Savage Run (30 page)

“
Well you accepted the help
from my father at the hospital.” His eyebrows rise.

“
But that was
different.”

“
I beg to
differ.”

Of course he does.

“
Sometimes one just has to
learn to trust.”

“
There’s no one I can
trust. Not even myself!”

He gets this icy glare and for a moment I
think he’s going to blow, but instead, he says very slowly, “I just
want you to be safe—that’s all.”

“
There’s no safety for me
anywhere, don’t you see that? Where I come from and where I’m
headed is the most dangerous place of all.”

He leans his temple against mine. “I…could
be there for you. Help you.”

My throat is suddenly hot and dry, and I
feel my heart rate all the way down in my lower abdomen.

He chuckles—nervously, I think—and he runs
his fingers across my collarbone.

I stiffen, unsure what he’s doing, but not
wanting him to stop. “I hardly know you, Nicholas.” I bite my
lip.

He knits his fingers through my hair, gently
tugging at my neck, and his gaze lowers to my mouth. His breath
trembles and then he presses his mouth gently to mine. The scratchy
coats rub against the bare skin on my back and his kiss is silky
and wet and soft. Pulling back, our noses still touching, he pauses
as if waiting for my reaction. Wanting him to kiss me again, I nod
my head, encouraging him, my knees feeling as weak as they did back
before I jumped off Devil’s Cliff. My hands find their way around
his waist, beneath his coat and I pull him closer so our bodies
press against each other. I don’t know what I’m doing, but it feels
so good to have him this close—to taste his minty lips. When he
swivels me around and pins me against the wall, I think I could
stay with him forever. I could accept.

He kisses my neck and my chin and our lips
find each other again. This time, I feel it all the way down in my
toes, and it’s a little scary how my body screams to be even nearer
to him. His fingers trail down my spine and I arch my back and lean
my head onto the wall behind me. I don’t understand this force that
is so strong, making me want to give up everything to be with him,
making me forget all the cruelness I have suffered at the hands of
other men.

But I can’t.

“
Nicholas,” I say, turning
away from his lips, my body cursing me—me
needing
him.

He breathes deeply and leans his head
against my bare shoulder. “Heidi.”

I press my lips together,
wanting to say that I need him, but I’m too afraid to be this
vulnerable, to
need
someone. And to admit it.

“
Just think about the
offer,” he whispers. “I know you’ve been hurt, but I promise I will
never hurt you.”

How can he promise this, the son of the man
who wants me dead? “I can’t do it, Nicholas. I can’t betray Gemma
again.”

He lifts his chin and gazes into my eyes.
“Then how can I help?”

“
Don’t ask me to abandon
Gemma.”

He squints his eyes. “Fine.”

“
We should probably
go.”

He nods and stands aside so I can pass. It
takes everything in my power not to pull him in again and keep
kissing him, to explore him in ways I have never explored a man,
but Gemma is the one who truly needs me. I walk past him, his fist
clenched, his jaw tense. I open the door.

Mai gives me a baffled look when I step out
of the closet, but quickly reverts back to her stern self.
“Ready?”

“
Ready,” I say, trying to
cover up my flushed cheeks and pounding heart.

Chapter 23

I walk with Mai down the stairwell and pause
about three-quarters of the way down. One of the reporters notices
us, and within moments, they’re snapping pictures and elbowing past
others for a better spot.

“
Is it true that you are
Heidi Cruise?”

“
It is.”

A gasp goes through the room, followed
shortly after by sudden bursts of clamor.

“
There will be no
interviews,” Mai says. “Now, if you would be so gracious, please
let us pass so we may get to our dinner.”

The reporters don’t budge so instead, Mai
takes my hand and leads me upstairs. “There’s another way to get
into the ballroom.” We climb the stairs and take the long, red and
gold hallway to the other side of the building. Riding the elevator
down, it brings us back to the main floor and into the foyer just
outside of the ballroom. A large sign reads:

No reporters allowed beyond this point.

