Page 102 of The Order

“Your mother knows how to treat light sensor prod wounds,” he mutters, blatantly unaware of her absence.

“She’s dead. Your people killed her last fall!” I yell, watching the way his body freezes up at the news of her passing.

“How many times will we be here like this before you realize I will never stop? Some things can't be altered with a chip and a pill you shove down her throat. Every morning and every night, I am haunted by every moment I've looked at her and she's looked right past me. You rip her away, making promises she will never return, only to be wrong each time.”

“You know the consequences, Fallan. Neither of you will come back from it this time. No more chips, no more pretending. The new Commander is watching, hiding in the shadows from all of us. They are afraid of you two. I can't protect you both forever. Even now, what she is capable of is beyond my control. One minute, I spoke to her in my office, and the next, I was asleep on my floor, only to be woken up by a flood of texts about your whereabouts while trying to navigate lost time. Nothing is within my grasp anymore,” he whispers, turning away to open the door.

“So that's what you'll do then? Walk away from your kind again?” Hunter retorts, hitting his head against the wall in frustration.

“If you don't make her hate you this time, Fallan, if you don't make that spark you created burn out within her, and they find out, she reaches red. Only this time, it ends with a bullet in her head while they make you pull the trigger,” Andrew says, pausing his grasp on the handle.

“Why?” I question, feeling the emotion shroud my tone, “Why can't you just let it be me instead of her?” I ask, watching as he turns back to look at me. He pauses, pressing his head to the door.

“She made me promise a long time ago that I would keep your life safe, even if it meant hers was jeopardized. The worst part of it all is she can't even remember that I made that promise and lives thinking I want all of this to happen," Andrew says, my heart breaking into a million pieces.

“The deal is the same. If she remembers you and remembers what she is capable of, and they find out, they kill her on the spot and throw you, me, and anyone associated with us past the ward to fend for ourselves in the ash and what lies past it. This isn't just about you and her anymore. It's about the very foundation of this society,” he whispers. Hunter finally speaks up again.

“And the Apparatus?” Hunter questions, daring to bring up the one thing we’re all afraid to discuss.

“I stopped believing in that fairytale a long time ago,” Andrew finishes, swinging open the door.

His men wait on the other side, deep in a, clearly, one-sided conversation. Andrew is whispering to the pair, debriefing bits and pieces from our conversation but not giving them the entire picture of what happened today or why. Both men glance into my apartment, crossing their arms with different looks, one of pleasure and one of frustration.

After a few moments, the men step inside, touching the hilts of their prods.

“If you’re smart, you will not come near my family again,” Andrew says, moving past the doorway, leaving his men behind to carry out their punishment. Hunter's legs kick again, trying to escape from Adam, but his movements are swift and menacing, his fingers digging into Hunter’s flesh in a vice-like grip. The force of Adam’s grip jerked Hunter up violently into a position where Adam could taunt him with the light sensor prod.

“He did nothing!” I yell, slamming my chair down with as much force as possible, “Leave him be, you mindless obedient drone,” I hiss, watching Adam's gaze finally snap to me.

He lets go of Hunter and lunges towards me, but Xavier steps in his path.

“Move out of my way, kid,” Adam seethes, glaring at Xavier with fury in his eyes.

“Last time I checked, our job isn’t to taunt them,” Xavier says, tucking his sensor prod back into its holder, forcing Adam to do the same.

“Stop acting like you stand for any side but your own,” I mutter.

Xavier looks back at me, his gaze filled with annoyance.

“You saw what he did, just like me. Andrew's kid has been sneaking around with him. It's a vile and deplorable relationship-”

“Forest is not with him in that way,” Xavier says, my stomach churning at his words,

“If you speak her name around me one more time, I swear I will make sure it's you on the ground,” I snap, feeling the binds nearly break from my pull.

“See?” Adam says, pointing out my defiant need to defend the woman.

“Forest is not with him,” Xavier says again, my anger reaching a level I never thought possible, “Just this morning, I had her to myself, straddling me in her bedroom while I explored how sweet her skin tasted. I’m sure Fallan can’t say he’s had her the same way, and if he has, I doubt it was because she wanted it,” Xavier says. My hand is almost free from its binds. His words are like hot prods on my back, adding to the collection of scars painting my flesh.

“You liar,” I begin, feeling his fingers press onto my neck, touching the space below my ear, right next to my Adam's apple.

“Right there,” he starts, applying a bit of pressure. “She makes the nicest little moan of pleasure when you put a little pressure there-”

My hand breaks away from the restraint, and I’m unable to hold back the anger stirring within me. My hand passes over his front, every single urge inside my body telling me to use my burden on this man, dangling him from the window, watching his body mark the pavement. Xavier is quick on his feet, barely missing the collision with my knuckles once I move to hit him again. Adam is the first to strike me, hitting my side hard with his prod and delivering a solid kick to my face, throwing me off balance. I watch as Xavier crouches down to meet my eyes, my nose already spilling with blood.

“Andrew is right,” Xavier starts, my arms and legs unable to move from their position. Hunter's yells are muffled by Adam’s hand covering up the noise. “You will stay away from her if you know what's good for you,” Xavier finishes, looking at Adam with disdain.

“They’ve had enough.” He brushes dust from the front of his uniform. “I’d like to get back home and pick up where I left off withourgirl,” Xavier says toward me with a wink. My rage is snuffed out as my body fights exhaustion, and I'm left utterly depleted from trying to fight against my restraints for the last several hours.

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