AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He had no complaints about that fact.
Nearly at the compound gates, Hayden noticed footsteps behind him. They were quiet, but untrained. Hesitant.
“Julia,” he guessed as he turned. Her red hair caught the sunlight, making it appear far brighter than it usually did. She gave him a shy smile.
His brother’s—wife? Lover? Partner? He wasn’t sure what they were going by these days—had always been particularly nervous around people, him included. It pleased him to see her getting more comfortable, slowly but surely.
“Are you going after Anna?”
Ah, so she realized Anna had gone. Had she left a note for Julia as well? Told her what her plans were beforehand? He simply nodded. Hayden was known to have answers, not questions, and he had a reputation to uphold, after all.
“I went by her place this morning and noticed everything empty. When I saw you leaving the compound, I kinda figured she’d left.” She fidgeted with her sleeves as she spoke.
“She took something of mine, and I’ll be needing it back.”
Julia’s eyes widened, and then she nodded. “I wanted to mention something to you. I don’t know if it’s important or dumb or what, but I just figured you should know.” She half-shrugged.
Hayden raised a brow. Waited.
“Oh. So, uh, when I was still seeing Anna secretly, before you’d found her and she helped us, I asked her why she wouldn’t join the Resistance.” She pulled her jacket more tightly around her. “She said that you were the good guys, and that she wasn’t ready yet to be one of the good guys. I don’t know what that means, or if it’s relevant, or if--”
“Thank you, Julia. That helps.” He held out his hand, an offer of thanks. She took it without thought, gave it a squeeze, then went back to hugging her torso. “If my brothers ask where I am--”
“You’ll be back soon,” she answered for him.
The corner of his mouth twitched, almost turning into a smile. She’d gotten to know him better than he thought. He nodded. “I’ll be back soon.”
She smiled wide at that, gave him a wave, and headed back into the compound.
Julia’s admission made plenty of sense. He knew exactly what it meant, because he’d felt it once, too. Anna was after revenge.
And she hadn’t asked for his assistance? That was almost more of a slight than stealing from him.
? ♥ ?
Anna hadn’t made nearly enough progress. Getting answers from the bombmaker took longer than she’d hoped, and she was far too close to the compound for her liking. Hayden would certainly come after her, of that she had no doubt… she’d taken his communication device.
Her only plan to deal with that was to put as much space between herself and him as she could. And she was failing in that plan.
Worst case scenario, if she felt he was closing in on her? She’d ditch the device somewhere easy for him to find. Make her plans work without it. It’d be helpful, sure, but it certainly wasn’t pivotal. Then he could march back home with his device and leave her be.
Yep, that would work. For now, though? She needed distance.
Her hands were sticky with blood, and she desperately wanted to clean them, but… time. Did she have the time? No, probably not. The blood had been on her hands for long enough, she could surely go a little longer, no?
But the sound of rushing water called to her, and she couldn’t resist that call.
Pushing herself forward with quick, quiet movements, she slowly saw the rough waters come into view. She’d never seen such a beautiful sight.
Plan. She needed a plan. Wash hands. Keep clothes dry so I don’t freeze to death. Fill canteen. Get the hell out of here. Perfect.
She dropped her backpack at a nearby tree, unwilling to risk losing it to the river. Even if she fell in herself, the device needed to remain safe. Then Hayden could find it, whenever he came for her.
Moving to the water’s edge, she dropped to her knees, dipping her hands into the icy water and immediately regretting it. Holy hell, that was cold.
She splashed the water into her palms, scrubbing and dipping intermittently so as to not completely freeze them off. By the time the red and brown of dried blood was gone, it had been replaced with a pale purple. She rubbed them furiously, blowing on them to try and bring back some heat.
She didn’t have time for that, though. She’d deal with her frozen fingers later. For now, she had to focus.
