purity, purity in thought and body and mind,” she said.
“Well, the Red Feather symbolizes the blood we’re
willing to spill for change. Our own blood,” she clarified.
“Each of us who takes the vow promises to never harm
another but to be willing to give our lives in defense of the
movement.”
“You chose that at fourteen?” He seemed in awe of her.
She shrugged. “You went into a military academy even
younger than that, right?” He nodded. “It’s no different.
You and I both knew what we wanted to do even as
children. The Red Feather? We’re just normal people
trying to get others to wake up to what’s wrong with our
society. We want medicine. We want science. We want
proper educations for all children. We want what they
have on the colonies. And why shouldn’t we? We’re all
descended from the same planet, from Earth.”
“Yes, but the people from the colonies came from more
progressive, scientific ancestors. Your ancestors wanted
to shun technology so my people shielded them.”
“My ancestors aren’t alive now. I am. My generation
wants more. We want freedom, Vicious.”
“You want to stop the Grabs?” His eyes betrayed his
fear.
“Some of us do,” she admitted. “It’s no secret that I’m
no fan of the ritual but I took a more moderate approach to
them. For some women, being Grabbed is the only way out
of Harper’s Well or Connor’s Run or Grogan’s Mill,
Vicious.” She squeezed his hand. “I can see now why so
many of them try to bribe their way into the winners’
circle of the lottery. This new life of mine is so much
better than the old one.”
“I want you to be happy.” He cupped her face. “I’m
willing to do whatever it takes. You just have to tell me.”
Hallie’s heart threatened to burst. Vicious looked at her
with such adoration and hope. If ever there was a man
who stood a chance of making her truly happy, it was
Vicious. She touched her forehead to his and closed her
eyes. He slid his arms around her. “Just don’t ever stop
being you, Vicious.
You
make me happy. Just the way you
are.”
“Truly?” Uncertainty filled his voice.
“Truly.” She savored the sensation of being held in his
big, strong arms. His warmth soothed her but a twinge of
guilt stabbed her belly. She had to tell him the truth. All of
it. “Vicious?”
“Yes, Hallie?”
“I, um, I actually
am
a criminal. Like—for real.”
She held her breath as his head popped up. He grasped
her shoulders and pushed her back a little so he could
stare down at her. “Say that again, Hallie.”
“I’m a criminal, Vicious. I broke some of the Alliance
laws.” She figured it was all out there now. She might as
well tell him everything. “Quite a few of them, actually.”
She hesitated while she mentally counted them up for him.
“Seven, I think. Wait. No. Eight.”
His face had gone hard as stone. “What laws, Hallie?”
She licked her lips and wondered if she was stupid to
trust him. “Aiding and abetting. Trafficking. Forgery.
Transport of stolen property.”
He held up his hand. “Enough, Hallie.”
Tears burned her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not sure that’s true.”
She lifted her gaze. Vicious studied her carefully. “No,”
she admitted. “I’m not sorry I broke the law to help
others.”
“What, exactly, did you do, Hallie? And you must tell
me everything—or else.”
“I’m a very good artist. The Red Feather provided me
materials and I forged passports for women and children
trying to leave Calyx. I was paid a certain amount per
passport. I also led escapees through woods and
maintained a section of our secret route. That’s how I got
the money to send my sister away.” She hadn’t spoken that
truth aloud to anyone—ever. There were whispers around
her village, of course, but only a select few of her fellow
Red Feathers knew the truth. It actually felt good to get it
off her chest. “We have paper passports on our planet.
They’re easier to forge, you see?” She lifted her wrist and
touched the raised bump where her chip had been
implanted. “Much different than the ID chips your people
use.”
Vicious closed his eyes and leaned his head back
against the chair. Fear crept into her belly and spread
through her chest. Would he turn her in now? She’d
probably just compromised him by telling the truth. He
could be in real trouble if he didn’t report her.
“Don’t worry, Vicious. I’ll turn myself in so you don’t
have to.”
“What?” His eyes snapped open and he shot ramrod
straight in the chair. His arms tightened around her. “You
will not.”
“It’s all right, Vicious.” She blinked fast to clear the
tears blurring her vision. “I know what it’s like to struggle
with doing the right thing and trying to protect someone.
It’s not easy. I won’t put you in that position. Let me turn
myself in and I’ll swear that you had no knowledge of
this.”
He seemed taken aback. “You would lie and go to
prison to protect me?”
“Of course,” she replied matter-of-factly. “It’s not your
fault you chose a criminal. I won’t let you ruin your career
over me. You’ve only known me for a couple of days. I’m
not worth risking the position that you earned through
years of hardship and sacrifice.”
“You are,” he said tenderly. “You’re worth it to me,
Hallie.”
She reeled in shock. “You can’t mean that, Vicious.”
“Have I ever lied to you?”
“No.”
“Then know I mean it, Hallie.”
She gulped as emotions overwhelmed her. “What are
we going to do now?”
“Nothing.” He shrugged. “That was your old life. This
is your new one.” He stroked the back of her neck. “Can
anything be proven?”
She shook her head. “I doubt it. The passports I forged
were just bridge paperwork to get the women and children
fleeing Calyx into the colonies. Once there, they were
taken to shelters where our sympathizers helped them gain
proper digital passports that meet Alliance standards. The
women running the shelters are incredibly careful.
