Chapter 26
They reentered the Seattle-Archer area after nightfall. The wagon and troops took a route she wasn’t familiar with, and she idly wondered where they were going as she caught sight of the capitol building a couple of blocks over. Their destination was clear just a few minutes later, as the wagon drew up in front of an ugly cinderblock building painted white, with imposing bars on the visible windows and across the two front doors. Two men in military uniforms stood guard on either side of the door.
Exhaustion had her stumbling as she stood to disembark the wagon. Only the steadying hand of the soldier waiting to help her down kept her from falling. She gave him a small smile of gratitude in the faint illumination provided by the dim light strategically stationed near the entrance. The soldier grimaced and looked away.
With a sigh, Madison straightened her spine and fell into line with the other prisoners. The guards herded them into the building, where several more groups waited. She watched with curiosity and anxiety as the soldiers quickly sorted the prisoners into groups segregated by gender—all except for her and Leon Briggs. He was dragged off by two guards in the opposite direction. She stood for a moment, wondering what they would do to her, before two guards approached. With quiet dignity, she walked between them, not going to make this harder than it had to be for them. If—no, when—this was sorted out, she didn’t want the soldiers to be embarrassed for having detained her.
Okay, that was a lie. She was scared not to cooperate, still clinging to the hope Tiernan would come to his senses, or at least tell her why she was here and give her a chance to prove her innocence. After everything they’d shared, she wanted to have faith that he would listen, but listening to her wasn’t always his strong point.
The soldiers took her to a small room with a table, chairs, and a toilet in the corner. Her pregnant bladder was relieved to see that disgusting apparatus, though the thought of using it with those big windows was humiliating. The indignity of having someone watch her was almost enough to make her try to keep holding in the urge, but the resolve lasted only a few more minutes before the need was pressing.
It was difficult to maneuver with cuffed hands and try to stay in a position that shielded her shreds of modesty at all, but she somehow completed the contortionist activities required to use the stained bowl. There was no sink to wash her hands, and she grimaced as she wiped them against her cotton pants.
Madison hissed when her hand rubbed against a wound in her leg. With nothing else to do, she sat down at the table, under the one bare bulb that provided only minimal light, and tried to twist around to see the wounds on her legs. Glass shards remained in several cuts, and she hissed again as she pulled a splinter from one in her calf. Her hands shook as she dropped the glass on the table, and it took several deep breaths to convince herself to probe the next closest wound. After all, medical attention seemed unlikely under the circumstances, and she couldn’t just leave the glass in her legs.
As she picked, poked, and prodded at the shards, tears scalded her eyes more than once, and she cursed aloud several times. As the pain increased, and the time she was left to rot in the room added up, she found herself cursing Tiernan as much as anything else. He had no reason to doubt her loyalty, and it hurt more than the cuts on her legs to know he did, that he could ever believe she would betray him.
* * *
Tiernan had chosen to confront the leader of the rebellion first. It was the most logical thing, to interrogate the one with most information first. His choice to see Briggs first had nothing to do with a desire to avoid confronting Madison.
Just thinking her name sent a sharp pain through his chest, and he had to clench his teeth to hide his reaction. He still couldn’t believe she had betrayed him. How long had she been working with the rebels? Tiernan couldn’t fathom that everything they’d shared had been a lie, but it was difficult to refute the proof.
Still, he found himself praying against all logic that Briggs could offer an explanation that made sense and exonerated Madison from plotting against him. The other man looked rough, with blood dripping from his mouth. One of his eyes was swollen shut. Apparently, his men had been eager to start the interrogation. Tiernan found he was beyond caring that they had beaten the prisoner.
He walked over to the man, looming over Briggs as he eyed him with disdain. “You’re the leader of the rebellion? What could you possibly hope to accomplish with your ragtag group of degenerates?”
“Your death.” Briggs laughed. “It can’t come soon enough.”
