“All of it. There’s nothing I love more than gossip.”
“It’s too soon, Rebecca,” Anna whispers.
“It’s been four days! I’m back in class, eating meals, attending morning activities like a champ. I’m playing my part perfectly. Clausen totally bought it.”
“Exactly, so we can’t risk messing things up so soon. Clausen is still cautious. We have to wait until you’re no longer a priority for him.”
I cross my arms with a scowl. “What if that never happens? What if something changes and we lose our advantage?”
“We’ll deal with it.”
I shake my head. “Anna, please. There will never be a good time.”
“If we’re caught—”
“I didn’t come back here so I could go to group again or throw beanbags in the gym! I came back for Daniel. I’m risking everything to get to him. So help me or don’t, but I’m going to find a way to see him.”
“You’re almost as stubborn as he is,” she mutters.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Take it however you want, but if you’re not careful you’ll be together again as prisoners in the same cell.”
“Nowhere I haven’t been before.”
“Or will be again. Don’t you get it? Daniel is letting himself be tortured to prevent that fate for you. What do you think it will do to him when he finds out you walked right back into it?”
My eyes widen and my stomach drops. “He doesn’t know I’m here?”
Anna looks away. “I couldn’t tell him. The only thing that’s keeping him going right now is knowing you’re safe.”
“I am safe.”
“No, you’re not, and you know he’d agree with me.”
I clasp my knees and search her eyes. “Please, Anna. He has to know I’ve come back for him. He has to know.”
“I can’t. I just…” She runs a hand over her face. “I’ll think about it. Just give it another day.”
“Thank you!”
“No promises.”
Chapter 21: Mastermind
My heart pounds as I wait in the shadows. The risks are infinite. There’s no promise of reward. The plan is faulty at best, but it’s the best we have. Daniel’s cell is only unguarded when he’s not inside. And that only occurs in any reliable pattern when they conduct their research. So here I am. Waiting. Shaking. Confident I’m doing the right thing even if it’s the wrong way.
The space is stark, to say the least. My only hope for remaining unseen is an irregular wall encasing retrofitted ductwork. The fact that it’s located on the nearside behind the door gives me some hope I’ll be hidden when the guards return. Still, I feel completely exposed when the door clicks open.
I hold my breath and watch two men gently lower a third to the floor. They leave without a word, and I remain frozen. My body tingles; my brain sputters through its task list knowing none are important enough for this moment. But Daniel’s here because no one can hide from him, and his eyes lift slowly to connect with mine.
I stop thinking with my brain.
He accepts my embrace as I cling to him. I close my eyes and absorb the warmth of his body—living, flowing blood. Visions explode in my skull, terrifying, violent, sad, lonely. But I want every one of them. I want everything about him and I never want to let him go again.
“You weren’t supposed to come back,” he whispers against my hair.
“You had to know I’d come back.”
