Chapter Ten

“The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves.” George Washington

Stella paced the length of the room, peered through the heavy maroon curtain, then paced back again. She was going stir-crazy.

Last night when she’d arrived, she’d booked a room in the Grand Plaza under the name of Stella Masters, a New York resident. While people didn’t go on vacation anymore, a small number of hotels still operated in the center of town. It was nearly noon and so far, no one had contacted her. She hoped it would be over today; the longer she was away, the more likely people were to get suspicious.

Why had she ever agreed to this?

To protect her family? That’s what she’d told herself in the beginning. When Aaron had first contacted her.

But that was a joke. If she was discovered, the rest of her family members were as dead as she was. Maybe they were all living on borrowed time anyway. She’d seen the way Harry looked at her recently. Like he could see into her head. Maybe it was a race now. Who got to who first.

She sank into one of the armchairs and pressed a finger to her forehead as though she could force the thoughts back in. First Gideon and now Aaron. Too much going on.

While he’d never touched her heart, seeing Gideon again had screwed with her mind, taken her back in time. All those years ago when he’d shown an interest, it had been her father who’d convinced her to go along with the relationship. Gideon had always been a favorite and she’d been convinced that the connection would be a way to keep her family safe. Instead, it had been the catalyst that had finally broken Aaron and left them all teetering on the edge of disaster. She’d never really believed she deserved Gideon, deserved love. And, at that point in her life, she hadn’t been sure she could ever contemplate a physical relationship. It had taken gentle Joe to move her past her fears, and he still didn’t know the reason for them. She would probably never tell him. What good could it do? Maybe the past was better left in the past.

Except here she was.

When she thought she might go crazy with the wait, or give up and just go home, there was a sharp knock on the door. Three taps. She waited, then heard two more.

She pushed herself up and crossed the room, her feet dragging. She wasn’t a natural rebel; this made her want to throw up. At the door, she took a deep breath and opened it.

For a moment, she thought she was finished. That it was Gideon standing before her. Her heart stuttered, and she glanced behind him, looking for his backup ready to drag her away. Interrogate her. She knew they tortured people in the cells beneath the Secret Service headquarters in D.C.

Then the man smiled, and she realized that he actually looked much younger than Gideon, and that the scar, which added such a hard edge, was missing. At the sight of Aaron, something twisted inside her. They said you never forgot your first love. She’d tried her best to put him firmly from her head and her heart, but there would always be a part of her that belonged to him.

She forced a smile. “The prodigal son.”

“Hey, big sis.” That was what he had called her since her engagement to his older brother, and his voice held that sharp edge of sarcasm she remembered so well. Maybe her engagement to Gideon had been partly to show Aaron once and for all that it was over between them, that he should move on. She’d broken his heart. She knew that.

He looked so like his brother. Though strangely more like the old Gideon, before the years of war had made him hard.

She found it quite ironic. Aaron had been with the rebels for ten years, and clearly it had been an easier life than the one Gideon had led.

He wore grey slacks and a white shirt, and he carried a bottle of wine. Like a man meeting a woman for a secret tryst. Her eyes pricked at the thought of what could have been. Or maybe he would have gone this way without her push. He’d always been wild. She opened the door wider and he walked in.

“Can we talk?” she asked.

He nodded. “We had the room swept before you arrived. It’s clean.”

She took the bottle from him and into the little kitchenette, found a corkscrew, and opened the wine. Poured herself a glass and drank it down. Poured another and returned to the seating area. He was already sprawled on the black sofa, a lazy smile on his handsome face.

Suddenly a wave of homesickness washed over her, and she wished desperately for a normal life and Joe, and for the baby they’d just been given permission to try for after months of medical tests. There were those tears again, pricking at the back of her eyes, and she turned away for a moment, not wanting him to see her so pathetic and vulnerable.

This man knew her darkest secret. Aaron had found her after that night, coaxed her through the long hours. Tried to persuade her to go to the authorities. Then tried to persuade her father. Maybe he’d understood that if they kept it a secret, it would fester. Poison all their lives.

While that night had broken them apart, at the same time it had forged a bond between them. They were no longer sweethearts, but something stronger.

