He yelps and I put my hand over his mouth.
“What was that for?” he hisses.
“Langley?” I hiss right back.
He backs up and then rushes forward, kissing me on the forehead, his hands in my hair. I allow the moment and then I begrudgingly hand over the baby. My arms feel empty without him.
“You’re the only one I want to remember,” Jackal whispers. He leans down and kisses my lips softly, so quick that it’s over before I blink.
I take off running back to the duffel bag. I fling my sweats and shirt off, putting them in the bag and getting in my dress. Jackal follows, taking the bag, and he waves, not saying another word, and moves in the opposite direction. I hurriedly smooth my dress and hair. My heart feels like it’s going to fall out of my chest, I feel my pulse in my throat and chest, and even the soles of my feet pound in time with my heart. I attempt to appear graceful and calm—the grass is my stage—as I walk back to the front yard, where the party has gathered.
I move around until I find Sean. I grab his arm. “Oh my God, there you are! What happened?”
He pulls me in, hugging me hard. “There you are. I got worried when I couldn’t find you.”
“Had to hurry, so I went to the downstairs bathroom.” I laugh. “Good thing, because bam, lights out.”
He puts his hand on my neck and squeezes. “Should we head out? The party was winding down even before the power went out.”
“Yes, please. I’m exhausted.” I tug on his hand and he follows.
He motions to his driver and she pulls around the drive. He opens the door and I’m getting in when I hear commotion near the house.
“Sean,” I call.
He leans his head in, looking at me.
I pat the seat and nearly cry with relief when he gets in instead of following the sound of the cries by the house. My ears are tuned to what’s happening back there, but he seems oblivious. He shuts the door and I wilt into the seat. I deserve to burn in hell, but I clutch his hand and twist my neck to face him.
“Thank you for bringing me this weekend. It was fun seeing you in your element.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
JACKAL
The male antechinus has so much sex that he disintegrates.
I’ve never held one of my own babies, but here I am holding Folsom’s.
They’re squirmy, all octopus legs and arms, with cries so shrill they make your eyes bug out. I take special care with him because he belongs to two people I love. The drive to the meeting point is ten minutes away. I lay Rebel in a box and place the box carefully on the floor of the car. The car belongs to Aries and I have to have it back in thirty minutes, just in time for the ensuing chaos to unfold when they find Rebel gone. The ignition kicks on, and I pull onto the road without turning on the headlights. The drop-off spot is a secluded dirt road five miles away. I miss it in the dark and have to circle back around, wasting at least five minutes. The baby screams from the box, and when I glance over, I see flailing arms and angry fists.
“Me too, little dude,” I say.
The road is bumpy, but I don’t slow down until I see the flash of lights from the waiting vehicle. I jump out as soon as I’ve put the car in park and run around to the passenger door, lifting Rebel from his hiding spot.
“He’s hungry,” Sylvia says as I pass him to her.
They’ve come prepared. She pulls out a bottle and Rebel’s cries are cut off.
“He’s about as loud as Gwen when she’s pissed off,” I say.
She starts cooing immediately and gets him secured into a protector. Bisa keeps watch in the driver’s seat.
“Aries pull through?” Sylvia glances at me.
“We wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t,” I say.
Other than loaning me his car, Aries’ only job was to arrange the after-party at the Villanova house to keep Langley occupied—which so long as you have a dick is an easy feat. I owe him a solid.
“Good luck,” I say, closing Sylvia’s door. She grabs my hand through the window.
“You’ve taken a lot of risks for the people you love,” she says. “I guess you have a heart after all.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I say. “I’ll see you in an hour.”
I tap the hood of the car and they take off.
When I get back to the Villanova estate, all the lights are back on and the front lawn is teeming with people. I don’t pause to see what’s happening. I drive around the back and pull Aries’ car into the spot where he’d left it. I have twenty minutes to get back to my mother’s house on foot. I’m going to have to run.
Rachel is waiting to drive me to the airstrip when I get back. I pretend to be drunk, slurring my words and knocking into my mother’s china cabinet. She rushes me out of the house before I can wake my mother. I slide into the backseat of my mother’s car. It smells of her—perfume and the illegal cigarettes she buys on the black market. I open the window slightly.
I’d woken my pilot up in the middle of the night, telling her I had to get back to the Blue fast. With hardly any notice, I know the pickings for a flight crew will be slim, which gives us a better chance at sneaking the baby to the Blue undetected. When I step onto the plane, my skeleton crew is already there, sleepy-eyed and trying to appear cheerful.
“We’re giving a lift to two of my friends,” I say. “They should arrive shortly.”
I have them make me a drink and I sip it slowly, as I watch out the window for Bisa’s car. They should have been here by now—they were only minutes behind me. Ten minutes pass, then twenty. My leg bounces beneath me. I check my messages. Nothing.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I say when we reach the hour mark.
“Sir, the pilot would like an ETA on your guests’ arrival.”
I look up to see the flight attendant standing above me, a stiff smile on her face.
“We leave when I say we leave,” I snap.
She nods apologetically. “I’ll let her know.”
“Give me a few minutes,” I say, standing up. “I have to make a call.”
