The Gender Game by Bella Forrest (historical books to read txt) 📗

"Are you okay?" he asked, tensing.

I propped myself upright against the headboard and drew in a breath. "Lee…" My voice came out uneven. "I-I don't know that I can do this." I can't do this. I could hardly believe what I was thinking. I have a reunion with my brother on the line!

Lee heaved a sigh. He reached out a hand and cupped my knee, squeezing gently. "Violet, I understand your nerves. In spite of my preparation, I still find myself doubting. Can we really pull this off? Will we get out alive? Etcetera, etcetera. You need to stop thinking. We have only two days left, and then there will only be doing. Two days, and you should be out of here… back home. Safe. Two days left, that's all. So just… keep it together. Okay?"

"But Viggo," I croaked. "He saved my life. He sacrificed—"

"Violet," Lee said, sterner this time at the mention of Viggo. "Remember what I said. Don't lose sight of the bigger picture. In fact, you should only be thinking of the bigger picture. Nothing else. That's all you're here for. Once you keep your mind focused on the goal, all the details become insignificant… just moving pieces on the board. Pawns in the game. You understand?"

I didn't. I neither understood nor agreed with what Lee was saying. I could no longer accept that implicating Viggo was the only way. And yet even I could see that there was no point continuing this discussion. As much as I wished I could speak honestly with Lee to release some of the pressure escalating within me, he was a closed book. It was far too late in the game to be bringing up feelings and sentiments. None of it mattered. In Lee's mind, the plan was already chalked out for us, set in stone. After his preparation in the lab, the explosives he'd set up, the destruction they would cause, and the lives they would claim, there was no moving backward.

We were on a freight train with broken brakes.

We had to execute, or die trying.

But as Lee left me to rest again and get an early night, I knew that I had become a different kind of passenger. The kind of passenger to leap from a runaway train. The kind who would not wait until the end.

30

Once midnight fell, I swung my legs off the bed.

I stood up and didn't feel dizzy.

I walked around the room, my back straight, head up high. Still no dizziness. Then I moved to the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. My face was still bruised, of course, and the stitching beneath my eye still fresh. I searched my drawers to check my mustache and facial hair hadn't been removed and found them still there along with the adhesive and my wig.

I padded to the door and opened it a crack. The corridor outside was dark. I poked my head out fully, then stepped out. I couldn't hear any sounds indicating that Lee was downstairs, so I headed to his room and pressed my ear against the door. Deep, heavy breathing. He was asleep.

I hurried back to my room and applied the facial hair and wig in record time, then pulled on a jacket. I didn't need to bother with the bulky body suit. It was nighttime, so hopefully nobody would see me anyway.

Finishing in the bathroom, I approached my bed and stuffed three spare cushions beneath the blanket to make it look like my form was lying there—in case Lee came in for a brief glance during the night. I needed to buy myself as much time as possible.

Samuel was asleep in his basket outside the kitchen, and I hardly dared to breathe as I made my way to the front door. I picked up Lee's chain of keys hanging from the coat rack, pulled on a pair of shoes, and then slowly, carefully, went about opening the door. The metal was well-oiled and the mechanism opened with a soft click. I closed it and locked it behind me before heading round the building to Lee's motorcycle that was leaning against the wall.

Even though I was able to drive whatever vehicle I wanted in Matrus—I had never actually learned. I had spent too much time in detention to have come across the chance. Now, as I rolled the motorcycle out of the driveway, out of view from the house, I felt terrified. I barely knew how to start it—everything I was about to do was based on witnessing Lee and Viggo drive their motorcycles.

But this was the only way I could make it to Viggo's house.

This was the only way.

After strapping one of the helmets to my head and pushing the motorcycle a comfortable distance away from Lee's house, I dared attempt to start it up at the side of the road. It took a minute before I managed it. It came alive more easily than I expected. Now I had to hope that riding it would come just as smoothly… It didn't.

As I hopped on, I immediately lost balance and my right leg almost got crushed beneath the falling machine. It took a good five minutes for me to feel comfortable raising my feet from the ground again. I revved the engine, causing the motorcycle to jerk forward. I almost lost balance a second time. I feared I might swerve off the road before I ever reached Viggo's.

But there was no time for second thoughts. I couldn't afford to entertain doubts.

I spurred the vehicle ahead, as slowly as I could without having the engine conk out due to the slope we were ascending, before gradually building confidence and rolling faster. I had two advantages at least: first, the roads up here weren't busy, and second, I knew the way to Viggo's cabin fairly well.

So, I found myself hurtling through the night, the road slipping away beneath me.

Framing Viggo wasn't the only