Revolutionary Love (The Revolution Series Book 1) (6 page)

Danielle looked at me. Her blue eyes showed the dislike she felt for me. Evelyn had way more enemies than she did friends, huh?

"Of course." She smiled at Stephan's retreating back as he walked away. At top, this girl was twenty. What was she doing crushing on a man in his forties? I gave her a knowing look when she looked back at me.

"Hi." My tone was friendly. I wanted to be friendly. I wanted to make a friend. It gets tiring feeling alone.

She gave me a curt nod and started heading towards stairs. The atmosphere was tense when we got in the elevator. She hated me. Everything about her jerky movements told me so. I wonder what Evelyn did to her. How many people has she done wrong? How many things am I going to have to fix with people?

After Danielle led me to my bedroom of the night, like Stephan said, I quickly sought out the bathroom. I took a very long shower. I cleared my thoughts letting my sore muscles unwind. Vigorously, I scrubbed at my feet. I was more of a mess than I thought. I had dirt running down my face from tear streaks. Everyone would know that I have been crying now.

The shampoo and body wash was rosemary scented. It reminded me of Evelyn's bedroom at her house. She must have liked that scent. After I dried off, I stepped out into my bedroom to see clothes laid across the bed. A black pencil skirt and a white button up silk blouse. Red pumps were on the floor.

I scoffed at it. Did someone really just pick out my clothing? I walked to the closet and opened in. Everything was business attire. What did Stephan bring me here for? To lock me in a cuticle and have me do paperwork? I slid the clothes on and made a loud whining noise when I put the shoes on. My feet had already had enough abuse.

I looked at myself in the mirror. My outfit was neat and put together giving me a professional look, but my unruly brown curly hair hung around my face like a lion. I ran my fingers through it a few times and shrugged. My face was a sickly pale color. I missed my tattoos and piercings. It gave me an edgy look for my short frame.

"Follow me," Danielle instructed, leading me back down the stairs.

She was wearing simple black flats, a long white pencil skirt and a black blouse. We were in opposite colors. I followed her down another set of stairs and paused mid-step. At the bottom, Seth stood there talking to Stephan. I had completely forgotten about him. He looked up at me while Stephan said something to him. He quirked an eyebrow when he saw my hair.

Self-consciously, I ran a hand through it. I didn't think it looked that bad. Where was Seth when everything fell apart? If he was Evelyn's fiancé, why did he not come to rescue her? Not that I am a damsel in distress or anything. Clearly I could take care of myself.

"Good evening, Seth." Danielle's voice was even warmer in Seth's presence.

Seth gave her a short nod, then looked at me with pure adoration. My step faltered. What was going on? He reached his arm out, tugged me to him, and rested his arm over my shoulder. He smelt like aftershave, mint, and masculinity. My spine went rigid. I wanted his arm off of me. Now. Stephan shot me a warning look.

Danielle said her goodbyes and walked up the steps. Her hips swayed back and forth. She was trying to catch both of their attention. For a girl who was not allowed to have sex until she is married, she sure was sexual. When Danielle disappeared out of sight, Seth let me out of his arms.

"What the hell was that?" I was angry. I did not give him permission to touch me, yet he touched me like he owned me.

Stephan unlocked the door we were standing outside of. "Did you forget that you are engaged?"

I never put much thought into how Seth was Evelyn's fiancé... Which made him my fiance. I looked at him. His eyes were unreadable. He was a closed book. I knew he would never let me flip any of his pages.

"Why are we engaged?" I inquired before Stephan could get the door open.

Stephan paused his movements. "It is a political move. When you are out in public you guys are to act like a happy couple excited for your wedding."

A political move? Stephan would give his daughters life away to a man like Seth for politics? What kind of father does that? The again, what kind of father expects his daughter to be a cold blooded murderer?

We went down stone stairs. It didn't take me long to realize where we were at. It was not a basement. This building was on a hill, so half of where we were was underground than the other half led outside at the bottom of the hill.

It was a jail cell. Soldiers stood post between every few cells. Some of the soldiers continuously walked back and forth. Why did Stephen bring me here? Seth's posture was relaxed as we followed Stephan down the lines of cells. I kept my eyes forward, not daring to look into any of them.

