Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
I shrug, like this doesn’t matter. Even though it does. “Well, I know who you are too. And trust me when I say this, they don’t pick men like you for their capacity for deep thinking.”
Shep actually guffaws. But when that’s over, the change in him is visceral and I feel it in my core. A sick, sinking feeling fills my gut and the adrenaline is back, coursing through my body like the high-speed train I take to work every day. “What do you want from me, Olive? Because it’s very, very clear that this whole thing between you and me is a setup. You’re CORE. And you’re stupid if you think I can’t spot you people at this point. I was born into it.”
I get defensive now. “So was I.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “No. You were a loose end, Olive. Collin isn’t CORE. I know that for a fact.”
“I’m not his real sister. And I’m not Disciple, either. I’m Blackberry Hill.”
He relaxes a little, folding his arms over his chest. “You have no clue what’s happening here, do you?” He scoffs. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. But if I were you, Olive, I’d start asking a lot of questions about everything you think is true right about now.” He reaches out and thumps his finger against my head. “Because this is their battlefield and you are nothing but a puppet. And whatever you think you know about me, it’s bullshit. Because if you knew my truth… well, let’s just say they’re not gonna allow you to know my truth. They’ll never allow it. Maybe they’ll kill me, maybe they’ll kill you, but whichever way it goes, the truth will be buried and one of us will go down with it. Now,” he says, catching his breath a little. “Think real hard about what I’m saying here. What does that look like, Olive? The end of me?” His eyes lock with mine. He blinks. “Or you?”
Then he turns around and walks away.
This time, I don’t bother trying to follow.
I just steel myself for Brose.
Because this failure will have consequences.
11 - Brose
It’s a gray day.
I’m sitting in our quarters, waiting for Olive to finish up with Shep. Whatever that entails. Of course, we have cameras everywhere. Not physical ones, though. Not out in the open in Trinity County. It’s mostly satellites, so the audio is sketchy, at best. But I know Olive well enough to read her body language. I can tell what’s happening without hearing her.
And what’s happening with the Shep guy is plain old attraction.
She likes him.
And why shouldn’t she? There’s a lot to like there. He’s good-looking—I’m good-looking too, but in a different way. Shep has that soldier look to him. Like he’s seen things.
Of course, I’ve seen way more than he has, but I look… not soft, exactly. Just… better managed, I guess.
I look down at myself. I’m slumped in a chair in our living room, laptop balanced on my knees. My tie is loose, but still around my neck, and my shirt is untucked. I don’t have my suit coat on, it’s draped over the couch back. That’s where I dropped it when I came in.
This is the second time I’ve walked away from Olive in the field and it’s sort of a turning point, I guess.
My phone buzzes and I know who it is before I even take it out of my pocket. “Grandfather, what do I—”
But he cuts me off. “Set her loose, Ambrose.” The typical spotty connection is even more sketchy than usual.
“What?” I say. “We’re totally on track here and—”
“Set. Her. Loose.”
“But why?” I say quickly. “Everything’s going according to plan.” This is a lie. It’s not going to plan at all, but his answer is even more surprising than my lie.
“You’re right. It’s going perfect. Fifty-five years I’ve been working on this project and now it’s time to set her loose.”
Fifty-five years? What the hell is he talking about?
“Do you hear me, grandson?”
He says the word grandson like it’s a slur. “I hear you.” I don’t understand him, but I definitely hear him. “Nothing’s messed up, grandfather. She’s doing—”
But the call ends. There’s nothing but silence.
I look at the phone in shock, only looking away when my attention is drawn to the voice of Olive coming from my laptop. My eyes find the video and despite the unsettling conversation with my grandfather, I smile. This is her intake interview. She was eight and a half that spring CORE brought her back into the fold. The same spring her older brother, Collin, left Trinity County with Amon Parrish to join the Marines.
The Creeds are not CORE, but through a string of weird chance happenings, Olive landed with them as a newborn. Her pregnant teenage mother escaped from Blackberry Hill. Not the one on the actual hill, but the one underneath.