Page 43 of Sawyer’s Mistake

She sat very still on her stool. Her hands shook on her lap, so she hid them under her legs.

The noise lasted all of twenty seconds, and then silence returned.

“How did you get this?” she asked softly.

“The Remur have been broadcasting it on multiple frequencies,” he said, frowning. “Our frequencies. They’ve never done that before. Do you know what—”

“Play it again,” she ordered, proud that her voice sounded steady despite the panic she was feeling inside.

He turned the dial. Even though she was expecting it, the hostile sound made her shiver in fear. She closed her eyes to better listen to the voices, if they could be called voices, then opened them again. She couldn’t let the sounds take her back to that horrible place.

“What are they saying?” Prado asked, his voice tense.

It’s a message.

“I don’t know.” The lie was out before she could stop herself. She needed to buy herself some time to think.

“Did you understand any of it?” he asked impatiently. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

Her heart pounded. Blood roared in her ears.

They’re looking for me. They want me back.

“I’m clearly not fluent enough in Remur speak yet.” She shrugged.

He pressed his thumb and index over his eyeballs, as if fighting a migraine.

“It’s okay, we’ll figure it out,” he shrugged.

“Figure what out?” Eva asked.

Saoirse jumped, startled. She hadn’t even noticed Eva and Alix approaching the vehicle. Saoirse glanced pointedly at Prado, willing him to stay silent. The man inclined his head towards her.

“Eva! Are you feeling better?” Saoirse jumped off her stool. Eva was half a head taller than her, so Saoirse had to go on tiptoes to hug her. Relieved tears rolled down her cheeks. “You’re really okay?”

“I’m okay now. It must have been the flu or something.”

Alix interrupted the moment. “I’m going for a walk.”

Prado shook his head. Again, he frowned as if in pain. “No way. We all stay together,” he said, his teeth clenched.

“I need to go to town, ok?” Alix said, raising her voice. “We’re not prisoners here, are we?”

Saoirse tried to defuse the situation. “Why don’t the two of you go together, J.? Eva and I will stay indoors, I promise. We’ll get a meal ready for when you come back.”

Eva nodded, still looking a bit pale. “We won’t move, J. I promise.”

Chapter 18

Javier

Prado walked behind Alix, ostensibly so he could protect her—but also to enjoy the view. He admired the long curve of her neck, glad her hair was short enough for him to admire the strong lines. He’d always liked tall women, and she was a goddess, tall and lithe and strong.

If only his back wasn’t throbbing with every step he took. The bottle of painkillers he’d gotten from the Residence doctor had run out the previous evening, and the pain had been getting worse every hour since then. He cursed the fight with the Remur where he’d injured his back a few weeks earlier.

“So, where are we going?” he asked. “I know you don’t really want to walk.”

She brought out a faded map. “I found this in the factory. There’s a town just a couple miles this way. And you know what all French towns had, right?”