Page 124 of Rite of Unity

Josh glanced at the door.“Like what?”

I shook my head.“I can’t say.”

He frowned.“How do I know what I’m looking for?”

I hadn’t entirely thought this part through.With each passing day, I was more certain the Centers were the key.Implantation could only happen there.But were Middle doctors doing it, or only the Elite?

A sick thought churned in my gut.They would have practiced somewhere.In case.

“Your father was in charge of the Caine family, wasn’t he?”

Josh grinned.“This is about Nami.”

I studied the pictures on the wall behind Josh and worked to calm my racing heart.How had I not thought of that sooner?It was a perfect excuse.My mother’s face surfaced, unbidden, and I pushed it down.

My gaze drifted to Josh.“You know me too well.”

He chuckled.“You had me worried there for a second.”

My lips stretched into a smile, the kind I usually reserved for the cameras.“You understand why he can’t know that I’m looking into it?”

Josh’s fingers resumed their tapping.“Of course, man.”His smile matched mine.“That’s really smart.Maybe I’ve been thinking about this all wrong.Feelings are important, don’t get me wrong.”He darted another glance at the door before lowering his voice.“But Dad’s made it pretty clear that having a son is my top priority.”

I nodded.“Your father’s a wise man.”

The pride in his eyes was genuine.That tightness was back in my chest.

I stood.“So you’ll do it?”

Josh did as well, coming around his desk to shake my hand.“Of course!I might have a peek at Leila and Ruth’s parents’ files too.”

***

In the car, I watched Micah’s back as he turned us around in the drive.My father could have allowed driverless cars outside the Center.He didn’t.Micah’s stiff posture was so obvious now.How hadn’t I seen it before?Micah wasn’t married.His role placed him in a unique position.He’d told me more than once he didn’t want to leave a wife outside the wall while he came to work inside every day.

Had something happened to his parents?One of his sisters?There was no way to know without asking, and after our exchange on Saturday, I didn’t think he would tell me.

There was someone else I could check on while I was outside the wall, someone I probably should have gone to see sooner.

“I need to make another stop, Micah.”

As we left the Upper-Middle district, I stared out the window.On the side of a shuttered building, two lines of text had been scrubbed down to faint outlines, pale letters still bleeding through.Not that I needed to read them clearly to know what they said.

OUR WORTH IS NOT OUR WOMB

WE WILL NOT BE DISCARDED

My gut churned.The rebel slogan.I thought of the dead guards and looked away.

We pulled up outside a building lined with rows of windows.The bricks were faded, the mortar cracked between them.

Before the war, these buildings were called apartments—places people paid to live in.Now, they were called Covenant Homes, a reminder to the people who resided there that they were the property of the Covenant States.

At the top of a set of narrow stairs, I lifted a fist and knocked.

“Who is it?”

The rough voice behind the door was slightly slurred.