Creators(35)

“I…I didn’t tell him,” I stammered.

“Lockwood told me, and only because he thought it would garner some sympathy for you. You come across as a real asshole, you know that?”

Henry turned his icy-cold stare to Lockwood, ready to lay into him. But the poor boy was already passed out. I was sure it had more to do with the long nights watching over Louisa and less to do with the effects of the drink.

“I’m sorry to hear about what happened to your family. My parents were killed, too. They both died on a mission,” Stephanie said, reaching over and taking Henry’s hand in hers. “My sister, Harvey, as well. I guess you all know how she died.” She turned and stared out the window.

I gulped. I hadn’t known that the girl who stabbed me, the girl my father sent to stop me from meeting George, was Stephanie’s sister. I stole a glance at Eric. He had been the one to kill her sister. He’d shot her in the head.

After a prolonged silence, Stephanie dragged her eyes from the blackness of the night and looked at Eric. “So, what were you saying about how different you were from those who ran the compounds?”

Eric clenched his fist. “That’s different. Your sister was a lunatic who stabbed Tess.”

Stephanie yanked her hand from Henry’s and wobbled to her feet. “She was following orders!”

Eric bolted up from his chair, knocking it to the ground. “That says a lot about your leader—the one you follow around without question. The man was willing to sacrifice your sister and wound his own daughter to suit his needs. What kind of man does that?”

“A man who believes that sometimes we have to make sacrifices!” Stephanie exclaimed. Something shifted in her eyes, and suddenly the solider was back. Albeit a drunk, enraged one. The situation was getting wildly out of hand.

“The same man who asked you to live and work among the very people responsible for killing your sister. The man who asked you to do it without question,” Eric continued.

“Don’t put this on Charlie. You were the one who killed Harvey,” Stephanie retorted. She turned and looked back at Henry. “Can you walk me home before I do something we all would regret?”

Eric laughed bitterly. “You think Henry didn’t want her dead? I just got to the gun faster. He was too worried that the girl he loved was going to bleed out. Tell her, Henry. Tell her how crazy Harvey was. Tell her how you wanted her just as dead as I did.”

“She wasn’t crazy! Shut your mouth before I shut it for you,” Stephanie warned.

“We both know you won’t. Charlie wouldn’t like it.” Eric grinned, sitting back down in his chair. Smug. Satisfied. “When you’re ready to realize how much you’ve been used, you come and talk to me, sweetheart. You can tell me what your precious leader needs to hide so badly that he’ll stab his daughter to keep her in the community. Not because he wants her safe, but because he needs a reason to come back. That’s why he sent you all those messages, Tess.”

My stomach dropped. He was right. It all made perfect sense.

My father had insisted I stayed within the walls of the community, so he would have a reason to come here. He could have shown up with his army under the ruse that he was here to reunite with his long lost daughter. Only Al and the other leaders would have to know why he was really there. The rest of the community wouldn’t have to live under this new form of martial law.

But I had messed it up, and he needed me alive, so he sent Harvey to stab me. Knowing that those who traveled with me wouldn’t let her truly harm me. He sent Harvey because she was crazy. Her wits muddled by whatever had claimed her mind. My people, protectors, would be quicker.

He banked on the fact that the people of the community would let me back in because of what I could do. And when Al said he didn’t care, he forced his way in anyway. My father didn’t think of me as his daughter; he thought of me as his bargaining chip.

I was going to be sick. I pressed the back of my hand against my mouth, turning away from the rest of the group. I slammed my eyes closed, refusing to see the pity that lived in their eyes. Even after I took a few deep breaths, my body felt heavy with the weight of it all.

Henry cursed under his breath, and I knew he saw the truth just as I did. He scratched the back of his head and looked over at Stephanie, who stood fuming at Eric. “Come on, let’s get out of here,” he told her.

Stephanie shook her head. “I don’t want anything to do with you people. And I sure as hell don’t need you to walk me back. You’re just like them,” she charged, her voice broken with emotion.