Rescuing Liberty: Perseverance Book 1 (27 page)

“
The Progression always has a use for
talent from Special Forces.” The major’s words threw a bone to my
ravenous curiosity about Connor’s past. Puzzle pieces swirled
around in my head as I blindly struggled to fit them
together.

“
I. Am. Not. Military.” Connor
continued to calmly stare at the major.

The major dismissed him with a wave of
the hand. “So you say. And I do hate to sound melodramatic, but
there is no revolving door here. You don’t enlist, you don’t
leave.”

Yep. Classic nut-job
wannabe evil genius.

“
The military shut
down the Progression once before.” Connor stepped forward, making
the Progression goons tense and do the same. “They
will
do it
again.”

“
Oh, really?” The side of the major’s
mouth turned up. “Where’s your military now?”

Connor dismissed the major’s question
and glanced at the sleeping Ashley. “You’re using human collateral
to force enlistment? Do you really expect to get away with
this?”

I stared at Connor and mentally scratched my
head.

Forced? Human
collateral?
I glanced at Ashley and felt
another puzzle piece pop into place.

The major shrugged. “We have so far.
And there’s no need to be judgmental. We do have very good
benefits.”

The way the major eyed me made me glad
my stomach was empty.

Connor opened his mouth, but the major
spoke first. “There are much worse things than dying, Commander.”
He looked pointedly from Ashley, to me, and then finally back to
Connor.

“
Lieutenant Jensen.” He motioned and
one of the uniforms stepped forward. “Perhaps we should find more …
comfortable accommodations for Commander Dunstan’s lovely traveling
companions while he considers his options.”

Connor took a step forward, but Gina
pulled his arm back. She leaned against him, standing on her toes,
and whispered into his ear. Her mouth stretched into a grin that
reminded me of a certain green Santa, well known for stealing
Christmas. As her frosty-blue eyes landed on mine, fire poured into
my veins.

That’s it you she-Grinch,
you’re going down!
I mentally poured all my
anger, frustration and pain into my right leg as it pushed off the
ground toward Gina’s grin. The force behind my roundhouse—as it
connected with her jaw—was enough to jar my entire body. Gina went
down hard.

I barely had time to cheer before my own
lights went out.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

A SNAKE TATTOO twisted up the left forearm of
the Asian man who’d knocked Liberty unconscious. He smiled at
Connor and raised his arm again; preparing to throw another swing.
Connor’s body tensed. He could feel the major’s gaze upon him,
watching and analyzing, daring Connor to show weakness and
react.

Another hit. Then another. Liberty’s body
jerked with the force. Connor watched, silently promising to repay
each of the soldiers tenfold.

“
That’s enough boys.” The major walked
over and inspected her. He nodded to the Asian with the snake
tattoo. “That’s one way to prove your loyalty.”

The man nodded and replied, “I do not see
why man should not be as cruel as nature.”

“
Indeed,” the major said, seemingly
pleased.

Connor wondered if all the recruits
quoted Hitler and beat women, or if that
privilege
was reserved for a select few. He was
too worried about Liberty to ask. She’d gotten in one good kick,
but then the four surrounding soldiers fell on her like a group of
inmates going after a prison guard. The first swing had knocked her
out, but her unconsciousness hadn’t even slowed their
assault.

“
I like this one, Commander,” the
major said, tapping Liberty’s arm with his foot. “She’s
feisty.”

Connor tried not to notice the way blood
dribbled down Liberty’s cheek. Her lip was split, an eye was
already darkening, and judging by the blows, she probably had a few
cracked ribs. Lying on her back she seemed to struggle for each
labored breath. But at least she was breathing.

The major kneeled beside Gina and gently
touched her jaw, moving it from side to side. “Of course the next
time she touches my daughter, she dies.”

“
I’ll kill her myself,” Gina
said.

Connor pretended to care about Gina’s
wound while watching Liberty in his peripheral vision.
She’s okay.
He reassured
himself.
With that temper, I’m sure she’s
taken harder knocks than that.
Frustration and unease
weighed heavy on him. He’d caused Ashley and Liberty pain
for nothing. Despite his best efforts, they’d been captured
and were now in very real danger.

Jeff emerged from the shadows and checked
Liberty’s vitals. He glared at Connor, and then gently straightened
out her limbs. Sliding his hands underneath her, he lifted and
cradled her form. As she hung, lifeless in his arms, he carried her
from the tent, followed by two soldiers.

The major watched until his son exited.
“Well, well, Commander. It appears my search for your currency has
gained me my son’s as well.” He chuckled. “Most convenient.
Reassuring too. I was beginning to wonder if he preferred his own
gender.”

The major signaled, and the man holding
Ashley left, followed by the other soldiers.

Gina spoke quietly with the medic. The major
leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You should go too, honey. Get
some rest and I’ll be in to check on you soon.”

“
Connor, I—” Gina stood with the help
of the medic. “You’ll like it here with us … with me.” She leaned
on the medic as they walked out of the tent.

The major watched Gina leave, and then shook
his head. “You’re playing with my daughter, Commander.”

Connor said nothing.

“
You may have her fooled, but I can
see where your true affections lie.” He limped over to stand in
front of Connor.

Connor watched the major, wondering how fast
he could kill him. Wondering how fast the soldiers outside would
react. Wondering what would happen to him and the girls
afterward.

The major’s thin lips spread into a sneer.
“I’m going to be frank. I’ve heard that you’re a practical man,” he
said. “The Progression can use you, and that’s why you’re not being
held accountable for the actions of your traveling companion. Nor
am I going to punish you for the way you’ve led my daughter on. You
see, I’m a practical man as well. So I’ll give you a very generous
hour to think over your options. Join us and live. Refuse, and well
… being practical men, we both know what will happen.” He glanced
at his watch. “Your hour starts now.”