I sigh in relief.

To my great dismay, the first person I see
when I enter the ballroom is Johnny. He’s sitting at a round table
with four benefactors, looking pissed off at the world. I’m not
sure whether his sour expression is because he’s upset at something
particular or just because, well, that’s pretty much his usual
expression. The tall windows on either side of the long,
rectangular room have bright red curtains, and the walls and
ceiling are adorned with gold wooden carvings.

When Johnny sees me, his eyes grow even more
contemptuous; he probably thought I was a goner and that he didn’t
have to deal with this crap. The people sitting next to him aren’t
even engaging him in conversation, which tells me he’s not very
popular among the benefactors anymore. Not that I think they know
that he was the one who shot me down, but I’m sure he’s been
revealing his true colors, turning benefactors off. I have to
suppress a victorious smile. But then I change my mind and walk
over to him and smile.

“
Long time no see,” I say.
The room goes silent and I feel hundreds of eyes and ears on me.
Has word reached here about who I am?

Johnny rises to his feet. “No hard
feelings?”

“
None at all.” I coil my
hand into a fist and sock him as hard as I can across the face.
Being the gorilla he is, he doesn’t move much, but it feels good to
hit him. Never mind that my hand hurts like crazy.

He steps into my face. “I’m not going to hit
you here, but don’t think that I’ll ever forget what you just did
to me. Just wait until phase three. I’ve something special planned
for you.”

I swallow hard, but before I can formulate a
retort, Nicholas comes up next to me and grabs my arm. “Let’s find
our seats, shall we?”

“
I know you two are an
item. Don’t expect me to go easy on her out there just because
she’s a girl,” Johnny says.

“
You touch her, and I’ll
make sure you never receive your status as a Master,” Nicholas
says.

The right side of Johnny’s lip rises and he
smiles at me like he knows something. I come with Nicholas and as
we’re walking over to our table, he says, “I don’t like his smile.
Just stay away from him.”

“
I’ll manage him, don’t
worry.”

Nicholas glances at me like he wants to kill
me, but he doesn’t respond. Walking through the room, I notice how
few contestants are left. I search for the participants from
Culmination, but can only locate Danny—he’s easy to spot with the
eagle tattoo at the back of his head—and Timothy as I walk by him
saying “Dude.”

We arrive at a table where Mai and Arthor
sit with six other benefactors.

“
I’m sitting somewhere
else,” Nicholas whispers into my ear before he takes
off.

The moment I sit down, the benefactors swarm
me with questions. I answer as best I can and as truthfully as I
can. Of course I hope I will make it, and I feel much better than I
did the same time yesterday.” They laugh and coo at my replies.

After eating filet mignon, mashed potatoes
and squash medley, President Volkov takes the stage. I wonder if he
smears his head with Vaseline, it’s so shiny.

“
Dearly beloved friends,”
he says. “We have all seen the way the Savage Run has changed in
the past few days. Acts of bravery have abounded, acts of
selfishness and ill will have emerged, and illegal acts have been
exposed.” The gathering laughs. “But more than anything, we have
all grown to love the most popular participant we have. The only
one who dared risk his life for another. Namely, Cory
Cunningham.”

Mai and Arthor glance at me simultaneously.
Not that I think Cory doesn’t deserve to be highlighted, but I
suspect Cory’s honorable mention has more to do with President
Volkov’s desire to diminish any attention I might garner than with
celebrating brave participants. I don’t care. I look for Nicholas
and find him sitting just two tables away from me with Timothy. I
haven’t been able to locate Abe or Fletcher, making me think that
they died or dropped out of the program. Or maybe they didn’t make
it in the top fifty percent. Whatever happened to them, it only
leaves us five remaining.

President Volkov continues, “Cory’s bravery
and valor in the Savage Run has caught our eyes. A friend to all, a
saint to some, his heroism is something that cannot be bottled and
sold on the Internet. And that such a young man would so willingly
risk his life so others, who are participating in this program, is
beyond me.”

