Lie!
“Only you, sadly.”
“No Mr. Sophia waiting back home?”
“If I had a Mr. Sophia, I wouldn’t have agreed to be yours.” I slapped a hand over my mouth as soon as the words emerged. Why had I said it like that?
His eyes brightened, and a joyless smile spread over his face. “I’m glad you finally understand the situation here.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Then explain how you meant it.” He dipped his head, peering closer at my face. “I’d love to hear in great detail exactly what you meant and why you’re blushing.”
“I’m notblushing.” I flicked my fingers regally and lifted my chin. “I’m warm and have flushed delicately from the heat.”
“There is nothing about you that’s delicate.”
I scowled. “There’s nothing aboutyouthat’s likable.”
His eyes sparked again. “Then why aren’t you trying to kill me?”
The question gave me pause. Is that what he’d been expecting? Murder attempts?Realones?
“I am,” I said, though it emerged weak and petulant.
“You’re not,” he said, like it was an incontrovertible fact.
So I tried harder.
We fought for the next few hours. Pride surged at my progress until an embarrassing moment in the middle when he tripped me and I fell on my hairbrush. I peeked up as he speared me with a pointed lift of his eyebrow. “This is why we don’t play with real knives.”
“I hate you.”
“I’m aware. Do something about it.”
I hopped to my feet and let him attack me again. We continued in that vein until sweat drenched us once more.
“There’s hope for you yet, Reeves.”
We lay side-by-side, panting on the carpeted floor.
He launched into his weekly information. As I’d already known, he told me the NAO’s major supply line for both the NSF and the US Army stemmed from the area north of the Ohio River. Hunters had taken up defensive positions along the river, protecting the northern banks and their position behind it. They formed a barricade all the way to Pennsylvania, where they dove southeast toward the coastline to control the entire easternseaboard. The NAO had a firm grip on everything north of that line.
As soon as Lucas said the words, my mind shuttered, pushing away the pain that still smarted from the loss of my parents last year. Lucas didn’t notice. He described a plan he’d devised for the Defiance to safely cut off those lines.
“We already tried that,” I said, my gaze frozen on the ceiling above me. “We had to pull back after months of heavy losses.”
I sensed his attention on my face. “I remember. Max Aota kept sending his soldiers on suicide missions.”
I turned to look at him, brows raised.
“Luckily, I have information you didn’t have last time.”
He explained what he knew—weak points in the outer defenses, timetables for guard changes, key bridges we could destroy. As he spoke, I couldn’t help the little spark in my chest, the one that whisperedmaybe. Maybe it would work this time. Maybe we could do it. When he fell silent, I inhaled a stuttered breath. “Lucas. This—this could end things. If they have no supplies?—”
“I know. Isn’t that the point? If we cut off their lifeblood, it could all end.”
We.
