Why wouldn’t Enzo look at her? He’d just said he loved her and didn’t want to lose her. That meant he wanted a future with her, didn’t it?
“Gather your things,” the lead soldier said. “We’ll take you back to camp.”
Instead of picking up her things, she went to Enzo and threw her arms around him. He buried his head into her hair.
“I love you too,” she said. “We’ll work out the rest.”
She said the words softly enough that she didn’t think the soldiers would hear, but perhaps they wore enhanced listening devices. A collective, “Ahh” went through the group joined by a smattering of applause.
“Very touching,” the lead soldier said. “But we need to go.”
Charity and Enzodidn’t speak again until they reached the soldiers’ camp. She wondered if Enzo was really as relaxed inthe midst of soldiers as he seemed. All of the guns made her nervous.
Half a dozen large tents dotted the area along with rows of tanks and armored trucks. Men with rifles guarded the perimeter. Once there, Shreeve, the head soldier, told them they would spend the night locked in the brig. Regulations. No one without proper clearance could move freely around the camp.
The brig, in this case, was a huge moving container in the back of one of the armored trucks. No chance of escape, even if they’d wanted to.
All in all, sleeping in the container wasn’t the worst fate. The place had cots, a small lamp, and a portable bathroom with a shower. They could stand up inside, and the room wasn’t that cold.
When the door thudded shut behind them, Enzo took Charity’s phone from her, turned on the white noise function, and whispered, “This will cover some noises, but I wouldn’t say anything you don’t want the soldiers to hear just in case the place is bugged. They already got an earful of our personal lives.”
“Yeah. Worst in-laws ever?” She put her hands on her hips in mock offense. “I think you’re seriously underestimating a lot of other in-laws.”
“I said some nice things too.”
“Yes, you did.” She smiled at the memory, glowed from it.
He took one of her hands from her waist, brought it to his lips, and kissed it.
“My brother isn’t a jerk,” she said. “He’s just protective, and with good reason.”
Enzo put her hand on his shoulder and slid his arms around her waist. “We’re not talking, remember?”
And so they didn’t.
27
The next morning, Enzo woke before Charity. He lay where he was for quite some time, not wanting to disturb her. He’d gotten some sleep before the soldiers found them, but she’d been up late.
He’d planned on telling her that he loved her only if she decided she wanted a future with him, if she agreed to stay in the city. Instead, he’d spilled everything while held at gunpoint by a group of soldiers.
He should’ve known nothing would ever go as planned with Charity.
But she’d said she loved him too. She loved him even though she knew who he really was. So they would find a way to make things work. He just didn’t know what that would entail. He finally got out of bed and flipped the lamp on its lowest setting. Charity squinted at him, turned on her side, and pulled the covers over her face. That was fine. He would let her sleep as long as she could.
He showered and ate some of their provisions for breakfast, all the while trying to come up with a plan. If Charity were anyone else, it would be easy. She could move into hisapartment, meet his friends and family, and start acclimatizing to city life.
But as things stood, he wasn’t sure how to protect her, let alone explain her to his superiors. He’d been thinking of different options all yesterday and hadn’t liked any of them.
If the authorities knew her identity—and Schmitt had her picture—they’d question her. They might even arrest her. Harboring an Empowered was illegal, and Charity couldn’t claim she hadn’t known what her father was.
But hiding her would be hard. Maybe impossible now that the soldiers had picked them up. If Enzo’s superiors doubted anything he told them, they’d give him truth serum. And when they found out he’d not only withheld information about Ben Huntington but had married his daughter and tried to keep her a secret, he’d risk being arrested as well.
If Enzo came clean about everything, he might be able to convince Schmitt that Ben was harmless. His psychic abilities centered on helping his family, not coming up with classified passwords or codes to destroy satellites. Ben wasn’t a threat as long as no one else knew about his abilities. Enzo and Schmitt could agree not to tell anyone and drop the matter. Or perhaps they could strike a deal with Ben to let him live peacefully under government surveillance.
Maybe coming clean was the best option. In all likelihood, the government would never catch Ben, and Enzo’s biggest obstacle would be getting clemency for Charity for not reporting her father to the government. What leverage could he use to get Schmitt to pardon her?
The door swung open, letting in a stream of early morning light. Shreeve stood on the ramp outside. His gaze fell on Charity cocooned under the blankets, still sleeping, and he motioned for Enzo to step outside.