Then he left.

Alone in the tent, Connor started pacing and
reminding himself of all the reasons why he couldn’t accept the
offer. He cleared his throat and recanted the words that had been
drilled into his head years ago. “I, Connor Dunstan, do solemnly
swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United
States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear
true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the
orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the
officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the
Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

Even though the US no longer had a
president, Connor owed a lot to his country. At sixteen, the death
of his parents had rocked his world. After his grades plummeted,
colleges weren’t exactly knocking on his door. He and his brother
had been young and without resources or options. The military had
offered Connor the chance to be something other than “that poor boy
who lost his parents.” They granted him the opportunity to become
autonomous; expected to perform regardless of his past. And perform
Connor did, scooping up all the college credits he could schedule
around his training.

By age twenty, he had been selected for the
Green Berets. At twenty-three, he was commanding his own
Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) team. But the third year of
command was brutal. He was twenty-six when he led the botched
mission in Afghanistan that took the life of two friends and a
young Afghani boy. Once that tour ended he retired and focused on
his education.

With the recommendations of his superiors
and military tuition assistance, he was able to complete his law
degree at Stanford. The country had given Connor much, and deserved
more than his betrayal in return. Joining the Progression would be
worse than treachery. He would be a tool used to further the
extinction of decent human beings—a knife wielded to cut down those
who opposed the savage methods of the Progression. He couldn’t
accept the offer, but couldn’t decline it either. The price was too
high. If he refused to join, Liberty and Ashley would live plenty
long enough to hate him for abandoning them to their fate.

This is my fault.
I let us get captured.
Connor
questioned why he didn’t turn around the moment he first suspected
they were being followed, but he knew the answer: pride. He’d been
so sure
he could take care of the group and handle any
situation. It was just like Afghanistan all over again. He’d
allowed himself to grow overconfident and this time the price tag
of his arrogance was epic.

No options.

Connor’s stomach roiled from foul-smelling,
sour-tasting, putrid-feeling defeat. He still had one option.

No. Too terrible to even think of. No
options.

But there was always an option. He
could almost see Death as it stalked him from the border of his
consciousness. Death was like a loan shark Connor had cheated too
many times. Now it came with muscle, preparing to take him out for
good. He and the girls were dead, but Connor could still control
how they died.
One option.
I’ll sign on with the Progression.

He gritted his teeth against the plan,
wishing, hoping for another way. But there was none.
No. It has to be like this. I’ll sign on, then the
first time I get the girls alone, I’ll kill them both and take my
own life. I won’t serve the Progression, and I won’t allow Liberty
and Ashley to be tortured.

He
could almost hear
Death’s laughter as he accepted the plan into his heart and mind,
knowing it would be better than any alternative. “It looks like
you’ll get your payment yet.”

He closed his eyes and sought his brother in
the darkness.

Jacob appeared, frowning. “Connor, where
there is death, there is also life.”

Connor’s eyes squeezed tighter and he
welcomed the memory of Jacob at age eighteen, trying to make sense
of their parent’s death.

“
There is no night so dark that the
light can’t pierce it.” Jacob said as he messed up Connor’s hair.
“I know it’s hard now, but it’ll get better. One day you’ll
understand.”

“
No.” Connor shook his head. “I’ll
never understand why they had to die. You say God is all-powerful.
Well why isn’t He powerful enough to stop death?”

“
You need to talk to Him about that.”
Jacob faded.

“
Come back,” Connor
whispered.

Darkness was all that remained.

He opened his eyes and wondered if he
could actually kill Ashley and Liberty.
No
choice. I have to.
With that realization came anger.
It started in his toes and spread like a wild fire, feeding on the
oxygen in his blood until his face felt like it was burning up.
Furious with defeat, he paced, each footfall sounded harder, and
more heated than the last. Clenched fists, gritted teeth, he turned
his attention beyond the roof of the tent. “Is this what you want,
God? You stripped everything from me except them. Now will you hold
the gun as I pull the trigger and end them too?”

Every muscle in Connor’s body tensed
as his fury raged at God. First, for the death of his parents, then
that God had sat back and watched as he’d killed Jacob and Cathy,
and now for the duty that loomed before him. Accepting that Ashley
and Liberty would die by his hand, Connor asked, “Enjoying the
show? Sitting up there on your fluffy throne watching everyone
suffer? You could stop this. And yet, as always, you choose to do
nothing. Nothing!” His anger grew with each word. “Are you planning
on stepping in, or will you watch me kill everyone I love? Damn
You! Intervene! Do
something
.”

He collapsed, falling to his knees in the
very spot where Liberty had been beaten. He hunched over and
pounded on the ground until his hands split open and his blood
mingled with hers. Then he raised his injured hands toward the sky.
“Is this what you want? How much blood has to be spilled until you
decide to climb down from your throne and do something about
it?”

He lowered his fists to the ground and
slumped under the weight of failure. “I can understand you turning
your back on me. But Liberty follows you. And Ashley’s just a
child. Surely their lives mean something?”

His eyes burned. He closed them and a tear
slid down his cheek. “You are supposed to be all powerful; God of
love, hope, forgiveness. Omnipresent, yet where the hell are you?
Please. Just help them. I will do … anything. Be … anything. If you
would just, this one time, please ...” Tears continued to race down
his face. “I. Can’t. Kill. Them.” Then emotion overcame him,
robbing Connor of his voice. Lost. Desperate. Outplayed.