Renegade (The Elysium Chronicles #1)(21)

“You’re lucky I do.” I give him a sharp look.

“Oh?”

“Because what I should do is get all the information I can from you, then turn you over to the Enforcers.”

He licks his lips, meeting my gaze even though I can tell he’s nervous. “But you’re not going to do that.”

“No, I’m not.”

“And why not?”

Now I’m the one who has to look away. I can’t tell him that he makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. “Because I believe you when you say the Surface isn’t everything I’ve been told, just as you don’t really know what it’s like in Elysium. And I believe you when you say you just want to go home to take care of your family. I understand duty. I may not trust my memory all the time, but I do trust my instincts. And my instincts tell me you need my help.”

He flinches, just barely, but enough that I know he’s still wary of me. “Nothing that’s happened to me down here could be considered normal,” he says, “but you might be the strangest thing of all.”

“Strange?” I try to sound indignant, but I can’t deny the shiver spilling down my back at the look in his eyes. He’s not afraid anymore, not completely, but the same intensity is in those remarkable gray eyes.

“Fascinating,” he says.

The shivers race to my fingertips, and I curl my hands into my skirt.

“So … you trust me?”

His eyes narrow a tiny bit. “Yes. I have nothing to lose, do I?”

“I suppose not.”

“You do, though, don’t you?”

I lift one shoulder. “Not if we do this carefully.”

The corner of his mouth pulls up to a wry smile. “You are definitely fascinating, Evelyn.”

Our eyes meet and something passes between us. Something I’ve never felt before, but it’s familiar all the same. Then I blush and we look away from each other. My gaze meets the floor and it’s quiet while both of us decide what to say next.

“So,” he finally says, breaking the uncomfortable silence, “you aren’t allowed to touch someone unless you’re Coupled?”

I don’t look away from the pitted floor. “Yes.”

“Bummer.”

I look up, questioning.

“I want to touch you, but I don’t want you to freak out on me,” he explains. “On the Surface, we’d usually do a handshake now.”

My eyes widen, and I glance over my shoulder. The Guards aren’t paying attention, but I’m unsure of the camera. Though, from its angle and my position to him, I’m fairly certain the space between us is not visible.

Carefully I slide my hand along the ground until it just touches his. He glances down and then back up. He moves his gaze to the camera, then the Guards before touching the tips of his fingers to mine.

It’s barely a touch at all, but my heart skips a beat. I’ve never felt like this before. It’s strange. Exciting. Terrifying. Fascinating. I have to fight to keep my hand where it is.

He grins. “So, Evelyn—”

“Evie,” I say quickly. Breathlessly.

“I’m sorry?”

“Call me Evie. Please. Everyone else calls me Evelyn, but … I like Evie.”

“Evie.” He repeats it, emphasizing the short “e” sound, and runs his thumb over my fingertips. “I like Evie, too. It suits you.”

I shiver at the tingles in my fingertips and we smile at each other, but then the doors open again. I panic, thinking Mother has seen him touching me and sent an Enforcer. I slide my hand away in a move I hope isn’t noticeable and stand when I see a young Guard waiting for me.

“Miss Evelyn,” he says, with a slight bow. “Mother has requested your presence. She has asked me to escort you.”

My heart drops. She knows.

“Yes, of course.” I turn to Gavin. “I probably won’t be returning tonight. It would be in your best interests to think about cooperating with me and answering my questions.”

At first he narrows his eyes, but I continue to stare at him, not even daring to blink, and hope he understands what I am telling him and acts like nothing has changed.

“I’ll … consider it,” he says after a moment.

I feel awful for leaving him here. Alone. It really is a dismal place and the Guards already don’t like him. I hope he won’t be any more damaged tomorrow.

If Mother lets me return tomorrow. Who knows what the camera has caught. Not to mention I can’t remember anything from the beginning of our conversation.

To my surprise, only the young Guard escorts me from the Detainment Center. The rest of my Guards seem to have been dismissed. But given what Gavin just told me, and assuming he’s right, it’s probably not something I should question.

Lost in my thoughts, I walk ahead of the Guard. Up the slippery stairs, to my left and five hundred meters over the concrete floors, past the lonely Guard, then through the tube to the grand entrance to the Palace Wing, then straight to the golden elevators and up two levels, and finally down the marble halls, which lead to Mother’s sitting room. She is working on her computer. The blue light from the holographic display shines on her face, but the sidewall of her alcove blocks the view of what she’s working on.