She moves out of the main area, and I stare at my Silverbook. I’m not supposed to call. They’re supposed to contact me if anything goes wrong.
I could jeopardize everything. I check the time. Phoenix should be back at her hotel by now. Is she sharing a room with Sean, or is she alone? The thought of her in bed with the governor temporarily distracts me from the problem at hand. I take a few minutes to seethe.
“Call Phoenix,” I tell my device. As an afterthought I say, “Tell her Ruby is calling.”
When she picks up, she’s breathless. “Jackal,” she says. “I need your help.”
“Where are you?”
There’s a pause. “I’m driving. I have the baby.”
“Tell me where to meet you,” I say. I’m jogging down the stairs.
“Don’t go anywhere,” she says. “I’m bringing the baby to you.”
“Phoenix,” I say. “What happened? Phoenix…?” The line is dead. She’s already hung up.
I meet her outside of the airstrip, beyond the fence of the rickety airport. Her eyes are panicked as she hands Rebel to me, wrapped in a blanket and asleep.
“They have Mama B,” she says.
“What? How?”
“Roadblocks. As soon as they found Rebel missing, the governor shut down the roads. You got out just in time.”
“But how did you get him?” I stare down at the baby. This is impossible. How am I going to get him on the plane alone?
“Moma—Sylvia—got out of the car with him before they reached the roadblock. She hid,” she says. “Bisa drove through and they took her in for questioning when she didn’t have a good excuse to be out. Sylvia called me and I snuck out of the hotel.”
“Phoenix…” I shake my head. “I can’t just walk on the plane with a baby. They’re not my crew, and even if they were, I wouldn’t trust them—they all work for the Society. They’d sell me out in a minute.”
She
bites her lip. “I know. Sean and I leave in the morning. I don’t know what to do. They’re going to shut down all air traffic once they have clearance from the Statehead. That could be any minute.”
“Shit,” I say. “Shit. We had to steal the most famous baby in the Regions, didn’t we?” I run my hands through my hair, my heart racing. “All right...okay. I think I know what to do.”
I root in my pocket for my Silverbook. Right now we don’t have many options. If we don’t make a risky move, we might as well hand Rebel back and turn ourselves in. Phoenix watches me with wide eyes while I make the call, still cradling the baby in my arm. The pilot answers.
“I’m going to need you to send everyone home,” I say. “They’re shutting down flights out of the Red. I don’t want to be responsible for stranding the crew in the Blue, where they’re unable to get home.”
“Sir,” she says. “They won’t let me fly without a copilot.”
“I’m your copilot,” I say. “Keep the cockpit open for me. Call me once everyone is off the plane.” I hang up.
“You have a pilot’s license?” Phoenix asks.
“Hell, no. But, I’d rather pay the fine when I get back than go to prison for kidnapping.”
“Oh God, this is a bad idea.” Phoenix covers her face with her hands, but I pull them away.
“It’s our only idea. Bye, little thief.” I kiss her on the mouth once, twice, before she lifts her hands to my hair. I feel her fingers on my scalp as I slide my tongue in her mouth.
The pilot calls back, and I have to cut our kiss short.
“Everyone’s gone,” she says. “Let’s go.”
“Sleep hard, Rebel.” Phoenix kisses him on the forehead, hands me a small bag, and waves as I take off toward the plane.
Rebel starts crying as soon as the doors close. So much for good luck. I stick a pinkie in his mouth and let him suck on it while I shut the door.
“What the fuck are you doing?” the pilot asks when I carry him into the cockpit. I sit in the jumpseat and dig around in the bag for a bottle.
“I’m kidnapping a baby,” I say. “And if you don’t get this plane off the ground, you’ll be arrested for conspiracy to kidnap a baby.”
She stands up, her face pale. She drops her headgear and turns toward the door to make a run for it.
“Sit the fuck down,” I tell her. “This isn’t just any baby. This is Rebel Donohue. No matter what pathetic excuses you give the police, they’ll lock you up for so much as breathing in his direction. Do you really want to lose your pilot’s license?”
She looks at me, frozen to the spot, unsure of what to do.
“You just dismissed an entire flight crew, including your copilot,” I say. “Think about it. All looks pretty premeditated, doesn’t it? You sit down and fly out of this place, and no one will know you had anything to do with it,” I say. “But make no mistake, you get off this plane or say a word about it to anyone, and I’ll take you down with me.”
She sits down.
“Good girl,” I say. “Do I need to make my own drink…?”
TWENTY-EIGHT
PHOENIX
A male Adélie penguin gathers rare rocks to give to the girl he likes. The problem is, if another male comes along with a nice rock, she will mate with him, too.
I am wrought with worry the next morning. Having heard nothing from Jackal, I spend the morning following the news as they report the kidnapping of baby “R.”
“Terrible,” Sean says, as we sit at the breakfast table.
I’ve not touched my food and he’s eyeing my plate in concern. I pick up my fork and spoon eggs into my mouth to appease him. Don’t do anything to cause suspicion.
“And to think it happened right under all of our noses,” Sean comments. “The kidnapper could have been right next to us.”
“Stop it, Sean. You’re making me feel sick,” I say.
