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“I kept it up, and nobody messed with me anymore. Nobody got handsy with me, nobody made jabs at me, nobody crossed me. I was one of them. I fit in. I made myself fit in. Made it seem like I was the powerful one, the one they needed to watch out for.”
And so the flirty, thorny, take-no-shit Anna was born. Sometimes she wondered how much of that was already in her, and how much had been created so that she could survive. It had been so long now, she wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter, either, because this was who she was now, who she’d always be.
“It worked well, because I kept climbing up the ladder. Just like I’d wanted to.” Hayden hadn’t said a word, but it didn’t matter. She needed to tell someone, anyone, for herself. It didn’t matter if he listened or not, but she knew that he would. Hayden was always listening, watching, silently paying attention and soaking everything in. “When Rain escaped from Alan, he wanted to make sure he didn’t lose Julia, too. But he didn’t trust his men not to touch her. A woman, on the other hand…”
It was her time to shine. Her perfect moment. “I started guarding Julia. It put me in the perfect position to prove myself to Governor Alan.” And so her plan was set fully in motion. She’d had the right people in her corner, the right clearances, the top levels of intel, the acceptance of her fellow officers… things most female officers wouldn’t dream of.
“Greene was planning on a visit exactly eleven days after you’d stormed the compound.” She had organized the entire thing, convinced Alan that it would be a great move to show the Intelligence Director just how efficiently he ran his District. “I was going to slit his throat in his sleep, sneak out with Julia, and,” the irony of it all, “try to find you guys so we could be safe and join the cause.”
She chuckled, shaking her head.
“That’s the real reason you dislike me. Dislike the Resistance, refuse to join us. It was never about the gun, or the town, or even the handcuffs.” Hayden brushed his hand over his face, one half covered in thick stubble and the other smooth as ever. “We ruined your plans. Your revenge.”
She nodded, biting back her urge to pester him again over the handcuffs. “I know it wasn’t your fault. I know that what you did saved thousands of lives, Rain and Julia and probably myself included. But I just… it felt like I’d wasted a decade of my life.” She would’ve been better off laying low, staying quiet, and escaping on her first border patrol shift. Now all she could think about was finding a way to make it right, with or without a plan in place. She barely cared if she lived or died, so long as she saw Greene dead first. So lost as it wasn’t all for nothing.
“There is no wasted time. All that time turned you into the person you are.”
She pushed the air from her lungs with force. “I’m not sure I like the person I am.” She wasn’t even sure she knew the person she was if not a means to an end. She’d had so much blood on her hands, so much more when she thought of all the brutal acts she’d turned the other cheek to. There was an ocean of blood in her past, and as of now? It was all for nothing. That’s why she needed to follow through on her plans, to take out the man who created her, who turned her into this monster.
“I do,” Hayden quietly admitted. She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn’t know what he was referring to. “I know what you’re thinking. I know where your mind is going. But just know, that blood would’ve been spilled anyway.”
Her jaw dropped just a little. How did he…?
“Instead, think about what would have happened were you not there. Julia would have starved or succumbed to her wounds. Rain would have been killed for her pregnancy long before Hunter could get to her. That town would’ve blown up, Derek and Julia inside of it.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing. “And I wouldn’t be on this lovely, frigid walk toward the UNR’s main stronghold in the middle of winter with no backup.” He grinned, and she swore that grin melted something inside of her.
“Hey, you have backup!” She threw a playful punch his way. “You have me.” She winked.
The look he gave as he gazed down on her was… far more emotion than she’d ever seen on Hayden’s stoic face. His features were soft, warm, a small smile on his lips. “I have you,” he agreed.
She smiled back up at him, turning her eyes to the ground, not trusting herself to stare at his handsome face any longer. After all, all that smiley sweet talk might make her do something dangerous, like stop hating him.
Because she definitely hadn’t done that days ago. Certainly not.
She bit her lip to stop the smile from growing. It didn’t work.
? ♥ ?
For three hours, Hayden strategized with her. According to him, since he’d ruined her previous plan, it was his responsibility to come up with a new one.
She had laughed and brushed it off, but he was dead serious, and she certainly wasn’t going to say no.
So they walked, and talked, picking both of their minds for whatever information they had on the Eastern Stronghold and it’s Director of Intelligence. Hayden, as usual, was full of knowledge. Even for him, though, he seemed to know a lot more than he should’ve about Greene.
“Are you sure you haven’t dealt with him before?” she asked.
Hayden just shrugged and told her that it was his job to know all high-ranking UNR officials. She wasn’t so sure about that, but the man liked to keep his sources to himself, so she let it slide. Maybe she just wasn’t used to him being so forthcoming.
It would be hard to pull something like this off with just the two of them. Maybe Anna should’ve opened up back at the compound so Hayden could have enlisted the help of his brothers. At the very least, Hunter would’ve had a lot of insight into a battle strategy that would get them in and out of the place without backup or getting killed in the process.
“The Eastern Stronghold isn’t like the district we took back there. It’s huge, presiding over at least fifty districts, all larger than our own. They certainly don’t know every person they rule over.”
Hayden was right, of course. They just had to blend in. Granted, that was a little hard with his attention-grabbing scars and her choppy, unkempt hair. A hat could solve her problem, but his was a bit more pressing.
Especially being that the Resistance was known to have a heavily scarred leader. Hayden’s face was recognizable. Any higher-up and, honestly, most low-level officers, too, would have seen a drawing or photo of him at some point.
Still, they could find their way in. He had a hoodie in one of his many supply bags, and that would get them far enough, so long as they kept their heads down.
The more they talked and bounced ideas off one another, the more clearly their plan developed. And, though she wouldn’t admit it, the more clear it became that she’d had no plan before today, rushing in and thinking she’d blow the place up and somehow manage to sneak into the Stronghold that way while the guards were distracted.
