His eyes shut briefly as he exhales, and I watch him swallow as he looks at me,his eyes darkening with a look that leaves me breathless. I feel weak and euphoric this close to him, slightly intoxicated.
“If you trust me,” he whispers, “we can fix this together. If you trust me, everything is simple.”
“It’s not simple,” I say, shaking my head. “Infiltrating the Ark isn’t easy. Their technological advancements are unparalleled. Their surveillance systems are like nothing else on earth—”
“I know, Rosabelle, I’ve been there. It’s hard, but it’s not impossible—”
“No,” I say sharply. “You don’t understand. I know you think you escaped the island on your own, but it—”
“Oh, shit,” James cries, grabbing me suddenly, spinning me away from the ladder. He pins my body against the wall, his back to my front.Guarding me.
I’m still trying to understand what’s happening, my heart hammering, when over his shoulder I finally glimpse it—
The familiar laser line of a sniper.
Rosabelle
Chapter 40
“You know we’ve got cameras down here, right?” calls a voice I’ve never heard before, echoing from above us.
“You can put away the scope, Samuel,” James calls back. “Everything is fine.”
There’s a moment of hesitation. “You’ve been down here a long time, man. You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah,” he says. “We’re coming up right now.”
“Great,” says the guy named Samuel. “I’ll wait.”
James sighs, then turns to me, his eyes roving over my face in a quick, heated inspection. “You okay?” he asks quietly.
Two words, like a lead pipe to a pane of glass.
I’d like to curl up inside his shirt and rest. I want to be dropped in his pocket and left to sleep. I want to stand close to him just to be near him. Delusion has consumed me.
“I’m okay,” I say.
He slides a hand around my waist like it’s something we’ve always done, gently guiding me forward, ahead of him, toward the ladder. Then he lifts me into the air like it’s nothing, holding me up until I find my footing on the rungs.
“You okay?” he asks again.
“I’m okay,” I say.
As we approach the top I see the vague outline of a man looming overhead, boots thudding as he paces the landing. He watches me closely as I ascend, his rifle trained on my body at all times.
I pull myself up, deeply aware that I’m not wearing underwear as I disengage inelegantly from the ladder, bare legs scraping slightly against the concrete floor. I get to my feet and Samuel catches me by my collar, body-slamming me against the wall so hard the pain in my ribs flares suddenly back to life. Stars explode behind my eyes. He wrenches my arms behind my back.
I hear James shout “What the hell are you doing?” and Samuel laughs, confused, like the question is a joke, and by the time James hauls himself onto the landing I feel the cold slide of metal against my wrists, theclickof bolts fitting together. I’m wearing a pair of heavy manacles that hum with controlled electricity and I feel the static in my teeth, the back of my knees. There’s a metallic taste in my mouth rising by the minute, making me nauseous.
I capture the basics of Samuel’s face as he pulls open the heavy exit door—brown skin, lighter brown eyes—then lose my footing as he shoves me into a blinding hallway, lights buzzing overhead. I stumble forward, unbalanced, and catch myself against a smooth, cold wall, my mind growing fuzzy. My tongue feels rough. Low-level electric currents are coursing through me, fizzing under my skin. I push off the wall, still struggling with my feet when James rushes up behind us saying, “Hey, c’mon, that’s not necessary—”
Samuel holds up a hand to slow him down.
“Bro,are you feeling okay?” he says, and I can hear the frown in his voice.
“What? Yeah, I’m fine—I’m just saying you don’t have to handle her like that—”
“Like what?” Samuel laughs again. “Like a criminal? Like someone who literally disemboweled a man tonight?”
