The Green Rising

Chapter Twenty-eight

“Damn it.” Luc bolted off the couch. He paced the length of living room, the floorboards creaking with each step. He settled in front of the fireplace.

I raised my hand to the damp stubble on his face and wiped his cheek dry. “Are you sure it was her, and not someone else?”

“They called her name and it looked just like Mom. Before that, Colonel Bradley called my name and said she had an important message for me. I have twenty-four hours to report to her.” He grabbed the picture of his mother rocking a baby Sheila and two-year-old Luc to sleep.

“They aren’t going to release her.” I hated to sound so negative about Sue’s capture, but I had to be realistic. I tried to wrap my head around the whole situation. What business did they have with Luc, other than his being a soldier when I was the one they wanted? Why weren’t they going after my parents?

Because Sue had become my parent.

My shoulders sank as I considered the possibility that Luc was withholding some of the colonel’s demand. “They called for me, didn’t they?”

He remained silent for a moment too long. “No. Colonel Bradley wants me to report to her.”

“Why?” I had my suspicions. Abi had succeeded in making me feel inadequate whenever she’d come to the house.

He bristled at the question. “I don’t know, but my plan hasn’t changed. I’m going to organize a group to fight them. And if they murder my mother…” His voice trailed off, but its coldness made me shudder.

I still felt he was hiding something from me. I took the photograph out of his hands. Sue wore a smile that reached her eyes and held an expression that exuded an inner strength. Her husband had left them for another woman a few weeks before the picture had been taken. I couldn’t stand the idea of my husband leaving for the same reason.

“Promise me that you won’t go to Colonel Bradley.” I was embarrassed to think that Luc would leave me for her, but it didn’t seem far-fetched to me that she wanted my husband. I’d seen the way she acted around him. I’d witnessed the stares when she thought no one was looking.

“No. I won’t make that promise because that’s exactly where I’m going as soon as I can round up an army. They’re going to get a taste of their own medicine.”

Noah let out a cry and I headed downstairs. Jessa handed him to me and I sat on the recliner. Like clockwork, he was ready to nurse. I hummed a lullaby to calm my nerves as my mind raced to discover what Luc wasn’t telling me.

Luc emptied the contents of my backpack onto the hideaway. The Order’s books spread out across the couch. Having no idea what he’d casually tossed aside, he started towards the secret room and I heard the clinking of cans as they dropped into the bag. Maggie came bouncing towards the couch, and I reached for the books to keep them safe. A few minutes later, Luc crouched through the secret room, lugging the backpack behind him.

“Where are you going, Uncle Luc?”

 “It’s time for me to go back to work.”

Jessa looked from Luc to me, pursing her lips as her eyes became pinpoints. “There isn’t an army anymore. You’re leaving because of her, aren’t you?”

“I’m leaving because there are some horrible things going on around us and someone has to do something about it.” He loosened the straps to the backpack. “You’re going to have to step up and help your aunt.”

Her gaze ping-ponged between Luc and me before she let out a sigh. “You aren’t going to come back. They’ll kill you first.” Rosy and Maggie gasped and began to wail.