CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Amelia
“How do you know you can trust this Bjorn guy?” I hug my arms to my chest. I sneaked out through the bedroom window at eight o’clock, just like Jackson said. Snow as hard as pinheads falls all around us and pings off the ground, and of course there’s wind. My nose already burns, and we haven’t even gone a hundred feet.
He shifts his weight onto his other foot. “I don’t.”
“Where’s Charlie?” He’d better not have left him in some bag, freezing on the back of the snowmobile.
He sucks in his lips. “Snuggling with Bjorn.”
“You left him there?”
“Cat likes him. It’s mutual. You want to take the fella out in all that? He’ll be eaten in a day.”
“He won’t be eaten!”
His expression darkens. “Amelia, this is a rough trip. You know that, right? You’ve made it before, but people weren’t as desperate then. The countryside is crawling with taints and gangs. It’s bad enough I’m risking you.”
He sounds, well, like he regrets the whole thing. My stomach twists. “You don’t want to go.”
“I’m not saying that. But just for the sake of argument, let’s say you were able to influence your dad.”
No. “Maybe, and that’s a big maybe. They told him who he was supposed to marry and he did it, no problem. He was all about the family line, and he didn’t give a crap about my mother.”
He does this thing where he scooches closer and touches my tummy. It makes me flutter. Seriously, I’m so horned up I’d do it right now if he asked.
“I’m thinking about medical care,” he says softly. I would even say tenderly. “You’re so little, and out there who knows what they’ll have to offer?”
“Sure, but what if these guys find out I can get pregnant and decide to pair me with someone?”
“Isn’t gonna happen.” He crosses his arms and gets this hard-jawed “I’ll kill them” look on his face. Then he sighs. “I got an extra sidearm for you, by the way. Ammo for it too. Bjorn scored us a snowmobile and a spare three gallons of gas. That’ll get us at least as far as the mountains.”
Extra ammo. Gunshots. Cannibals and gangs, and we have to walk through the mountains. I hum a whine and squeeze my toes.
“We can leave right now if you want to, unless…”
“Unless what?” I flick him a look up through my eyelashes. Please let him have a suggestion that includes four-wheel drive with tractor-size tires, medical care, and a heated home.
He retreats a step and holds up a hand. “This is just an idea. You don’t have to agree to it. We’re ready to leave right now. What if we give your dad a chance? Find him, drop the bomb, and see what he says. He just got you back. He may be a self-entitled prick, but he does love you.”
Is he out of his freakin’ mind? “He doesn’t love you, and I highly doubt he’ll be happy about the baby.”
He shrugs closer. “That’s where we need to think. Your dad may be one of the top dogs, but he still has to look good if he wants to remain there and for the rest of the Arc to stay happy with his plans. This would be excellent PR for him. I’ve got an IQ of one-fifty-five. I can do anything those guys can do. I was majoring in the right field at Cornell, so it would appear like I’m already one of them. He wouldn’t look bad vouching for me. Plus, not only did I save your dad’s ass, but I saved yours, and because of me they came up with the answer to their labor problem. I’m their goddamn sunshine boy, sweetie.”
I shake my head. Violently.
“Everyone knows I’m the commanding officer for Atlanta.” He’s practically pleading. “I just found his little girl. You’re all that’s left of his family. He can still keep you if he wants. All he has to do is talk me up a little, maybe fake some decent DNA records for me. I promise if he doesn’t immediately buy into it, we take off. Boom!”
“Don’t boom like that. I’m already nervous.”
He pulls me close, and I bury my face in my chest. God, I love his chest. He smells so good, and right now it’s the safest place I know.
“The whole thing—it’s for you to decide.”
No. I pull away. “This is too much. I need to think.”
“There isn’t time. You’re leaving for the Arc, remember?”
I clasp my head. Why this, now? We had everything planned. I don’t want to be part of any resistance. I want to find another Post-Ash apartment and cuddle with Jackson. I know that’s selfish, but I’ve had it with toughing things out.
If we stay with Dad, we’ll always have to be careful that the scientists don’t look too closely at Jackson and the baby. I don’t know if I should just trust Jackson and take that risk, or say no and insist we run.
Then again, what if Jackson’s wound breaks open out in the wilds? What happens if we can’t get one of those towns to take us in? I’ll give birth squatting over a snow bank. I bite my lip until I taste blood.
“Jackson, what do you think we should do? Be honest.”
He takes a solid breath. “Both choices have their risks. I don’t know which is worse—fanatical scientists or cannibals. I think whether we leave and warn the other cities or stay and help the resistance from the inside, we’ll be doing a good thing. Anyone can warn the territories, but you’re the only person who can get close enough to the council to do any good. It’s your decision, Amelia.”
“So you think we should stay?”
“It’s your decision.”
I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him. “You have to make the choice for us, Jackson. I feel trapped. Whichever way I decide, I know it’s going to be the wrong one.”
He blinks. I think his jaw even drops a little. “Doesn’t that go against your code? You have never in your life given someone else control over your future.”
“It’s not just me anymore. It’s us.”
He hugs me tight, rests his head in my hair, and rocks me. He’s so warm, so safe.
“Okay, let’s at least try with your dad,” he says finally. “All we need to do is get your things to the vehicle. After that we’ll go straight to your dad and tell him it’s you and me together, or we leave and he never sees you again. If he plays good dad, we’ll swear to act like we’re totally with him and we support everything the Arc stands for.”
I tug at my scarf. “What if he tries to hurt you or the baby?”
“Not gonna happen. Trust me.”