Page 71 of The Red Woman on Mars

“We have a 95.63 percent rate of certainty,” the Intelligence replied. “You trust us, right, August?”

“I believe,” he murmured and lifted a fist to his forehead.

Beside Vivian in the rear of the van, Xavier made a face at the back of his cousin’s head. She had to agree with Xavier. It had been difficult enough to understand the Martian worship of the abstract concept of the Intelligence. She found it especially off-putting to watch August waiting on a small ball of metal.

She closed her eyes wearily against the headrest, hidden from view behind tinted windows, as the vehicle glided along the narrow streets of the Catena warehouse district. Just as Xavier had predicted, they’d found Delilah gone from the militia headquarters. In a matter of moments, the Intelligence had tapped the security cameras, identified her and Silas departing during the night, and directed August to follow her trail.

What was Delilah doing now? Was she unharmed? Her sister must be terrified, but Delilah was practiced at masking her fear with a happy face.

The anxiety clenching her belly was an old companion. For a few weeks, when no one in her family was in danger of violence,the awful pain in her stomach had lessened. If only she’d appreciated it at the time, instead of being caught up in worries about finding a husband.

“Vivian.” She jumped at the sound of her name. Xavier took her hand and squeezed it in his light grip. “You needn’t come on this chase. We can find you a safe house.”

“Absolutely not,” she snapped. “I won’t let you leave me behind.”

“If anyone is staying behind, it should be you, the man with a thousand cuts,” August said from the front seat.

Xavier banged a hand against August’s headrest. “I’m coming with you. Ready to fight. And it can’t be more than forty cuts.”

“Oh sure, that’s a convincing argument,” August grumbled.

“We’ve got to jump in here real quick,” Intelligence said. “August, stop here, please.”

“Here? Why would they go to a rover parking lot?” Xavier peered out the tinted window. “Unless … you don’t think they left the dome?”

“Only one way to find out.” August turned to give Xavier and Vivian a stern look. “Stay here, out of sight.” He opened the door, and the orb zoomed out. The van door rattled as August slammed it shut.

Vivian discovered one of her nails was cracked and ran it up and down the length of her black pants, letting it snag over and over. Beside her, Xavier breathed steadily. “I should’ve gone with him,” she whispered in the silence. “Delilah doesn’t know him. She’s not going to trust a stranger with a sword.”

“August knows what he’s doing. And he has the orb to help. We cannot risk being sighted by the Catena militia.” He leaned over and brushed her hair back before pausing to lightly touch her neck under her ear. “What’s this?”

She shivered under his long fingers. “You left marks on me. Last night.”

“Mm.” He kissed a red bruise on her neck. “I do beg your pardon. How terribly brutish. I don’t know what came over me.” He smiled wickedly as he said the words, and Vivian’s heart grew lighter.

She reached up to trace his stubbled jaw. “I liked it,” she confessed. “As if you were saying, ‘You’re mine.’ ” She wet her lips, and he followed the movement with his eyes.

“But you aren’t. Mine.” Even as he lifted his head away from her, his hand remained, rubbing her collarbone with his thumb. Vivian swayed into his touch.

Why not?she wanted to demand.Why can’t I be yours? And you mine?She wished he would kiss her again.

Xavier’s hand stilled. “When this is all over, you’ll be back in our dome fulfilling the terms of your contract and choosing a spouse. Isn’t that what you said you wanted? To return to Arcadia with Delilah by Presentation Day?”

She couldn’t fully control her wince. “You’ll let me go that easily?”

“I cannot—” Xavier’s throat worked. “Not even for you. I’ve agreed today to stop opposing the Red Mothers initiative in the Council. But I could never stand by and watch you suffer to bring my child into the world.” He grimaced.

Vivian pulled back and drew her knees up on the bench of the van. “I know.”

A wave of sadness came over her. How could she now be content with the restricted life planned for her? How could she find satisfaction in a practical, arranged marriage after knowing the terrifying and wonderful intimate trust Xavier had offered her the night before?

He cleared his throat. “I wish I could help in another way, but I spoke truly when I said Aunt Constance holds the purse strings to Dorsey Estate. She would never permit me to draw the expense to buy you out of your contract, even if such a thing were possible.”

“Oh—Xavier, I hope you didn’t think … I would never ask you to do that.” She swallowed a sudden lump in her throat.

He traced the line of her brow. “Nonetheless, I wish it was an option I could offer freely.”

Had he fantasized about a life with her? Free of the strict parameters of her contract? She wanted him. Desperately. But she wasn’t sure she wanted the walled Dorsey Estate. And she didn’t relish the idea of her role on Mars being defined by her relationship with him.