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  “You can say whatever you want, but your body, your eyes tell me otherwise.”

  “You go ahead and think I want you, but all you are to me is my kidnapper,” I said.

  “No.” He rolled over and touched my shoulder. His breath warmed my neck at the same time chills raced across my skin. I scooted forward and away, but he didn’t follow.

  “You are too much like her. Hell, you could be her twin. Every fucking thing about you reminds me of her. In another place and time, I’d have been all over you from the moment I saw you. But I can’t. I have a duty to the people of Sententia, my son, and my dead wife. I have made promises I intend to keep. Why the hell do you think I took this mission, knowing that being around you would be almost unbearable?”

  I flipped over to face him. “A mission is all I am to you, and an unbearable one at that?”

  “Forget I said anything.” He sighed and turned to his back.

  “No. You are way too casual with my life. That’s right, my life, not yours. I’m not a child, even if you think you’re babysitting. And I sure as hell am more complex than any mission you could dream up. So next time you try to quantify the reason you are doing this to me, don’t stuff me in a box and call me a mission! I am human. I have feelings and a mind, a goddamned brilliant mind. What even makes you think I want anything from you besides my freedom? What? Just because I look like her?”

  “I don’t know if I’ll make it out of this alive, and I won’t do that to you. I can’t be your friend, or lover, or get attached to you in any manner, because when this is over, we will never see each other again—even if I survive. I fully intend to see you to safety. I have an escape plan in place for you, and I’ve been working on it for months.”

  “Why do any of this? If you’ve been in contact with the outside, why not go there yourself? Why stay here and fight a battle which has already cost you so much?”

  “You don’t realize how sweet freedom is until you’ve had a taste of what it’s like. There are others, like myself and Karly. People who deserve a chance to do more than merely exist or have their happiness ripped away because of government mandates. They deserve the right to have a family with the person they love. The Net threatens everything the resistance has worked toward. The towers have to come down and stay down. They work by satellite link, and the technology went into place before the war. Only one person can break the link or restore it, or God forbid, transfer it.”

  “Whoever has the code,” I said, studying his solemn expression.

  Eli nodded and turned on his side to face me. We were close enough to touch, but he made no move to reach out. “But specifically, a Danner. We believe the code is not only a random set of numbers, but a combination of your DNA and the cipher.”

  “That means even if someone else had the code, you would still have to have a Danner to shut it down.”

  “Or a Danner’s genetic material, which you can guarantee they have harvested from your medical samples you provided during mandatory physicals, or from your apartment. What they don’t have is the rest of the code, and nobody knows what part two is.”

  “But I should.”

  “Yes.” Eli reached out and captured a strand of my hair between his fingers and let it slip across the tips before dropping. “Somewhere, you have the code, even if you don’t know what it is at the moment. It makes you dangerous to those who want the Net to remain up. Not only those making money off the power net want you dead. After the towers are shut down, the resistance wants me to take you out, to keep the Net from being brought back up.”

  “You…they’re planning to kill me?” I sat up, shoving a hand into my hair. I needed to get away from him, but I couldn’t move.

  “I’m not going to let anyone take your life. It’s one of the reasons I volunteered to head this mission. I told you, I started putting a plan into place months ago.” His voice softened, and he looked away. “I couldn’t save her, but I damn well can save you. Okay?”

  He’d just admitted he’d been sent to assassinate me after he used me to shut the power off. “No, not okay. If I hadn’t asked, would you have said anything? No wait, don’t answer. I think I already know. You took this mission knowing they wanted me dead. You can claim you won’t do it, but you’re still one of them.”

  “I am, but I don’t agree with my brother. I believe there is another way, and I have spent the last year ensuring there is.”

  “What happens if you don’t kill me? Is that why you have a team who despises me? I can guarantee they won’t have a problem with slitting my throat, or in Akoni’s case, snapping my neck.”

  “They can try, but they won’t find you. I plan to split us from my team before we bring the towers down. I have an escape route mapped out for you.”

  “And you? How are you going to explain failing your mission?”

  “Because, for all they’ll know, the bees got you. They can search every square inch of these islands, but they won’t find you.”

  I turned back to him. “Why? Why won’t they find me, Eli?”

  “Because I’m sending you to the mainland on one of the fields which got loose from the harbor and floated to one of the islands off Sententia’s radar. We’ve been using it to feed the people in hiding. But once the towers come down, we won’t need it anymore. My brother claims someone from outside has real bees and other supplies to be delivered when the towers go down. We can transfer the real bees to the main island without fear of them dying. The field is your ticket out of here, Iia.”

  “Who said I want out of here?”

  “If you want to live—you do.”

  I sank back to my bedroll, my heart thumping hard. Eli had all but said he wanted to banish me from the islands, send me to another place where there may or may not be others. And by myself. It was clear he didn’t plan to go with me. “I could die out there, adrift on the ocean or on some isolated shore.”

  “If you stay here, I can guarantee it. I know what you’re thinking, but there are other civilizations out there. The United Regions exists and has promised to provide the bees we need in exchange for…”

  “What?”

  “It doesn’t matter, Iia. Get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.” I stared at him several seconds before he rolled to his back. And the conversation ended just like that.