It smelt like sweat and fear in here. Tangy and dirty. Every soldier stood to attention when Stephan and Seth walked by. For some reason, that put me on edge.

Stephan stopped by a soldier with a short buzz cut. He was a huge burly man. His face said no-nonsense, but his brown eyes made me think of a sad puppy.

"At ease, Marcus." Marcus dropped his hand and didn't stand as straight, but you could tell his spine was a little rigid. Stephan looked back at me and nodded his head to the left. "Follow Seth. He knows where to take you." He watched me, the way a cat would watch a mouse.

I was being tested. I never passed a test that I didn't study for. I followed Seth without a backwards glance.

When we were out of Stephan's eyesight, I felt something change within Seth. His movements were robotic. His face was a steel mask. He was forcing himself to have a blank expression. I could see the tension in his shoulders. I wanted to tell him it was going to be okay.

We stopped at a cell. Seth walked up to the iron bars and did not say anything. He just looked inside. I stood right by him and looked inside too. A young man with curly brown hair sat on the cement floor. Jail attire was odd here. They made them wear neon yellow long sleeves and pants. The fabric was thin. He had no shoes on. Bags were underneath his eyes. He looked exhausted. I wondered what he did to get in here.

The young man looked up at me. He had startling blue eyes. His pale skin made his eye color stand out. The void look in his eyes left the moment he noticed me. Hate took over. His face twisted into disgust. Shoving himself up from the floor, he walked over to the iron bars. He didn't even spare Seth a second glance.

"Why are you here, Evelyn?" He spat my name.

I bit my lower lip. Another enemy of Evelyn's. "I am not sure," I whispered, looking down.

He gave a quick, short laugh. "Did you come to rub it in my face? That I am locked in here, imprisoned, while you are out roaming free?” His tone was bitter. If I didn't know any better, I would say he was hurt, but masking it with anger.

I stared at the prisoner, absorbing all his hate. Why would Stephan bring me here? What was his game plan? Tugging on the ends of my hair, I looked down. I didn’t want to talk to this sad man. I looked back up at him with remorse filling my eyes.

"It's going to be okay." I don’t know why I told him that, but I did. Pity filled my voice. He looked like such a good person. For all I knew, he was in here for breaking one of Stephan's strict laws. Like owning a history documentation.

The young man bared his teeth at me in anger. "It is not going to be okay. It will never be okay. Our father is keeping me in here until the day I die. Don't pull that sweet, innocent bull with me. It's your fault I am in here! You were the one that turned me in! You were the one that ratted me out for siding with the rebels! I should have known you would betray me after I trusted you!" His voice was so loud it bounced off of all the walls and made me cringe.

Something clicked in my brain in that moment. This was Evelyn's brother. He looked like an older more tired version of us. Did she turn him in? How could a girl turn her own brother in to be imprisoned? He is in here for joining a different side than his father. I really needed to study the laws here. Guilt clawed at my heart. He thought he was peering into his sister’s eyes, but he was looking into my eyes. Me. Brianna.

I did not say another word. I tugged on Seth's sleeve. Seth and Evelyn's brother shared a look. It was a quick fleeting look. Seth and I turned and started to head back the way we came. Something else was going on here. Were they friends before? If I wasn't so used to watching people's facial expressions, I would have missed the look.

Seth led me back up the stairs. I looked around for Stephan, but he was nowhere in sight. When we walked past a couple of soldiers all standing around and talking, Seth put my hand around his arm. Instinct was to pull away. Seth must have known that because he kept his hand over mine, preventing me from pulling away. Seth gave a curt nod to the soldiers who all stopped talking and watched us walk by.

“I need to tell you something,” I whispered.

Seth looked down at me, dark eyes sad. I’m not sure why, but I just wanted to make him smile. I knew he would be beautiful if he would just smile.

“I am officially five foot with these heels on. Don’t mess with me. I can smoosh you like a bug now.”

His lips quirked, but a smile did not break out across his face. Seth was a sad man.