It had also forever changed her view on what she wanted out of life.

She swallowed her wine and put the glass on the table. “So why am I here?”

“This is where it gets real. Are you ready for a little payback?”

But it wasn’t just payback for her. It was payback for everyone who had been hurt or broken or died. For all the people who believed they were free until even the illusion of freedom was snatched from them. “What do you need?”

…

She was so beautiful she made Aaron ache. Even after all these years.

He hated the fact that he caused her pain. He brought back memories. He could see them, behind her eyes. Not that she had ever forgotten. He’d watched the footage of the president’s birthday party, seen her expression, and known she’d forgotten nothing.

Once he’d thought he’d spend forever with this woman. Of course, he’d only been sixteen at the time, and Stella only fifteen. All the same, the feelings had been real. On both sides. Then everything had fallen apart. Or rather, everything had been torn apart. She’d never gotten over that night. If she had, he would have walked away and left her to her life. She had a goddamn husband. The thought made him simultaneously happy for her and want to punch something. It should have been him.

Ten years ago, he’d known his leaving would have repercussions, but he hadn’t been able to stay. And, deep down, maybe he’d wanted to mess up their perfect lives. She’d been twenty when she’d agreed to marry his brother, and he’d thought he would go crazy. Maybe he had gone a little insane. Anyway, it was too late for regrets now. He pushed away the past and got on with what he’d come here for.

Revenge.

For both of them. Hopefully, that would just be a side product of them preventing the greatest disaster mankind had ever faced. “We recently got word that something huge is going down. World-changing huge.”

She sat up straighter. “What?”

“That’s the problem—we don’t know the details, but we should have them soon.”

Her eyes narrowed as she thought it through. “You have someone working within the administration.”

“We can’t tell you that.”

“What? In case I’m tortured?”

“Yes.”

Her face lost the little color it had, and a shudder ran through her. She’d always hated pain. She’d broken her leg when she was twelve and passed out. He’d had to carry her home.

“But that won’t happen. You just need to be careful.”

“It doesn’t matter how careful I am.” She stared into his eyes. “I’m sure your father was careful.”

He winced. She blamed him for his father’s death, but then so she should. He’d known what could happen, that there was a good chance they would go after his family, and he’d still believed he’d had to leave.

That’s what beliefs did to you. At least he’d hoped his need to try and change the world had been greater than his need for revenge. Though seeing Stella in front of him, so close, he wasn’t sure anymore. The old black hatred churned inside him.

She sighed and pressed her finger between her eyes. “So what are the rebels going to do? Because so far, I think ‘absolutely nothing’ covers it.”

He was in agreement there. For years, he’d been pushing for a more aggressive approach, but the members of the committee were either too scared, or—worse—traitors working with the administration. “We’re going to bring down the government. It’s time America was free.”

“You can’t just wait for democracy to do that for you?”

Did he detect a hint of sarcasm? “No. Even if I did believe it, from the intel we have, there isn’t the time. We need to take action soon.”

A light flickered in her eyes. “What can I do to help?”

“We want you to recruit Gideon.”

She sat bolt upright. “What?” Clearly, whatever she had expected, it hadn’t been this.

Aaron grinned. “You know—my big brother, the war hero, the man you were engaged to?” He paused. “The man you were in love with.” Actually, he’d known she had never loved Gideon.

She glared, her jaw clenching. “You mean the man who is now second-in-command of the Secret Service? That big brother?” She shook her head. “Are you crazy? Do you want me dead? Along with the rest of my family and probably every single person I’ve so much as smiled at over the last ten years?”

“We have reason to believe he may be sympathetic.” And he needed someone not connected with the rebels.

“What reason?”

“Again, we can’t tell you.”

“Can’t or won’t?” She studied him for a minute, and he held himself very still. “I’ve seen him.”

“I know. I saw the coverage of Harry’s birthday party.”

“He’s changed, Aaron. He’s not the same man he was. He’s hard, bitter. And even if he hadn’t changed, he was always a Loyalist through and through.”

“He was goddamn brainwashed.”