Everything is burned. Besides, Bernie’s was the last one I
ever did. She’s been gone three months. That evidence is
long gone.”
He relaxed a little. “If this issue ever comes up, you
will let me do all the talking, do you understand?”
“Yes, Vicious.”
“I’m owed quite a few favors by friends in the judicial
system. I’m sure it can be argued that you were working on
a humanitarian mission. As I’ve already told you, we turn
a blind eye to ships like the
Shepherd
. We’re not exactly
innocent when it comes to smuggling people off your
planet. Also, you were underage for most of it. We don’t
punish minors.” He combed his fingers through her hair.
“Was it hard?”
“Forging the proper seals and such?” She gave a little
shrug. “It just took some practice.”
“And the newsletter Lenny told me about?”
“I’ve always liked to draw. When Ro—a friend,” she
quickly covered, “brought up the idea of putting together a
newsletter to get out our message, I suggested we do
drawn panels. Very few people finish school in my
village. It made sense to provide the information in
pictures.”
“When did you leave school?”
“At twelve,” she said sadly. “Father decided that it
wasn’t good for me. I was asking too many questions,
apparently.”
“The wrong questions, I’m sure.” Vicious didn’t sound
happy. “That won’t happen here, Hallie. I know we collar
our women and have sexual relationships that are
confusing to you, but we require all children, male and
female, to attend at least twelve years of school.
Advanced education is encouraged. Our daughters will go
to college, whether they like it or not. Our sons will go
into the academy.”
She snorted at his certainty. “You have it all mapped
out, huh?”
His lips twitched. “Well you certainly shot all of my
best-laid plans straight to hell. I’m sure our children will
do the same.”
She laughed. “If they take after their mother, you’re in
for a rough eighteen years.”
“No doubt.” He kissed her then, his lips moving across
hers with such gentleness that it brought tears to her eyes.
“Are we all right now?”
“Yes.” She kissed his jaw. “We’re better than all right.”
His fingertips moved down her neck. “I’m pleased that
you trusted me with your secrets, Hallie.”
“It felt good to tell you.”
“You can tell me anything, Hallie. I swear to you. I’ll
always keep your confidences.”
She caressed his cheek. “I’ll do the same for you.
Always.”
“Here.” He reached down and grabbed the gift bag he’d
placed on the floor. “I got you something.”
She eyed the bag with some suspicion. “The last time
you brought me a bag, I had to wear a cat mask.”
Vicious laughed. “I promise you’ll like what’s in here.”
She still wasn’t convinced. Knowing his tastes, there
could be all sorts of kinky things in that bag. “Is it a sex
gift?”
“No.” He grinned mischievously. “But I’m hoping if you
like it, there will be some sex afterward.”
Hallie gave him her most prim and proper smile.
“We’ll see.”
She took the bag from him and placed it on her lap.
She’d never been given a gift like this. Tufts of white
tissue paper crowned the bag. A small handmade tag
bearing one initial—V—dangled from the handle.
Excited and curious, she pulled out the tissue paper and
tilted the bag so she could see the contents. When she
realized what was in the bag, she couldn’t stop the sappy
grin that tugged at her lips. She reached in and retrieved
the boxes of colored pencils and crayons. There were
sketch pads and colored pens too.
“Vicious,” she breathed.
“I know these aren’t high-quality but they’re all I could
get my hands on today.” He picked up one of the boxes of
colored pencils and studied it. “I’ll put in a special order
for proper art supplies once you write down what you
need.”
“These are better than anything I’ve ever owned,” she
murmured, her throat tightening with emotion. “I used
expensive inks to make the forgeries but those weren’t
mine. We kept them hidden away in our work site. These,”
she hugged the boxes and paper to her chest, “are all
mine.”
He tugged her mouth close for a kiss. “All yours,
Kitten.”
“Thank you,” she whispered in between kisses.
“You’re welcome, but please try to keep the forgery to
a minimum.” His teasing smile warmed her heart.
“I’ll try.”
Their playful, light kisses quickly turned intense. The
pencils and paper were dropped to her lap and then
pushed out of the way as she straddled Vicious. The boxes
thumped as they hit the floor. Vicious held her face as he
kissed her like a wild man, his tongue darting inside her
mouth and his lips pinning her in place. She clutched at his
shoulders. “Vicious…”
He wasted no time jerking the shirt free from her body.
Naked but for her collar, she flicked through the buttons on
his uniform top and tugged it out of the waistband of his
pants. He shrugged his arms and let the shirt fall to the
floor. Wanting to taste him, she bent and swirled her
tongue over his nipple. If it felt good to her, maybe it
would for him too.
“Ah!’ Vicious growled with surprise as she sucked hard
on the brown nub. She grazed his sensitive skin with her
teeth and jumped to the other side. He groaned loudly as
she licked and sucked. When he’d had enough of her
sensual torment, he pulled her mouth back to his. His
tongue plunged deep and he nibbled her lower lip.
Those big hands of his roamed her curves. He palmed
her breasts and played with her nipples, eliciting the same
sighs and gasps she had from him. His hand moved
between her thighs. Already she was so wet for him. Two
fingers penetrated her. She rocked on his hand and clawed
at his arms. “Vicious! Oh!”
He teethed her neck and bit down on her shoulder as his
thumb brushed her clit. “So wet and hot,” he whispered.
“Can’t wait to taste your sweet pussy again.”