I glance over at Arthor, who is the real
hero in my eyes. I don’t know what heroic feats, Cory has done, if
any, but Arthor’s been a true friend indeed and without him, I
would not be sitting here today. Arthor gazes at me with no look of
disappointment in his eyes, no look saying he should be the one
highlighted today for his valiant deeds.

“
You’re my hero,” I
whisper, reaching across the table and squeezing his
hand.

Arthor gets teary-eyed.

When I look at Nicholas, he quickly looks
down his face sunken. I don’t know what to do with my growing
feelings for him. I want to stuff them away because I’m afraid I
might get hurt if I open up to him.

President Volkov continues talking about the
highlights of phase two and even has Cory stand up in his seat when
he reviews the events of the bike ride across burning beams. Even
though biking would probably have been my best obstacle, I’m glad I
didn’t have to bike across burning beams.

“
That kind of bravery,
Cory, is what this program is all about,” President Volkov says.
“Now, please come here, Cory, to receive a medal for your bravery
and valor.”

“
I saw the whole damn
thing,” the old man with yellow teeth says. “He just helped someone
patch up his tire. The greatest act of bravery I saw was between
you two in phase one.” His disheveled, gray hair, makes me think
that he is or used to be a Laborer, but there’s no way he could be
a Class-3 citizen and attending this event.

“
Thank you,” I
say.

After dinner, everyone scatters to different
places, and I’m left alone with the old guy at the table. Out of
nowhere, Johnny appears. “May I have this dance?”

“
Uh…” I look around the
room for Nicholas, but don’t see him. But being here in a crowded
room, I must be safe—the safest I’ll ever be around Johnny. And I’m
curious to find out why he asked me to dance. Besides, keep your
friends close, your enemies…I stretch out my hand.
“Sure.”

Once we’re on the dance floor, he takes my
right hand in his left and reaches around my waist. I force my lips
to remain pleasant.

“
Trying to get Pres. to end
your life early?”

“
What?”

“
The dress.”

“
Oh. I thought it would be
fitting.”

“
Well, it sure had him
squirming when I brought it up to him.”

“
How thoughtful of you to
mention me.”

“
Of course. Hey, listen.
I’m sorry about ratting you out.”

“
And shooting me
down?”

Air hisses between his big teeth. “You saw
me, huh?”

“
Yes.”

“
It was an
order.”

“
So you’re President
Volkov’s mole?” I want to ask in a roundabout way if he knows or
will reveal to me that he’s President Volkov’s son.

“
Oh, I’m more than that. I
run the show on the ground. Here’s a piece of trivia for you: do
you ever wonder why I joined Savage Run?”

“
No.”

“
The real reason isn’t
because of my sickly grandmother. The real reason is because Pres.
didn’t want to see Arthor’s kind secretly get into the Savage Run
and smear the honor of his masterpiece.”

“
Arthor?” He leans his
cheek against mine, and I angle my head away.

“
He’s a disgusting breed,
don’t you think?”

So he did know what he was doing on the UVC.
“I don’t understand what you mean,” I feign.

“
Stop lying. His unnatural
inclinations just make me sick. Those kind of people deserve
nothing else than to be put to death.”

“
How can you say that?” I
see crimson. “Just because he’s not like you?”

“
So you condone his ways?
Interesting. I live to serve the laws of the land. I live to see
justice done. And I will fulfill my duty in putting Arthor in his
rightful place.”

“
You’re planning to kill
him?”

He nods slowly. “Before the first round
started, Pres. cut me a deal. We can’t have gays in the Savage Run,
and we especially can’t have a gay guy winning his freedom.” He
scoffs. “Pres. told me to get rid of Arthor and make it look like a
natural occurrence. Problem was, you two started hanging around
like turtledoves and I couldn’t get to him. The kill needed to be
clean and not cause suspicion. But then I found out you were a
girl…and, that Pres. wants you dead, too. It will be a very
interesting third phase.”