“Pictures? I think.” Cass grabbed a piece of his hair and started braiding it. “I didn’t understand what they wanted from me. The healers kept getting frustrated because I’m not smart.”
Riot watched him struggle with the fragmented memories, and something cold settled in his stomach. He’d seen this before—the gaps, the confusion, the sense of something important just out of reach. It was what happened when corporations fucked with someone’s head and then covered their tracks.
“What kind of pictures?” Riot asked,
“Pictures of... people, I think?” Cass couldn’t meet their eyes. “I don’t really remember, and when I try, it hurts.” He trailed off,his blush spreading to his ears. “I was the first person to ever fail the program.”
The pieces clicked together in Riot’s head with sickening clarity. “You and Honey were matched by their compatibility program, right?”
Cass nodded miserably.
Riot didn’t dare look at what Lilac’s face was doing. He was pretty sure she was kicking off a boot to hit him over the head with at this point. He cupped Cass’s face. “You’re not going back there, you hear me?”
“But Honey—” His voice broke. “If I don’t finish my mission, they’ll put her through it too. Honey is very smart, she might remember the parts that hurt.”
“Then we’ll get her out.” The words left Riot’s mouth before he’d fully thought them through.
“Riot.” Lilac’s voice was sharp. “Unapalabra.”
He ignored her. “We’ll go back to the Collective, figure out a plan, and get her away from Elysian before they can touch her.”
“¿Estás loco?“ Lilac’s voice dropped to rapid Spanish. “No puedes prometer eso. Nadie sale de Elysian. Es una locura.”
You can’t promise that. Nobody leaves Elysian. This is crazy.
She was right. He knew she was right. Elysian wasn’t like the Syndicate or SVI or even Gensyn—their people didn’t run because their people didn’t want to run. The psychological conditioning was too complete, too insidious. And even if they could get Honey out physically, deprogramming someone from Elysian’s brainwashing was a whole other nightmare. He had no business making this promise and absolutely no right to drag the Collective into a war with one of the three most powerful corporations in the Incorporated States of New America for a girl he’d never met.
But the thought of disappointing Cass—of watching that hope curdle into resignation—made Riot’s throat close up.
“I mean it,” Riot said, holding Cass’s gaze. “We’ll get her out.”
“Riot…” Lilac started again.
“We’ll figure it out.” He didn’t look at her. He couldn’t look away from Cass if he’d wanted to. “But first, you’re coming with us. Tonight. I’m not leaving you here for that sick fuck to keep hurting.”
Cass flinched.
“Your mission doesn’t matter if you’re dead. Or worse.” Riot’s voice hardened, but underneath the steel was something that felt dangerously close to pleading.Come with me. Let me keep you safe. Let me—“Brother Matthias is escalating. You know he is. The thigh wounds are new. How long before he decides there are other places that need ‘release’?”
Cass flinched again and the fear in his scent spiked sharp enough to taste. Riot hated himself for causing it—but better a moment of fear now than whatever Brother Matthias would do if Cass stayed.
“I’m not asking,” Riot said, softer now but no less firm. “You’re coming with us. And then we’ll figure out how to help Honey. Together.”
“You promise?” His voice was barely a whisper. “You promise you’ll help her?”
“I promise.”
The word settled into Riot’s chest like a stone. Heavy. Permanent. He’d made a lot of promises in his life—most of them lies, most of them broken. But this one felt different. This one he’d die to keep.
Lilac made a disgusted sound. “Dios mío,you’re both going to get us killed.”
But she didn’t argue further. She knew Riot well enough to recognize when he’d made up his mind—and well enough to know that trying to talk him out of it would just waste time they didn’t have.
Cass looked between them for a long moment, something shifting in his expression. Then, slowly, he nodded.
“Okay,” he whispered. “Okay. I’ll come with you.”
Chapter sixteen
