to keep the technology from being replicated in the rest of the world. It takes significant force to break through the outer shell, and doing so always destroys the internal components.

The two batteries are worth more than precious jewels. I’m not surprised Gabriel is taking them with us, but I am surprised that the rebels don’t try to confiscate them.

They don’t. They wait impatiently and then hurry us away.

The woman, whose name we learn is Annabelle, has a lot more men in her ranks than just Ben. There were three stationed around the cabin and a few more hidden in spots on the road leading up to it. We walk for a couple of miles, and then they bundle us into the back of a truck along with barrels and boxes of supplies.

After that, I have no idea what happens. My hiding place is separate from Gabriel’s, so I can’t even huddle close to him for comfort. They drive us what feels like a very long way. We’re bounced around in the back so much I’m afraid I’ll get sick, but I don’t. We stop for a while, and I hear the murmur of muffled voices. Then we drive some more.

It feels like hours have passed when the door at the back of the truck opens with a long, stretched squeal.

It’s dark outside, but there’s light from a couple of lanterns. Gabriel helps me stand. My legs ache from being cramped up for too long.

He jumps to the ground and then reaches up to help me down too.

I lean on him, holding on to his shirt, shaky and needy and still terrified.

“You’re over the border,” Annabelle tells us.

“We are?” I ask, blinking around and trying to orient myself to where we are. It looks like nothing. Just a wide plain of overgrown grass and some scrubby bushes.

Annabelle’s expression as she focuses on me is softer than it was before. “Yes. So as soon as we confirm those Arsenal plans, I’ll make sure you get to your family in Saint Louis safely. Your man can take off to wherever he wants to go.”

I gasp and peer up at Gabriel.

It’s too dark to see details, but there’s something haunted as well as tender about his expression as he gazes down at me.

Then he clears his throat and pulls a sheaf of folded papers out of the inside pocket of his jacket. He hands them to Annabelle.

If I’m surprised, surely she is too. But her face reveals none of that. She slants Gabriel a sardonic look and unfolds the pages. Ben steps over to shine his lantern so she can better read them.

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