The Gender Fall (The Gender Game #5)(27)

I turned back and caught her eye. She murmured some quick orders to the man and then jogged over. “What?”

“Why?” I asked, pointing at the man in the car.

“Why the restraints?”

I nodded, and she gave an exasperated huff and crossed her arms. “That’s something I needed to talk to you about. That’s Cad—Violet’s cousin. One of the men caught him sneaking back onto base a few hours ago.”

“Onto the base?”

She nodded, her ponytail bobbing. “Yup. I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with him.”

“Didn’t Amber bring him and his family back in the heloship? After she picked up the women on the side of the road?” I wasn’t completely familiar with this part of the story, having been frantically driving around in search of a safe place to treat Violet at the time—I’d just been filled in on the big parts.

“She did. Violet’s uncle and aunt didn’t want to be part of the war effort, so I sent them to the place I am holding King Maxen. They’re not allowed to leave, but I don’t think they will, since Cad and his wife decided to stay in our camp with their children.”

I frowned. “Violet’s aunt and uncle left without stopping by to see if their niece was okay?”

“Yup.” Ms. Dale’s voice had a sharp note to it, and I couldn’t blame her. It was pretty rotten that they would up and leave like that, with no consideration for the woman who was family to them—and was right now half broken because she had risked her life to save theirs. We shared a moment of distaste, and then Ms. Dale continued, “Anyway, I had Cad cuffed and detained in that car so we could keep an eye on him before you got back. I wanted to see what you wanted to do.”

“But why did he sneak off?”

“I don’t know. He wouldn’t say.”

I growled in irritation and then marched toward the car. Cad’s head was tilted toward his hands, and he didn’t seem to notice my approach until I threw open the door. He jumped in surprise, his eyes bulging.

“Why did you sneak off base?” I demanded.

Cad shook his head a bit, blinking. Then he opened his mouth and slammed it shut with a click of his teeth, his expression mutinous. He’d probably been asleep in his cuffs.

Exhaustion made me impatient. “Now is not the time, Cad,” I said, my voice low and guttural. “I’ve had a long couple of days, and if you don’t talk, I’m going to have to assume you’re a spy, working for the enemy.”

That broke him out of his silence. “I’m not a spy!” Cad shot back, his face flushing red. “I was out there looking for someone.”

That had not been one of the things I’d expected him to say. The surprise of the realization helped reduce my boiling temper to a simmer. “Who?”

He gave me a long, hard look before sighing. “I was looking for my cousin.”

“Violet? She’s in the—”

“Not Violet. Tim. I heard… I heard some people say he was missing after the stuff at the palace. I put some pieces together and realized he had stayed behind. And since Violet is down for the count right now, I had to do something. So, a little before sunset, I took one of the cars and went back to the palace to look for him.” His reticence was gone, his expression raw, both defiant and guilty.

I absorbed this knowledge and turned to look at Ms. Dale, whose irritation had disappeared under the carefully crafted neutral expression she’d always worn when I’d first met her.

A part of me wanted to yell at Cad. He had put us all in jeopardy with that stunt. If he had been caught, he could’ve given away our location. On the other hand, he had done what I hadn’t been able to yet, and I found myself respecting that. He had gone back to the palace to look for his cousin, in spite of the danger. I rocked back on my heels, idly wondering if suicidal bravery ran in the family, and then realized that it also ran in me, so…

I exhaled and nodded at Ms. Dale. “Let him out of the cuffs,” I said softly. She nodded, and Cad offered up his hands as she moved toward him, searching in her pockets, presumably for the keys.

“Did you find him?” I asked Cad.

He shook his head, his face full of regret. “No. There was no one there at all.”

“You must have seen something,” I insisted. Maybe we could use this impromptu trip for intelligence. “Was there anything odd or out of place?”

Cad frowned, his gaze becoming unfocused. “When I said there was no one there at all, there was actually no one. I mean, there’s got to be important documents or files there, right? Equipment? People cleaning up the… the mess? But there weren’t any crews sifting through the rubble. There were no bodies, either, but… It’s only been like… what… thirty-six hours since the palace was running just like normal? Maybe forty? Where is everyone?”

I considered his observations. Definitely odd. I wasn’t sure yet whether it was worrisome, but it was something we could process after I got some sleep. The thing pressing down heavier on me was that he hadn’t found Tim. As much as I wished Cad hadn’t gone on an illicit raid, I wished more he had something to show for it, something that could make the wild light in Violet’s eyes when she asked about her brother disappear forever.

“Listen,” I told Cad. “I get that you want to help. I do. But next time, you need to clear it with Ms. Dale or myself. It was a big risk going out there, and if you had gotten caught, it would’ve put everyone at the camp in a lot of danger. Right now, this place and these people are all we have.”