Whispers of the Diamond: A Romance of Memory and Desire

Chapter 23 - Alex

My lips met hers, long and deep. The passion between us was undeniable. As the kiss broke, I took a breath and looked into her eyes, knowing I'd defend her to the end. She pushed back into me, and I chuckled softly.

"Behave!" I warned her with a smirk.

"You prefer I don't," she teased in reply. Of course, she was right—I enjoyed the back and forth between us. I smiled softly and she stood, we both began to dress, as I tried the best way to figure through this storm.

"There are going to be questions. I can only stall them for so long," I said, my mind racing. My best option was to eliminate whoever was feeding the resistance information from TG operations. They had put Terra and me in danger, and if I was being honest with myself, that's why I needed to know.

"I didn't want this to become a war, Alex. I'm trying to minimise the damage we do. That's why I had you stop us at Skyfield; it wouldn't have ended well. The fallout on the lowlanders would have been sickening. I pretend we're doing right, but we're outmatched at every turn. You guys have tools we can't even dream of. Jakob is a loose cannon with an axe to grind. It's hard for us," she spoke so quickly it was hard to take in her words. But I understood her concerns. We had a standing mandate to eliminate the resistance by any means necessary. In truth, I could easily get her to disclose their base location and take them all out in one go. I wouldn't, though, because I knew she cared, and I couldn't take that from her.

We both had people we cared for, and I would protect them too. I sighed softly, watching her. We'd gotten ourselves into a complicated mess, but I had no intention of letting her leave my life again.

"I know. We'll figure it out together, like always," I replied, finally. As I threw on the tactical vest Sara had given me, my eyes scanned the room before I moved to the door to peer out. As a Hunter, I was trained to keep my guard up.

"We're not all they say, you know," Sara's statement threw me off guard. I looked up, my brain taking a moment to process before I responded.

"You're... not what?" The words came slowly. My body was still in a daze from our passionate encounter, and I was completely caught off guard by her statement.

"We're not terrorists. We use force only when necessary and only on military targets. We want to weaken the stranglehold the TG has on everyone, the way they control every aspect of our lives. We aim to make them see the imbalance and realise that keeping their boot on our necks is counterproductive. We just want to live, and we'll do whatever it takes to make them hear us. The TG has to listen eventually."

She spoke with so much passion that I had to admire her commitment. The truth was, they didn't care. If they did, they'd have reacted to the attack on Skyfield, but they had shown no intent to do so.

"They have all the power, Terra, all the credits. You can't change the fact that economically, they will always have the upper hand." I replied softly. Money was power in our world, and the TG held more collective wealth than any single person. Not to mention they were ruled by elitist assholes who simply didn't care enough to share the wealth. Let's face it: if they did, they could wipe out the economic imbalance in a heartbeat. Everyone in the world earned a so-called living income; for most, it was barely enough to cover food and housing, and for some, it wasn't enough at all. Every year, the amount would be raised by a minimal amount. The military were the best of the common folk, maybe us Hunters, as we could charge as we pleased, though we had to pay commission to keep our licenses active.

"One person can change the world, Alex. You just have to reach the right person," she shrugged. I admired her strength.

I chuckled, shaking my head as I moved toward her with a smile. I kissed her with a fire I had long thought dead and buried. Terra ignited a passion so deep that I knew what I had to do.

"What do you need from me?"

"Just keep them off of us," she replied softly.

"One condition," I said.

She frowned and looked back at me, her eyes meeting mine with concern. I stared into those hazel eyes, searching for something, but I knew it was there. Her desire ran as deep for me as mine did for her.

"What's that?" she asked.

"I want whoever sold us out," I said firmly, "They almost killed you. I can't allow that to stand, Terra. I didn't before, and I won't now."

My eyes darkened, and she knew in that moment I wasn't going to accept anything less. I needed to solve the puzzle and eliminate the threat to both of us. They would be executed for treachery, and while I understood the harshness of the punishment, it was no different from the world's general treatment of traitors. Revealing classified information to the resistance was considered treachery and was punishable by death.

"I don't know who it is, but I'll try to find out," she replied.

I nodded, then checked my gun before holstering it. I made my way to the door, slowly peering out into the dark of the shed and then across the cold, dark, lifeless hunk of metal that used to be a train.

I eased down the stairs, Terra falling in step behind me as we crossed through the shed with ease. By the time we reached the huge doors, I stopped and looked back at her.

"I'll see you again soon," I said.

She smiled and nodded before pulling her coat tightly around her and heading out. I waited a moment, then turned and made my way back to my car. By the time I reached it, it was 3 am, and all I could think about was going home to bed. I started the car and headed toward my apartment.