Page 87 of Jump or Fall
“Then what?”
Wells met his eyes. “He asked me by name if I’d ever given a stripe… She looked at me.” His voice wavered as he continued, “I had to cut her.”
Rage burned through his veins. He clenched his fists, fighting the urge to punch him.
“How’d it end up like this?”
Wells shook his head, staring at the floor.
“Tell me what happened,” Gordon said, his tone deadly.
“He knew about Danya.”
Realization hit him like a truck and he swayed on his feet.
“Did you—”
“No! I could never rape anyone! I barely kept it up with Danya, and that was fake.” Wells shook his head. “I managed to pull Mara down to the floor, which bought enough time to shoot Max.” He let out a sharp exhale. “My gun jammed when I tried to shoot Knight, so I hit him over the head. But he’d already cut her, and she was out.”
Guilt crushed Gordon’s chest, pressing so hard he could hardly breathe. He should have done more to keep her safe.
Sinking into a chair, he pulled out his tablet to check the status of her key.
No connection.
“He must have caught her using the key tonight.”
Wells stood. “I need to disappear, Gordon. I’m gonna find Danya and see if she wants to leave the city with me. They know I’m a traitor now… they’ll tear her apart.” He glanced over at Mara. “Tell her I’m sorry. I should’ve done more.”
Gordon jerked his head, watching Wells exit the room in silence.
He took Mara’s soft hand in his. Dark bruises and cuts circled her wrists. The rest of her was just as bad. The doctor had draped a white cloth over her chest, but he could still see the nicks and bruises covering her body.
Dr. Kaur spoke gently, “I don’t believe he assaulted her, but we’ll know for sure when she wakes up.”
“He didn’t,” Gordon said firmly. “My cousin isn’t that kind of guy.”
“I didn’t know you two were related.”
“We were never very close. My aunt thought I was a bad influence. She wasn’t wrong.”
“Yet even after all your time in Surveillance, you never joined the Silvers.”
He frowned. “Wells didn’t join for the fun of it. Just like I didn’t come back to be a courier in a slum.”
“Then we all need to keep the momentum of change going.”
She finished the last stitch and removed the device.
“I’m going to hook up the SynThera now,” Dr. Kaur said. “This batch is only a few months expired, so it should work well.” She took a deep breath. “There was nothing I could do about her eye, unfortunately. Once she’s awake, we should move her out quickly to let her recover somewhere safe. The Silvers don’t come knocking around here, but considering her connection to Secretary Knight… I don’t want to risk it.”
“Thank you. Can I get a rag and some water?” Her face may have been repaired, but she was still covered in dried splotches of blood.
The doctor nodded and left the room.
Gordon pressed his lips to Mara’s bruised hand and whispered, “I thought I lost you.”
The initial terror of losing her had faded, but his muscles were still primed to go.