“So were you, but it never took. Gideon liked the idea of a better world and he understood sacrifices have to be made to achieve that.” She jumped to her feet, crossed to him, and stood glaring down, hands on her hips. His breath caught. She still had the power to move him as no woman had since. “I was never in love with him. You know why I did it.” She turned away and stared out of the window, shoulders tensed.

He did know why. To keep her family safe. Though she’d never said it out loud, he’d known. She’d refused to see him after that night, but when he’d heard about her engagement to Gideon, he’d gone to see her. Climbed in through her window, made her listen to him. He’d begged her to come away with him. She’d refused. He’d waited three months, sure she would change her mind, then he’d gone alone, not caring about the chaos he’d leave behind. Perhaps, deep down, even wanting it. He’d lived with that ever since.

He got up and paced the room, trying to lock down the old feelings. Maybe now he had the chance to put things right. Just a little. He could never bring back his father, and he had to live with that. He could, however, try and do something toward that better world Gideon had wanted. And maybe help his brother find his way back. He’d also seen the footage of Gideon, seen the changes.

He came up behind her and rested a hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him. “Do you still think Gideon wants a better world?”

She pursed her lips and gave a small shrug of her shoulders. “I just don’t know. He’s changed so much. He was always so open. Now I can’t read him anymore.”

“We need him,” Aaron said. “This thing… It’s going to be bad.”

“If I do this, and Gideon turns me in, then everything is over. Not only my life, but Joe’s and Kate’s. My parents. I’m not like you—I can’t just turn away from the people I love.”

He flinched and ran a hand through his hair, sinking down into the seat behind him. Stella grabbed her glass and crossed the room, filling it from the bottle with a hand that shook slightly. He waited while she returned. This time she sat beside him, and he twisted slightly so he could look into her face. “If you don’t do this,” he said, “then I suspect that it won’t matter. There’ll be nothing left.”

Her face went blank as if she was trying to make sense of what he was saying. “You’re talking nuclear?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. We don’t know the details yet.”

“They were all destroyed.” There had been a worldwide ban on nuclear weapons after the attack on San Francisco. That had been just before the Wall went up. The impetus that made it happen.

The last terrorist attack on American soil, the bomb had shaken the world, sending ripples spreading outward. For once they had acted in unity—at least the sane ones, anyway—destroying the perpetrators and then invoking a program of denuclearization. No one had nuclear weapons anymore.

“We suspect there are still nuclear warheads in the country, though maybe they’ll come from outside. It’s rumored the Russians hid some away.”

It didn’t make sense. “Harry wouldn’t work with the Russians. Whatever else he is, he’s a patriot.”

“Who knows all his reasons. I think he’s a little insane, but you’re closer to him than we are. What do you think?”

She looked away, then back. “This isn’t just a chance of revenge?”

“Part of it’s personal.” He wouldn’t lie—not to her. “But I also believe the threat is real.”

“I don’t want to believe it, and I can’t see the reasons. What would a nuclear war do for anyone? Maybe you’re right, and he’s insane.” He knew then that he had her help. “What else do you know?” she asked.

“We’re still waiting for details. We should have them any moment now. Once we do, we’ll send an encrypted file to you—I’ll give you the code before you leave here; you can memorize it. You get the information and take it to Gideon—he’s close to the president and we need someone on the inside.”

She raised her glass, then lowered it again and placed it on the table. “Is anywhere safe?”

He knew she was thinking of her family and husband. “Maybe. If you can get out of the country. It depends how big this is. We don’t know much about what’s going on out there. Most of the world’s a warzone. Maybe Gideon might know. He must have been beyond the wall.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay. Get me the information and I’ll go see him. But Aaron, I’m really not sure what he’ll do, which way he will fall. He told me he wants his life back, and somehow I don’t think this will get him that.”

“If he doesn’t help, then I doubt there will be anything to get back.” He rose to his feet and held out his hands, and she slid her palms into his. He pulled her up and then against him. He hadn’t meant to touch her, but he needed this. He could feel the rapid beat of her heart against his chest, the softness of her. Finally, he pulled back, lowered his head, and kissed her cheeks. Briefly. “You’ll help?”

She swallowed. “I’ll do my best.”

They’d just have to hope that was enough.