Embracing Silence by N. J. Walters Page B

moment, she wanted to cry. Not in physical appearance. Adrian was blond haired and blue eyed. But in temperament.
    “I’m sure.” Her voice softened, but she could do nothing about it. Memories of the time she’d spent in Tienan’s arms were ones she’d treasure for the rest of her life.
    “I see,” Adrian responded, his voice neutral. And she was afraid he did see. He knew her better than anyone else.
    “Please,” she begged. Going to his side, she placed her hand on his shoulder. “I’ve never asked you for anything since I first met you.”
    Adrian stared up at her, unblinking.
    “I’m asking now. I need to know what happened to him. Maybe he escaped them. Maybe we can still intercept the security squadron that took him.”
    He shook his head.
    Silence fell to her knees beside him. “I’m begging you to do this one thing for me.”
    Adrian sighed and leaned forward, cupping her face in his hands. “You mistake me, Silence. I will do this for you, but it’s useless. If he’s not dead, he’ll soon wish he were. If you’re right and General Caruthers has him, then there’s nothing we can do for him.”
    They both knew the General would torture Tienan. And it would be a long and painful process. Tienan had escaped from the inner city and the General would make an example of him. Whatever happened to Tienan wouldn’t be pleasant.
    She sprang to her feet. “We’ve got no time to waste.”
    Adrian pushed to his feet and called his second-in-command. Derrick was at his side in an instant. “Sir.” He stood at attention, awaiting orders.
    “Get a squad together, we’re going out.”
    Derrick glanced at Silence but asked no questions. They’d all known she’d been missing for over two days but no one knew exactly where she’d been or what had happened to her. She’d rather keep it that way.
    “Sir,” he responded again before turning on his heel and hurrying off.
    Impulsively, Silence hugged Adrian. “Thank you.”
    “Don’t thank me.” He brought his hand up to rest on the crown of her head. “We haven’t found him yet. And if we do, he and I are going to have a little chat. He may wish the General had taken him by the time I’m done with him.”
    Her stomach lurched at his deadly tone, but she ignored it. One problem at a time. First they had to get to Tienan.
    Pulling away from Adrian’s embrace, she hurried to her duffle bag beside her pallet to rearm herself. By the time she got outside the abandoned warehouse that was their current base, a group had assembled. She knew them all. Every last one of them was a battle-hardened veteran.
    Giving them a nod, she took her place at the front beside Adrian. “This way.” Not giving herself a chance to think about what they might find, she led the way through the twisting streets of the outer city. She skirted around buildings and through alleyways. They had to stop twice to let security patrols pass. There seemed to be an abnormally high number of them out and about. Usually they would have engaged the enemy but not tonight.
    It seemed to take forever for them to reach the ruins of the building where Tienan and she had first met. It was almost dawn. The sun was just starting to break over the mountains in the east. Silence felt her heart pounding so hard against her chest she was afraid everyone else could hear it.
    The quiet was disturbing. Not even a rat scrabbled down the alleyway where she and Adrian had hunkered down. “This is the place,” she whispered, barely making a sound.
    “Wait here,” Adrian ordered as he began to silently glide toward the building.
    For the second time since he’d taken her in and given her a home and a purpose, she disobeyed a direct order. Moving from her spot behind a rusted Dumpster, she followed him. He turned and glared at her, sensing her presence the moment she got within a few feet of him. She shrugged and crept by him, leading the way.
    The door was wide open, but still she moved with caution as