  “Good night, Eli.” I turned away from him again, pulling the blanket over my head and closing my eyes, knowing tomorrow I would have to plan my escape back to the authorities. Surely the government wouldn’t punish me for the rebels’ actions. Maybe they could replace my chip? Though, I’d never heard of it happening before. There had to be a way. All I knew was I couldn’t stay with Eli. He’d already lied to me more than once, and I couldn’t trust him. I never should have believed him. The rebels had been in contact with outsiders who’d made secret deals for God knew what, and it raised red flags everywhere. Why wouldn’t he tell me what they wanted? I couldn’t help but feel Eli kept something critical from me.

  And then the biggest problem, my growing feelings toward the rebel. I liked him.

  Sometime in the middle of the night, or day—I didn’t really know the time—I’d drifted off to sleep. Later, I woke up to voices, and one was the last I expected to hear again. After my conversation with Eli, I trusted him even less. The only things standing between my death and Akoni were the towers and Eli, and with the goal to take the towers down rolling along, Eli would be all who could protect me from the man who seemed to hate me with every cell in his body. My instincts told me to keep an eye on him at all times.

  “She’s awake.”

  I fisted the blanket.

  “We’ll eat and make our way to the main tunnel.”

  “The soldiers change shifts in an hour. There is a fifteen minute window to make it across the main tunnel to the southern access without being seen. We should leave now.”

  “Iia had a rough night. Give her a chance to prepare for this day.”

  “It’s unadvisable
.”

  “It’s called consideration. She needs a few minutes to get herself together.”

  “Her family is the reason my family is no longer alive. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t care less about consideration and sympathy for her. My golden heart died with my wife and children, as yours should have, Eli.”

  “I told her the truth.”

  “I didn’t realize you hadn’t. So now she dislikes you even more. The truth isn’t going to get her to bring those towers down.”

  “I withheld information I shouldn’t have, and I didn’t want to spring it on her at the last second.”

  Akoni snorted. “You better figure out, and in quick order, how to get her to cough up the codes instead of wining and dining her the way you have. The islands are crawling with patrols, and if we don’t get the information soon, we’re all dead. We can’t stand against an armed militia, no matter how much we’ve trained.”

  “Why am I having this conversation with a subordinate?”

  “Because you know I’m right, and I have always been your friend. If she doesn’t give you the codes soon, we are under orders to torture her to get it. This place is as good as any to initiate the process. No one could hear her scream.”

  “That won’t happen. She’ll give us the codes,” Eli said, walking across the cave. “I don’t take enjoyment out of torturing innocent women.”

  “Innocent is the last thing she is. She’s a Danner and a loyalist. The blood from thousands of murdered people runs down her family tree. Didn’t you hear her crying like a baby to keep her chip? And who the hell was she talking to? They have her so brainwashed she sees and hears things, or does she? Maybe she’s got a plant in her head and they are watching everything we do? You can’t trust this woman.”

  “Who I trust or don’t, is my decision. Where the hell have you been, anyway?”

  “On orders.”

  “And those are…”

  “I’m afraid I am not at liberty to disclose the information.”

  “Why?”

  “We’ve got a mole. Somebody reported we were headed to the Danner heir’s apartment. The message went out on the airwaves before you even got to her place. They are on the inside. Or…”

  “Or what?”

  “She’s not who she appears to be. I’m guessing she’s a plant, and Justin doesn’t want her brought to our camp until we are one hundred percent certain she isn’t.”

  “My brother thinks she’s a government agent?”

  The silence echoed in the large chamber. I held my breath. Tick, tick, tick. The seconds dragged by.

  “Take it for what it is.”

  “I’m going to wash up. Tell her to shake a leg when she stirs. We have to head for Kauai to meet up with the others.”

  “She heard you, as she’s only pretending to sleep. Need I remind you of your previous decision to give her some time?”

  “Yeah, well I changed my mind. We should get out of here and to the first station before sunset. I want everyone in place.” The sounds of footsteps receded, more than likely headed for the pool in the other chamber.

  “You’re not fooling me.”

  I sat up. “I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me here.”

  “How do you know what I want?” Akoni’s lip curled up as he glared.

  “I know you don’t like me.”

  Akoni nodded. A soft smile crept onto his face—not a friendly expression, but hatred with a sinister edge. I clutched my blanket, wanting to pull it tight around me, as though it offered some form of protection.

  “You heard him. Shake a leg—or don’t. I really don’t give a shit. You’re a liability, and I told him this is a bad idea.”

  “Then get him to let me go.”

  “Let you go? So you can report our location?” He charged over and grabbed the front of my shirt hauling me to my feet. He leaned in until his nose touched mine. “You’d be dead if I had any say. Don’t tempt me.”

  “Killing me isn’t advisable. You need the codes.”

  “If you are in fact the Danner heir, we do, and it’s the only reason you’re still breathing. But I’ll tell you one thing, I’m not a patient man. If you don’t cough them up soon, I’ll make you, and then we’ll know the truth—whether you are who Eli claims you are. Everyone talks when I interrogate.” He released me, shoving me back at the same time. “Stay the hell out of my way. I’m not convinced you’ve got the codes or are the heir. Once I have validation you’re not, I am coming for you, and don’t count on Eli to save your ass.”

