The Uprising (Book #3 in The Inception Trilogy)

chapter twenty-five

(y'all know the drill... this chapter is *unedited* and it's a filler... hope you enjoy, though xx)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

HARRY IS DEADLY SILENT when they're all escorted back to their rooms, which Evelyn had been anticipating. She knows what she has to do, but now it's simply a matter of convincing Harry to be okay with it. However, she knows he never would be--or will be--but hopefully she can at least get him to settle with her decision.

After all, there's really no choice.

She glances over at them once the children have dressed in pajamas that were left in front of the door and snuggled into bed. Max also looks to her warily, as if he's waiting for her to make her case, but she doesn't want to disturb the kids as they try to sleep. The three girls giggle together, but it's obvious they're tired. Robbie took Evelyn up on her offer and is currently bundled in the duvets on Harry and Evelyn's bed.

Evelyn watches Harry chew his lip for a moment before she sighs, grabbing his arm and tugging him out into the hall with her. There are a couple of guards around their rooms, but one look from Evelyn sends them backing away near the exits. They don't leave, but they're a fair distance away.

"Harry," she starts, figuring she should just rip the band-aid off and get it over with. "You know I have to."

He inhales sharply but doesn't speak.

"I'm not putting these people--I'm not putting you or any of our group here at risk. If he wants to talk, fine, but I--"

"Of course he doesn't want to talk," Harry nearly snaps, dragging a hand down his face. "He never wants to 'just talk'."

Evelyn folds her arms across her chest, determined to get him out of protective mode and into a realistic one. "Whatever it is, I can handle it, Harry. There's no choice here. I can't sit by like a coward and call Talon's bluff on the air strikes."

Her stomach churns as she remembers how Talon had strode up on a horse, not daring to meet her eye. She hasn't seen him since she nearly killed him back at Micah's camp when she recognized him as the one who killed her mother. She might just kill him on their way back to wherever the doctor is. Micah won't be there to stop her this time.

Harry doesn't question how she knows Talon, instead saying, "Missiles haven't been used since the war nearly a year ago, Evelyn. He can't have just made them." But even as he says this, Evelyn can see the uncertainty on his face.

"You know I'm going despite whether or not you agree," Evelyn reminds him. "But I need you to realize that there isn't another way, Harry. We're going to have to play by their rules for this one."

"I'm tired of playing by their rules," he all but growls. "I'm tired of being pawns in their pathetic, twisted game."

"I am too, Harry, but we don't have a choice."

How else can she reiterate it for him?

Harry growls low in his throat as he rakes a hand through his hair, his red eyes burning with fury and dread. "I never wanted you to be involved in this."

She keeps her gaze steady though his is frantic. "Well, I am so I might as well own up to it."

"Evelyn, you don't get it," he says, raising his voice which causes Evelyn's eyes to widen slightly. Now that she thinks about it, she's never heard Harry yell, not out of anger. He takes a breath to try and calm himself before continuing. "Sometimes I wish I would've saved you and then left. I shouldn't have kept you with me."