Read Online Rebel Princess - Book 2 (The Hope Saga) by Chrissy Peebles - Free Book Online Page B

plan, to invite him on your great escape.”
    I chuckled and shook my head. “Rachel, nobody gets me like you do.”
    “You need me to get him, right? I mean, since you’re not allowed at his apartment.”
    “Please?” I asked. “I know it’s asking a lot.”
    “Are you sure that’s where he is?”
    “Yeah. I don’t know where else he would have gone.” I motioned toward the door. “C’mon.”
    She followed me, and we headed toward Brett’s quarters. When we got there, I waited at the end of the hall. After a few minutes, I glanced down at his doorway and saw that Brett’s dad was inviting Rachel inside.
    When the two of them came out, they met me down the hall, and we hurried to a private lounge to talk, constantly looking around to make sure no one saw us together. Rachel stood guard while Brett and I talked. 
    “You’re shaking,” he said.
    “Macy’s dead.”
    He pulled me close, hugging me tightly. “I heard. My dad told me. His entire security team is on top of it. I’m so sorry.”
    “She was strangled,” I said. “Just like the others.”
    “What kind of monster’s living down here with us? It’s insane.”
    “I think this whole setup stinks,” I said, something I’d said a hundred times before. “Dante and his minions get to go to the surface whenever they please, and we’re stuck down here with a homicidal maniac. How can anyone accept that? I hate being controlled like this. I don’t like it one bit.”
    “You really want to leave, don’t you? I can see it in your face, baby.”
    “They won’t let us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t just force our way out.”
    “How can you give up on our city, our people? We’re the last remaining survivors, and we need to stick together.”
    “No, not like this. This isn’t a democracy anymore. The so-called authorities are just jailers. Brett, surely you can see that. I want to break free, to get out of here…tonight.”
    He pondered my words for a minute, wrinkling up his brow. “Tonight?”
    “Yeah, you, me, and anyone else who wants to go. We can sail into the sunset and never look back.”
    “What about your dad, your brother, and your sister who are waiting for you on the surface? What about your aunt and your cousins?”
    “We’ll find my relatives on the surface and take them with us.”
    “If you break out of here, you can’t ever go near that city. Do you have any idea what they’ll do to you if you’re caught? You’ll never see the light of day again outside a prison cell.”
    “It’s called sneaking. We go in under the cover of night and find them. Maybe I can gather some intel from Walter on their location. I don’t know. I just want to get our loved ones and get out. I’m done with Dante’s bullsh—”
    “You can’t stir up an uprising like that and get away with it. They won’t tolerate it. You’ll be at the top of their most-wanted list, and they will find you.”
    “Then we give everyone the option and leave before it can ever get back to them.”
    “You’re asking me to give up everything I love and believe in, to turn my back on my family.”
    “I know, baby, but if you expect me to stay, you’re asking me to compromise my convictions. I won’t be ruled by a tyrant who keeps me locked down here like a rat in a cage, waiting for some psycho to wring my neck.”
    “You wanted out of here long before the killings ever started.”
    “Exactly. So let’s pack a bag and go.”
    “If we do, we can never come back,” he said. “If we take one step outside this city, we’ll be banned forever.”
    “I can live with that, as long as I have you.”
    “Do you think we can survive out there, without the others?”
    “Yes. I can plant a huge garden to feed us, and the animals are starting to multiply once again. Surely, but slowly. That’s what Walter told me.”
    “You’ll have to pack plenty of seeds.”
    “We can take care of ourselves, without all of Dante’s rules. We’ll be free,