He sets down his coffee cup and stares at me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know R’s disappearance would have you so upset.”
“His name is Rebel,” I snap. “Why is everyone calling him R?”
“It’s the initiative they’ve taken to separate the baby from the movement his mother started,” Sean says honestly. “Changing his name would have caused an uproar, so they just...gave him a nickname.”
I look away, disgusted. It’s so twisted. The government is manipulating us, right down to what we call our babies. Why aren’t more people seeing the truth of it? He reaches out to take my hand and I resist the urge to pull away. I haven’t had the talk with Sean—I’d been too distracted. There are too many more important things taking precedence.
I’m quiet on the flight home. When Sean asks me if I want a drink, I order a double and then pretend to fall asleep against the window.
“Thank you for a lovely weekend,” I tell him, as he drops me off at the apartment. “I hope you get some rest.”
“You too,” he says, his tone brisker than usual. “Thanks for joining me.” He starts to walk away and turns back. “I wish I knew what you wanted,” he says sadly.
I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. I could recite a long list for him, starting with a non-corrupt government.
“I wish I knew too,” I say. “Bye, Sean.”
I shut the door behind him and lean against it. Hopefully, he will move on and meet someone who can make him happy. It just can’t be me. I message Jackal and get no response. I think about calling Gwen, seeing if she’s heard anything from him, but at the risk that she hasn’t, she’ll want to know what happened. I can’t bring myself to tell her that I don’t know where her baby is.
I have a performance in a few hours. I shower and head over to the theater and go through a condensed rehearsal. I’m distracted during the performance, but I don’t think it shows. During the curtain call, I search through the crowd for Jackal’s face. He’s not here, he’s not anywhere. I take my final bow and dart backstage, ignoring anyone who calls my name. Foregoing my shower, I sneak out as soon as I’m changed, walking to the apartment rather than taking a car. I’ve barely stepped out of the shower, when there’s a light tap at the door. I look out my security camera and see Jackal standing there, hands in his pockets.
I fling open the door, smiling wide, and he rushes in, closing the door behind him.
“Where’s the baby? What happened? Where have you been?” I ask, breathless.
“Jewel is hiding with him at her place. She thought it’d be better to take him at night and I agree. We’ll meet her in a couple of hours to take him to Gwen.”
“Does Gwen know?”
“No. We didn’t want to tell her anything until it was all in place...if something went wrong. Your mothers?” he asks.
I nod. “Sylvia went to the station, said they’d had a fight, and Bisa left in the middle of the night. They let her go.” He hugs me tight and I let him hold me there until he finally speaks again.
“I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind,” he says, lifting me up and wrapping my legs around his waist. “All this fucking excitement and danger...and all I want to do is fuck you until I can’t see straight.” He leans his head against mine. “Hi.”
“Hi.” I laugh, rubbing my nose against his.
“Are we okay? Do we need to talk about the whole Langley thing?” he asks, looking pensive.
“I said all I needed to say,” I tell him.
He makes a face. “I’m good with that.”
“Do we need to talk about your mother?” I ask.
“I’d prefer not to,” he says.
I chew on my lip, wondering how hard I should push him.
“We make a pretty good team,” he says. “The Phoenix and the Jackal.”
He carries me to my bedroom and tosses me on the bed. I lean up on my elbows and watch him undress. He motions to me.
“Clothes off. I need to see you. All of you.”
“You’re coming in here awfully demanding…” I say as I pull the leotard dow
n. He watches intently. The tights come down next.
“So that’s how it’s done,” he says. “You don’t want me too?” He reaches between my legs and lifts my wetness to his mouth, licking his fingers one by one. “I haven’t even gotten started yet, and you’re ready.”
He smirks and I pull him down to me. “Stop talking,” I tell him.
“I don’t wanna,” he says. “Better yet, how about you start talking...tell me what you want me to do to you. In detail.”
I groan. “I can’t. Just get after it.” I tug his hair and pull his mouth to mine.
His tongue teases mine and I want him to go faster, but he refuses. He sets a slow pace and when he presses against me, I try to hold him there, but he’s gone, his lips dragging down my neck and his fingers tweaking my nipples.
“Is it okay if I stay here all night?” he asks, his eyes meeting mine.
“You can stay here every night,” I tell him, emboldened by the way he’s touching me.
His fingers move between my legs and stroke, dipping down inside of me and back up to my clit. Little circles, faster and faster. My eyes roll back.
“Look at me. Watch.” He takes his dick and rubs it where his fingers have been. It’s glistening when he pulls back, my desire all over him.
“Don’t stop,” I whimper.
He lowers and puts his mouth there, blowing against my skin. “I’ve missed you,” he whispers and then his tongue dives into me and I yell.
“Fuck me,” I moan. “I can’t wait.”
He ignores me, his tongue going crazy, and he hits a spot that makes me buck off of the bed. He puts his hands underneath me and fucks me with his mouth, dragging in and out of me until I lose my mind.
I’m barely coming down from the high when he moves his body flush against mine. I inhale and exhale a few shaky breaths and he drives into me. And again. Harder. I meet him thrust for thrust, our bodies pounding together.