Page 64 of Following Their Heart

“Watch it, boy,” Rev says. “The Working doesn’t serve us. We serve the Working. We’re gonna be thankful for the information we get and not fuss about what’s missing. You want Jud back?Thisis how we pull it off. Period.”

“Texas is a big state,” Doc says, not backing down.

“That’s why I’m giving us a month.”

“Jud might not have a month,” Brawn says.

“We’ll have to trust the Working on that,” Rev says.

“He’s as good as dead,” Brawn says. He makes no effort to hide his disgust.

“No, he’s not,” I say. I stand up and go to my gentle giant. I know the attitude he’s giving Rev is rooted in his worry for Jud. I hug him around his waist and crane my neck to look up at his frowning face. “We’re going to get him back. If the Working wants us to go to Texas, there must be something there we need to help us. Or maybe that’s where Jud is. Maybe they’re trying to hide him from us.”

“Good point,” Scrap says. He nods, like he’s considering the possibilities.

Brawn cocks a skeptical brow at me while hugging me back. His embrace is incredibly careful.

I squeeze him as tight as I can, letting him know I won’t break. “We can trust the Working,” I promise. “We can trust Rev.” I’ve come a long way in the past few days. I guess I’m a disciple of the Working now.

I turn in Brawn’s arms and ask Rev, “You want me on kitchen duty, right? Then in the shelter once you guys take off? Or I could go down right away if you want. I don’t mind. I’ll be okay. As long as the radios work, so I don’t feel alone.” I suppress the shiver that snakes up my spine at the thought of navigating the mines alone and being so deep underground for up to a month while the others are away. But I’ll do it for Jud.

“Yes to the kitchen duty,” Rev says. He strides to me and cups my cheek in his hand. “But you’re not goin’ in the shelter, little one. Not this time. You’re comin’ with us.”

Chapter 25

Grim

Rev’s statement landslike a grenade tossed in the center of the room. There is a moment of shocked silence. Then an explosion of arguing.

“Are you out of your mind!” Doc’s shout can be heard over the rest. He’s advancing on Rev. “She’s what they want!” His jabbing finger points at Cora, making me tighten my arm around her. “We’re just gonna deliver our woman to the enemy, signed, sealed delivered? The fuck are you thinking?”

“Jud wouldn’t want this,” Brawn growls into the fray as Doc gets in Rev’s face.

“You’ll want to step back, son, or I’ll lay you out.” Rev’s voice is quiet, like the flight of a stealth bomber. There is no mistake he is just as deadly.

Against my side, Cora is rigid. Her face is worried as her eyes dart from one man to the next.

“Everyone calm down,” I say, and miraculously, heads turn our way. It’s more likely the look on Cora’s face that brings about the following silence than my words. To Doc, I say, “Stop pointing at her and talking about her like she isn’t right here.”

Her gentle squeeze of my hand shows me her thanks.

“Sorry, Cora,” Doc says absently, barely acknowledging her. He is still fixated on Rev. Slightly calmer, he says, “We should leave her and Grim behind. In the shelter.”

“No dice,” Rev says, and unlike last night, when he seemed so uncertain standing before us and issuing commands, today, he wears his authority with confidence. “She’s coming. Our best protection is sticking together.”

Doc goes on like he’s not listening. “And to make sure they don’t come out again, we can lock them in this time.”

Cora gasps.

“No,” I say, stroking my thumbs over her knuckles. I don’t blame Doc for wanting to protect her. I do too. But this is not the way. “You didn’t see her down there. Her worry for you all. She would have gone insane with it if we hadn’t come out.”

“Better insane than dead.” Doc’s jaw is set. The man can be damn stubborn when he wants to be. He is not unlike Jud in this way.

“I disagree,” Shep says. He’s leaning on a window frame and has been relatively quiet until now. His head is hanging, but he looks up from between curtains of his blond hair. “There are more ways to die than just physically.” His words carry solemn weight, as if he understands some of the different ways to die.

“She’s been a captive before.” This comes from Scrap, who has a thousand-yard stare fixed on the floor. For all his usual bravado, he tends to become withdrawn when there is shouting. “We can’t do that to her,” he says. “No matter what.”

Doc pulls at his hair. I can tell he wants to argue, but he knows he’s outnumbered.

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