They rolled up to the intersection.
The way was clear. Enzo didn’t take his foot from the brake. Long seconds went by. His posture was stiff, agitated, and worry creased his brow. Finally, he said, “I’m still not sold on the idea of a jailbreak, but I’ll get close enough to the city that your cell phone will work. Maybe your first guess was right, and it’s the zip code of somewhere that isn’t a deathtrap.”
He turned to the left.
She wanted to hug him. “You’re more self-sacrificing than anyone I know.”
“I feel responsible that your father is in prison, and I don’t want to lose you. That’s different from being self-sacrificing.”
The truck picked up speed once they reached the pavement. Charity had never been on such a smooth ride. She hardly noticed the potholes. The trees flew by.
She kept checking the built-in GPS, watching their position grow closer and closer to the city limits. She tried the phone when they were fifteen miles away. No service. She tried again at ten miles. Still no luck.
When they were five miles away, Enzo said, “Help me look for a place to pull off so I can remove the tracker. We need something with good cover. If raiders see an armored truck sitting around, they’ll try and take it from us.”
Charity trained her eyes on her side of the road, searching for an area that could shield a truck. Almost immediately, she found one. She could tell the spot was good because a truck already waited there.
And she recognized the truck.
“Stop!” she yelped. “Turn around. We need to go back. I just saw Milo.”
29
If anyone had told Enzo that he would be glad to see Milo, he wouldn’t have believed them. And even as he guided the armored truck toward Milo’s waiting one, he wasn’t sure if heshouldbe glad to see him. Enzo’s bruises from their last encounter had just faded.
And yet his first thought upon seeing the man was that Milo was here to keep Charity from going to the city. And the thought filled him with relief.
When they pulled up, Milo got out of his truck, smiling at them. Or at least smiling at Charity. She jumped out of the cab and ran to him. He gathered her into a hug and buried his head into her hair. “How’s married life?”
“Better than I expected.”
He eyed Enzo over the top of her head. “Is he still working for the government?”
Enzo reached them. “I unofficially resigned this morning.”
“Huh,” Milo said. “I guess I owe Gregor some money then.” He released Charity but kept a protective arm wrapped around her shoulder. “When Dad told me to wait here to switch vehicles with you, I told him there was no way I’d want anything thatyou managed to find, barter, or steal on your way down the mountain. But I stand corrected.” He waved a hand in the direction of the armored truck. “This is impressive.”
“What else did Dad tell you?” Charity asked. “Did he know he would be captured? Did he tell you how to free him?”
Milo’s head reared back in shock, and he dropped his arm from her shoulder. “Dad’s been captured? When? Where is he?”
Charity gave her brother a rundown of what they knew. Enzo hoped Milo would say something to Charity about not putting herself in danger for a hopeless cause. Instead, Milo cursed and kicked a nearby rock, making it skitter across the ground. “He didn’t say anything to me. He must not have known. I should come with you to help break him out.”
“No, you shouldn’t,” Enzo said. “You should take Charity and leave this to me.”
“No offense,” Milo said, sounding like he meant every bit of offense, “but I don’t trust you. I’m coming,”
Enzo crossed his arms and fixed him with a hard stare. “You’re a liability. And I’m not just saying that because the government wants to capture and torture you. I actually don’t have as much of an issue with that outcome as one would suppose. The problem is you’re too hotheaded. You’ll get us caught.”
Milo’s shoulders went back. “Listen, city boy?—”
Charity held up both hands to stop the fight. “Milo, what exactly did Dad tell you?”
Milo crossed his arms, matching Enzo’s stance. “He told me to wait along this road until you showed up. I’m supposed to switch vehicles with you and take the new one to New Salem. But,” he raised a hand, anticipating a protest, “Dad never said when I should take the new vehicle to New Salem. I can take it there after we rescue him.”
Milo clearly had too much eagerness and not enough forethought or worry for his sister.
Enzo said, “If we leave an armored truck this close to the city, I can guarantee you someone will find a way to steal it before we come back. You, my new brother-in-law, need to disable the tracking device, take Charity, and head somewhere safe. I’ll go to the city and do what I can to free your father. You work on cars, so I assume you know how to disable a tracker?”