  I smoothed my top and balled my shaking hands at my sides. I wondered what he’d been doing, what he couldn’t disclose to Eli, and the thought settled into the pit of my belly, a lodestone certain to sink me in an ocean of shit if I didn’t figure out where the codes were and quick.

  Akoni glanced back. “By the way, there is no record of your adoption at the hall of records. But I did find something, a tasty little tidbit for you to choke on.” He tossed a cube on the floor where a warrant projected up, floating before me.

  Only those adopted had access to the files. How could he know I’d taken the record or been adopted? “Maybe you are mistaken.” They can’t want me dead, as Eli said, or Akoni claimed transmissions all over the islands had ordered. I hadn’t done anything or threatened anyone. It had to be a misunderstanding, and once I got it cleared up, I could go home. Please tell me I can go home.

  “I don’t make mistakes.” Akoni’s eyes flashed with amusement, enjoying my discomfort just a little too much. And as if he could read my mind, he confirmed it. “I’m going to take great pleasure in doing my duty.”

  My name was in bold letters as Iia Danner, not the name I went by. But the image accompanying the warrant was my face, and right under it, extremely dangerous, terminate on sight. How could I know Akoni hadn’t created the warrant? From his discussion with Eli, I knew he too had ulterior motives, and I could only begin to guess what.

  “I’ve got to bathe.” I crammed my boots on and started across the cave toward the pool. Eli wasn’t the only one who needed to wash up. The scent of sewage, combined with the grit from climbing around in a cave for a day, had me ready to trade my skin for something a lot cleaner. I seriously doubted any soap or amount of scrubbing would remove it.

  “Going in there is inadvisable.”

  “I didn’t ask,” I said to Akoni right before I rounded the curve coming into view of the pool and a very naked back and ass of Eli, who stood thigh deep in the pool scrubbing his body. My breath caught for several seconds, and I didn’t know if I should hurl from embarrassment or pat myself on the back for seeing my first naked man. And an amazing looking naked man.

  Okay, so Akoni with his unsolicited advice might have hit it on the head. I hadn’t expected Eli to remove his clothes. I thought clean up meant face, hands, maybe hair, not a total strip down and swim. If I didn’t already have a pretty good idea Eli’s body was ripped from when he’d held me against his body, I could safely put those assumptions to rest. Eli began to turn.

  “Don’t!” I spluttered, slapping my hands over my eyes and then peeking through my fingers, not certain I wanted to miss the show.

  He froze. “What are you doing in here, Iia?”

  “I came to clean up. I didn’t realize…”

  “Well, unless you want to get an eyeful, I suggest you turn around, because I’m getting out.”

  “Yes.” I whipped around to face the passage. “Of course. I wasn’t peeping. I just want to make that clear.”

  “Uh, huh.” The water splashed and sloshed as Eli made his way to the bank. His clothes rustled, and I snapped my eyes shut, even though I faced the opposite direction of where the rebel stood, getting dressed. My face heated and, I suspected, glowed like nuclear burn. I doubted I’d have to use the headlamp to get through the caves at this rate. My face could illuminate my way ten times over.

  “I’m not a pervert.”

  “You can turn around. I’m covered.”<
br />
  I balled my hands. “I’m good.” I didn’t want him to see my face, nor did I think I could look him in the eye.

  “You act like you’ve never seen a naked man.”

  “I haven’t.” I swallowed, the knot in my throat growing tighter.

  He came up behind me and leaned in, his mouth against the edge of my ear. “Well, you can scratch it off your bucket list.”

  I spun around, ready to strike. As if seeing him naked would be one of my life goals? Arrogant ass! “What makes you think my bucket list includes seeing you naked?”

  His lips crashed onto mine while his arms wrapped around me, pulling me in close. My anger vaporized along with my resistance. I moaned like a whore, unable to stop myself, and opened to his kiss, taking the interaction further.

  Eli broke the kiss. “If Akoni didn’t inform you already, make your bath speedy. The guards are about to change shifts, and we have a narrow window to move through the main tunnel to the secondary ventilation shaft.” With that, he walked away.

  “Why?” I yelled out behind him.

  “If we’re going to get to Maui, we’ve got to use the tunnel to get to there. Above ground is out of the question. They’ll have all the public transportation locked down and facial recognition software activated.”

  “Wait! The tunnel—it’s long enough to reach Maui?”

  But he’d already gone. If they had a tunnel which could reach to the big island, what other secrets had the government kept from the citizens, and why? Had Eli told the truth about the bees?

  10

  My compound, present day

  “So, the United Regions contacted the head of the rebellion?” Axel asks. “Did Eli ever tell you what the UR got in exchange for the real bees?”

  I shake my head. I can only guess. The more I think about my present situation, the more I begin to wonder if I’ve been sent here in trade, but I don’t know if he’s one of the people the rebels contacted, or if any of what I’ve been told was true. I glance down at the scar on my arm, where Eli tagged me with a tracker. Could it be possible someone here could use it to find me?