Later that evening, when I was lying in bed, I could not sleep. Everybody that Evelyn did wrong kept flashing through my mind. How many people has she murdered? How many families did she ruin and tear apart? I was stuck here, in this life and in this body. I wanted to right all her wrongs. I wanted to heal the people she wounded.

I sat up in bed. Whenever I set my mind to something, I had to go through with it. And right now I wanted to right her wrongs. Starting with her brother. He was in there because he joined the rebels. He wasn’t in there for breaking a huge law... Well, he wasn’t in there for breaking a law that I thought was huge. Freedom was a good thing, not a bad thing. Stephan didn’t live in a time where there was peace and freedom.

I gnawed on my lower lip, knowing what I had to do. Once I started on this path, there would be no turning around. I rubbed my temples, contemplating all of my risks. I had so many things to lose, yet nothing to lose at the same time.

The decision was made before I even thought it was made. In a moment’s notice, I was out of bed and changing my clothes. I decided on a black, simple business dress and black flats. I did not want anyone to hear me coming. Right now was one of those moments where I wished she owned jeans. This life would be easier if I was wearing jeans.

Quietly, I slid out of my room. I needed to take on Evelyn's demeanor. I was going to get questioned, but if I acted as harsh as her, I bet the questions would stop me. I headed straight for the jail cells. A soldier was standing outside of the door. I stopped in front of him, but he did not move.

"Out of my way," I commanded, looking straight forward.

"You have no business down there." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down on me.

I mimicked his movements and cocked my hip. "My brother is down there."

The soldier lifted both of his eyebrows. "Yes, I know."

"I am going to see him." Duh rang in my tone.

"You do not have the authorization." He was not budging.

I gave a quick, short laugh. "Authorization, oh my, you sure are a funny one. Okay, let me just go upstairs and wake my father up to get the authorization. Matter of fact, why don’t I make him come downstairs to explain to you that I do not need authorization to walk through a wooden door. Daddy will be so pleased with you." I shook my head and began to walk away.

"Wait." My foot paused over the stairs.

"Go ahead, I wouldn’t want you to have to wake Stephan up. In the morning, I will have to let him know you went down there." He tried to warn me, but I was already flying down the stairs to the jail room.

They kept the lights on during night time. There was one soldier sitting at a desk by the start of the jail cells. He looked at me with confusion when he saw me, but stayed put when he saw the look on my face.

When I got to Evelyn’s brothers cell, tension tightened in my shoulders. It was now or never. Hearing my footsteps, he opened his eyes and just looked at me. He said nothing and did nothing.

"Play along," I whispered, not giving him a heads up about what was going on. "Help!" I yelled, waking up the other inmates.

The guard at the desk came running over. He looked at me and back into Evelyn's brother's cell frantically, trying to see what was going on. As hard as I could, I bashed his face into the iron bar. He dropped to the floor like a fly. I bent down and snatched the keys and gun from his pocket and holster.

"What key?" I asked, looking at the young man.

"Red one." His tone was bland.

I flinched after I opened the cell gate. An alarm went off. "Take the gun and take me hostage," I demanded, pushing the gun into his hands.

My plan wasn’t really thought out. All the inmates were going crazy and guards were running down the stairs, headed in our direction. He did not hesitate, immediately twisting my arm behind my back and pointing the gun at my head.

What did I get myself into? I did not know how deep his hate ran for his sister. For all I know, when we get out of here, he would really pull the trigger. My heart was beating so fast it hurt.

"I'll blow her brains out! Stay back!" He twisted my arm up further making me groan in pain. The soldiers all came to a halt but had their weapons aimed ready to fire. My eyes watered at the intense pain in my shoulder. I bit my lip, holding back profanities. "Backup." The young man warned.

"Rugter." A soldier warned. "You don’t want to do this. That is your sister you have in your arms."

Rugter laughed without humor. "This is a traitor, not my sister. Now step back!" Spit flew out of his mouth when he yelled. The soldiers marched backwards at the same time. I shook as we begin walking forwards. Rugter turned us after we passed all the cells so that our back was facing the window. "Shoot the glass," He ordered the soldiers.

One of them shot at the glass, but it did not break. The glass was bullet proof. That is not good. I was getting so nervous my knees got shaky. It was hard to stand still. The pain on my shoulder was becoming unbearable. He was hurting me.

