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“I’m sure you do.” His eyes fix me with a scalding glare. “What’s the plan? Take on the entire ecocity by yourself? Be real!”
Anger wraps around my heart. “It will be easy for me to sneak in. I’m a woman, which means they won’t just kill me. You, on the other hand, are a liability.”
“I’ll probably be the only thing standing between you and certain death,” he growls.
“I’m not as weak as I look.”
We both huff, picking up our pace. “I know you’re strong and stupidly brave, but that won’t save you from hundreds of insensates or the rebels,” he shoots me another dark glare, “or the trackers.” A cynical smirk lifts the corner of his mouth. “And let’s not forget the enforcers and emissaries as well.”
“I’ll figure it out,” I answer stupidly.
“You seriously planned on walking in there and hoping no one notices?” he says mockingly, as if he can’t believe I’d do something that dumb.
“It’s better than watching hundreds of people die,” I mumble. Picking up my pace, I start to jog. “If you’re coming along, you better keep up.” I glare at him, although I’m not sure my glares have any effect on him.
Kenzo lets out a burst of amused laughter. “Lead the way, kid. At the very least, this is going to be entertaining until we get captured or killed, of course.”
Kenzo falls in next to me, and we keep a steady pace as we put some distance between ourselves and the outer ward.
Because I was asleep when we left the broken-down metropolis where the rebels are based, I keep to the road Chance used when I first came to the ward in sight so I don’t get horribly lost.
I’m just about to start getting worried when we finally pass the rebel’s car we stole when I met Chance.
My heart beats a little faster as my gaze searches the field on the other side of the road where Ethan got shot down.
I’m sure Chance would’ve checked, and Ethan isn’t still lying out there.
I quickly banish the thought and focus on checking for any signs of trackers or insensates.
We run well into the afternoon, only stopping twice to drink some water.
“It’s not too late to turn around, kid,” Kenzo says, not even sounding breathless.
I’m exhausted but keep pushing forward. “I’m not turning around.”
He lets out a sigh. “Fucking stubborn.”
When we finally reach the outskirts of the broken-down metropolis, the sun is already setting. I honestly didn’t know it was this far from the wards. Then again, I was asleep when we drove through this stretch.
I’m tired, but there is no way I’m stopping, not with Chance, Dawn, and everyone else’s life hanging in the balance.
Also, I know Chance is bound to come after me, so I’m pressed for time.
“Do you know your way around this place?” I ask Kenzo. Chance seemed to know where to go, and I’m hoping Kenzo does too.
“Like the back of my hand. We used to live here when I was a child. The emissaries forced us farther back to the main ward.”
Kenzo takes over, leading the way as we creep past dilapidated houses.
I see movement in one of the windows and ask, “Rebels or trackers?”
“Yesterday, I would’ve said Rebels. Today, I’m not so sure,” he whispers, ducking low as we run past a fence that has patches of white paint. “Keep low.”
We move fast, sticking to a path that offers as much cover as possible.
The neighborhoods soon fall behind us, and we’re left with an open space of crisscrossing roads to get over. Some are overpasses, and others have gaping holes in them.
“These are old highways. It leads into the heart of the metropolis if we take it, but we’ll be open targets.” Kenzo locks eyes with me. “It will save a lot of time if we take this road, but it’s dangerous. If we’re spotted, it's game over for us.” His teeth tug at his bottom lip. “I’d like to keep the element of surprise on our side.”
“We don’t have time to waste. We can use the cars as cover and run from one to the other,” I say, my heart thumping hard against my ribs.
Kenzo takes hold of my fingers, and lifting it to his face, he presses a kiss to the back of my hand. “You’ve come a long way, kid. It’s good to know I’ve got you to cover my back.” He swallows hard, clearly nervous about the road ahead.
It's a suicide mission, after all.
“Don’t get all mushy on me now, Kenzo,” I tease. I nudge my shoulder against his side and give his hand a firm squeeze. “Let’s do this.”
He lets out a chuckle. “Yeah, before Chance catches up to us and kills me. He’ll probably spank your ass ten shades of blue for going on this insane mission.”
