Page 20 of Born to be Broken

Corday could see that Nona was right. No matter what she had done for them, Claire would not be tolerated by the pack for long. “Come home with me, Claire.”

Claire looked to the man offering her an apple as if he’d gone mad. “I can’t put you in that position. No.”

“Then I’ll come here every day until you change your mind.” The Beta took her cold fingers and urged, “I want to take care of you. When you come to your senses, I will take you home.”

Claire mumbled, looking to the fire, “Should the time come, I look forward to going home.”

It was Nona who’d sat quietly through the exchange, who’d touched Claire’s arm in understanding.

It was time for Corday to go. Claire stood, pulled him into a hug, dismissing the man as she teased, “Next time you visit, bring decent coffee.”

He chuckled.

Suddenly serious, she gripped the fabric of his coat. “And if you are foolish enough to get caught, I will charge the Citadel to get you out.”

Corday’s laughter faded. “That’s not funny.”

“I wasn’t joking.”

Frustrated, running a hand through his hair, Corday argued, “You set the Omegas free. You moved mountains. It’s time for you to rest.”

Claire agreed. “Nona would not allow anything else. Now, get out of here, Beta. No boys allowed.”

Corday did not want to go, but he gave her space, swearing he would return.

With the Beta gone, Nona placed an arm around her young friend, the old woman muttering, “He doesn’t understand.”

The broken Omega whispered, “He doesn’t need to know.”

There were only four in the room: Corday, Brigadier Dane, Senator Kantor, and a stranger.

“There is a new member come to join the resistance.” The typical exhaustion that had aged Senator Kantor since the Dome’s fall, lifted. The pleased Alpha gestured to the beautiful woman at his side. “We made contact with my niece… This is Leslie Kantor.”

Smiling softly at her uncle’s heartfelt relief, the brunette Alpha female reached out her hand in formal introduction. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Corday.”

There was a glint in the older man’s eyes, a long lost spark returning when Corday grinned and took her hand. “It’s rare we get good news. Welcome.”

Dwarfed in her layers, bundled up warm, Leslie offered, “And I hope I have more to buoy you. Before Shepherd’s invasion, Premier Callas had been my betrothed. Our circumstances had yet to be announced.” She waved a flippant hand. “These things have to go through the proper channels, be approved by the Senate, and so on. In the interim, Callas arranged for me to have deputy access to everything. As it was done in secret, Shepherd’s men are unaware that I can infiltrate their communications network.”

Corday’s mouth gaped. “Holy fuck…”

“Yeah, son.” Senator Kantor chuckled. “Holy fuck.”

This changed everything, gave the resistance an actual chance. “Do you know where he’s hidden the contagion?”

Leslie shook her head. “No. The language they communicate in, it’s difficult to understand. But that does not mean we can’t crack it. I just need time.”

But this was still great progress. The secrecy of the meeting began to make sense, no one could know Leslie Kantor’s secret. She would have to be hidden, the information restricted. Corday said as much. “No one can know about her. If Shepherd got wind, it would be an easy thing to revoke her access.”

“Agreed.” Senator Kantor had Corday’s next orders. “If we kept her here, too many people would see her. We can’t have questions raised. I’m entrusting my niece to you, Corday.”

The honor bestowed on the low ranked Enforcer came at a very bad time; however, there was no way to refuse such an important mission. Claire needed him, but the entire population needed the intel Leslie might uncover. Corday shared his news. “You should know sir, the Omegas were freed. Today we’ve struck two victories against Shepherd.”

The Senator genuinely smiled. “I told you my bet was on Claire.”

“You did.”

And that was it.