"You are trapped." Someone shouted from the back of the formation.

Rugter did not seem worried at all. He walked backwards and made us go behind the desk where the soldier was posted at earlier. He loosened his hold on my shoulder. "Bend down and open the drawer."

The cold, metal gun stayed pressed to the back of my head as I bent down to open the drawer. There was a lot of papers and folders. I moved the papers around, searching for something, but not knowing what. I paused when I reached the bottom of the drawer. There was a grenade. How did he know it was in here?

"Pick it up," Rugter ordered, retightening his hold on my arm.

I lifted the grenade with shaky hands.

A soldier took a few steps forward. “You don’t want to do that.” I sensed fear in his voice. I recognized him as Kyle, the young man who opened my car door earlier in the evening. He wore a wedding ring on his left hand. Did he have a wife? Children? If Rugter planned on killing all of these people, he was no better than Stephan or Evelyn. I regretted my decision instantly. A fault in my almost flawless personality was: I never thought things out. Whenever I had an urge, or an idea per say, I always acted on it. Many times in life, it has gotten me into trouble.

“Now this is what’s going to happen. You all are going to go all the way down to the other end of the jail. If you do not listen, I will blow us all up.” Rugter’s voice was menacing.

None of them moved. His plan was not working. Rugter dropped my arm but kept the gun on the back of my head. I closed my eyes. He took the grenade from my hands.

My heart was beating hard and my ears were ringing. I could no longer hear what was going on around us. My breathing started coming in short pants. I was having a panic attack. The world around me began to sway. Adam’s voice entered my mind. Breathe in. Breathe out. I repeated that to myself for a few minutes

By the time I opened my eyes, the soldiers were slowly backing away, but keeping their eyes on us. Rugter shoved me forward roughly. When we reached the stairs, he made me walk side by side with him. He pointed the gun into my side.

“When I say run, run.” He whispered harshly in my ear.

“What?”

“Run!” I heard something clink down the stairs and he yanked on my arm. Before we made it five steps up the stairs, there was a strong force in the air. My feet lifted off the ground and I flew forward. Bashing the side of my face on the door, I groaned. I was in immense pain. Everywhere. The ringing in my ears earlier was nothing compared to the ringing I heard now. I opened my eyes, but the world was spinning all around me. I tried to move my arm, but it felt heavy.

I was swooped off of my feet. I did not even try and see who picked me up. I just let my heavy head fall back. Everywhere hurt. My head hurt. My body felt like it was broken everywhere. Cool air slid across my burning skin. We were outside.

The person carrying me was running now. My body bounced with every step the person took. I cried out in pain.

“Sorry.” That was Seth’s voice.

We were caught. It was over now. A tear escaped from my eye. It was all over. I started my mission a half hour ago and I had already failed. Was I going to be locked in a jail cell for the rest of my life like Rugter? He killed all those people. He was worse than I really thought he was. I thought he was only in there for associating with rebels, but he had the heart to kill. Who was he to take the life of another human being?

Fury filled me. My eyes popped open and I slowly became aware of everything going on around me. Seth was running. My limp body bounced up and down in his arms. There was shouting everywhere. Gun shots rang out into the night. Smoke filled the air. We were in a war zone. The night sky was full of twinkling stars. It was beautiful. I wanted to go up there with the stars and bask a delicate glow on Earth.

Seth was running to the end of the iron gates. Beyond the gates, there was a forest. I couldn’t seem to escape the trees. Why was he running away with me in his arms? I lifted my heavy arm and dropped it over his shoulder.

Seth looked down at me.  His eyes were unreadable. He came to a halt when we reached the gate. Seth gently set me on my feet, catching me when my knees gave out. I was surprised he didn’t let me fall like last time.

He said something. His mouth was moving, but I could not hear him. I attempted to read his lips, but that was a fail. Seth pulled a gun out and I froze. He was going to shoot me. His copper hair fell into his face when he looked down at me. I couldn’t read the emotion in his eyes. He pressed his lips together and looked behind him. Over the roar in my ears, I could hear the gun shots. They were nonstop. How many people were dying right now because I wanted to set Rugter free? What have I done?