Captive's Desire Read Online Free

cities?” he asked.
    “Are you making small talk?” she asked.
    “No, just curious.”
    She looked him square in the face. “You’re the enemy. I’m here with you as a prisoner. I won’t share information with you, no matter what you do to me.”
    “Even after you witnessed your own people bombing the wreckage of your ship?”
    “They’ll come for me,” she said, looking straight ahead.
    “They’ve filled your head with lies. You can’t go back to the city, you can never go back. The very fact that you’re still alive, that you haven’t been killed by the poison they claim is out here would cause people to question the leaders. If they ever do find you, Olivia, they’ll kill you on sight. I know how they work. Their purpose is not to keep you safe and happy. It’s to control you. One way to do that is to terrorize you about what is outside of the ‘protection’ of the cities. Have you given any thought at all to what they’re pumping into the air you’re breathing at Magnus One?”
    “It’s clean air, filtered and disinfected to keep us safe.”
    “And docile.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Just what I say. Look at me. Do I look like a freak to you? Do I look sick, mutated, like some animal?”
    “You act like an animal,” she said after a moment. This man was trying to confuse her. Likely this was his plan to brainwash her, make her tell him the secrets she knew about the military at Magnus One. Well, he was going to be disappointed. For one thing, she’d never tell. But for another, her commanders didn’t divulge a whole lot. But she’d always been curious about things. She had her eyes open, saw the codes that were punched into keypads to open locked doors, learned how the entrances and exits worked. Her brother had taught her at an early age to keep that to herself. She hadn’t really understood why he’d said that, but she’d done it. In a way, after he’d died, it had been a tribute to his memory. “My brother was a hero. He hunted people like you,” she said, not really sure why she was telling him. “He kept us safe.”
    He was quiet for a moment. “What happened to him?” he asked, looking at her as if he was sorry for her.
    “What do you mean?” she asked, confused by his expression.
    “You said was .”
    She turned away. “He was killed during a mission five years ago. That knife you took was his. I’d like to have it back.”
    “You can have it back when I can trust you.”
    Then she’d have to steal it back.
    “What sort of mission?” he asked.
    That area was a little fuzzy. “His missions were top secret,” she said. Before the last few though, Simon had changed a little. He’d been spending more time out of the city, his missions taking longer and longer to complete. She’d worried about him, but he’d always tell her he was fine, that it was important to keep his work a secret to ensure their safety. Livvie was proud of him. Although his death had shocked everyone and the way Magnus had handled his body she couldn’t understand. She’d not even been allowed to see it, to say goodbye. She’d only been fifteen at the time and those days still called forth difficult memories, things she couldn’t deal with or understand even now, five years later.
    “Top secret missions?” he probed.
    She only nodded.
    He made a noise and turned his attention to the road. She hugged her blanket closer to herself and closed her eyes, suddenly sad at the memory of Simon. She wondered if they’d told her sister what had happened to her. If they thought she was dead. If Katie thought she was dead. It would break her heart, Livvie knew it. As twins, she and Katie were close, even though they were as different as could be. Katie was always the more obedient, more cautious of the two and when Simon had died, Livvie had taken the role of protector with her.
    A tear slid down her cheek.
     
    * * *
     
    They drove in silence for most of the ride. Hayden imagined it was a lot to