Page 48 of The Pacifist
I was thoughtful for a second. “You’re right.”
“Look at the bright side, at least here people don’t beat you up for disagreeing with them.”
“There’s that, but facing a Council full of critics isn’t fun either. It’s just a matter of time before they schedule a hearing. I should prepare my defense.”
Mila’s shoulders fell. “I’m sorry.”
“They will expect me to stand with my head down and apologize to them like a schoolboy, but I can’t do that, Mila. Not when my agenda on the Council is to change the same laws that I broke.”
Lifting her arms, she silently invited me in for a hug. I moved close to her and with her sitting on the counter, my head rested perfectly against her neck.
“No matter what happens, I’ll support you.”
Hugging Mila felt like finding a safe haven during a powerful storm and for a short moment everything was all right. “Thank you, Milove,” I whispered against her neck and wondered what she would do if I kissed her again.
“Just do me a favor.” Mila pulled back to look at me. “Talk to Pearl before the hearing. Didn’t she once pull something off against all odds that was of the same magnitude as this?”
I nodded and planted a kiss on Mila’s cheek. “I’ll talk to her. I promise.”
“Good.” For a moment we held eye contact and I was so close to kissing her when she turned her attention back to the book. “Do you mind if I read it now?”
“No.” Swallowing hard, I pulled back and tried to act normal. “Go ahead, you’ll love it.”
Mila slid down from the counter, holding the book against her chest like the precious item it was. “You’ve read it. Is it very steamy?”
“I’m not going to tell you anything. Read it, and then we can compare notes later.”
She was on her way to my bedroom, when I called out, “But Mila.”
“Yes?” She turned in the doorway.
“It’s our secret, okay?”
Her smile just about blew me over. Anyone could see that Mila had beautiful and symmetrical features, but not many got to see the special smile she shared with the few selected people that she loved. It was an open window into the sweetness that was Mila. The warmth that radiated from her along with the pure excitement in her eyes gave her a special glow. When she smiled like this, I forgot to breathe. “Don’t worry, Jonah, you can trust me.”
And then she was gone.
I blinked my eyes, bringing myself out of the temporary trance I was in and shaking my head to get my brain going again.
Cole called once more, asking if I had contacted the traffic registry.
“Yes, they promised to send over what they had on the drone that the fire fighters saw.”
“Well, did they?” His tone was impatient.
“Sorry, let me check. Yes, I’ve got it… umm, okay, the drone was used by a person called Enna Johnson, but it says the information has been edited.”
“What do you mean it’s been edited?”
“I don’t know. There’s no log of previous information. Only the name Enna Johnson.”
“So not Anne?”
“No.” I narrowed my eyes. “Wait a minute.”
“What is it, do you know her?”
“Enna is a peculiar name, isn’t it?”