Tiernan punched him in the face, shocking himself a bit, but feeling little remorse. This man deserved much worse for Cleo’s death, along with the other two victims. “What are your plans?” When Briggs didn’t answer, he hit him again. “Are there more bombs?”
Briggs spat out a mouthful of blood that streamed across Tiernan’s boot. “You’re the high and mighty commander. Find out for yourself, Archer.”
Tiernan turned away, taking a deep breath to rein in his temper. He was a little more collected when he faced Briggs again. “I want to know who is in your organization. You will tell me your plans, and how you’ve plotted against the Federation. I want to know all about your cohorts.”
Briggs narrowed his good eye, somehow managing to chuckle even under the circumstances. “I think you just want to know about one in particular. I’m guessin’ you’re itching to find out how helpful Madi was to the cause.”
Tiernan inadvertently flinched when Briggs used the pet name he’d only ever heard Madison’s family call her before. He didn’t confirm Briggs words, but also didn’t deny them.
“She’s been real helpful, feeding us all kinds of information.” Leon spat again, streaming more blood and saliva before continuing. “We extracted her ‘cause she couldn’t take it no more. I was going to arrange to help her get out of the Federation.”
Tiernan didn’t betray his reaction to Briggs’s words, though he cringed and cried out inside at the confirmation of what Aidan had discovered. He turned away from Briggs, intent on leaving the room as quickly as possible and letting Aidan or the other soldiers finish the interrogation before they turned him over to the tribunal.
Unfortunately, Briggs wasn’t done yet. “Yeah, it was going to be real tough lettin’ her go after spending most of the day fucking her. No wonder she’s your favorite whore, Archer. That woman knows how to suck cock like—”
Tiernan didn’t allow him to finish the filthy statement. In a rage, he whirled around, hitting the bastard several more times until Aidan was there, a restraining hand on his arm.
“Sir, you’re going to kill him if you don’t stop.” Aidan shrugged. “I don’t particularly care, but I know you want to make a public example of him.”
He battled with his impulse to continue beating the other man for a long moment, until self-control returned. Tiernan nodded, taking a step back as he straightened his uniform. Without speaking, he left Briggs’s cell and walked down the hall toward where they were holding Madison. Confronting her in his current state wasn’t the wisest move he could make, but Tiernan couldn’t wait any longer.
He watched through the window for a moment, appalled to see she was digging at her legs, fingers stained with blood. At first, he thought she was mutilating herself for some reason, but as he finally opened the door and entered the room, he saw several strands of broken glass littering the table, all smeared with her blood. A fierce frown creased his face as he contemplated how she’d gotten the injuries. Heaven help the soldier responsible if one of his men had pushed her through glass.
He squashed that protective urge, ruthlessly reminding himself that she was a liar and a betrayer…and a cheat, if Briggs was telling the truth.
She paused in the process of trying to pry glass out of yet another wound, looking up at him with such blatant hope for a moment that he caught his breath. As her expression dimmed, taking on a note of anger, he let it out with a ragged exhalation and tried to brace himself to stand strong against her lies.
Madison looked up at him, the picture of wounded innocence, but he ignored her expression as he stopped a few feet from her, facing her across the table without taking the other metal chair.
“Why am I here?” she asked, voice laden with hurt.
Feigned hurt. She was clearly quite the actress. “For plotting to overthrow the government and for the murder of three people.”
Madison shook her head. “You can’t possibly believe I had anything to do with Cleo’s death, and I wasn’t with the rebels voluntarily. Briggs was going to kill me to send you a message.”
Tiernan arched a brow. “Vinny and Figg tell a different story.” Ignoring her betrayed look, he pressed on. “They both tell me you greeted one of the rebels and assured them you knew him.”
“I can explain.”
Her expression suddenly closed, and he could see her withdrawing into herself, clearly torn about something. Or searching for a slick explanation? He didn’t know and didn’t care. “Then do so,” he commanded in a hard voice, the one that she usually listened to when all else failed.