Page 59 of Jude

“I’m worried they might figure out who she is.” Jude took the earbud Heath handed him. “If they find out Octavia is behind Flame radio, they won’t treat her well.”

“She’ll keep quiet about that,” said Heath.

“She needs to keep quiet, period. Anyone would know her from that voice of hers,” said Lincoln.

“That’s what I’m worried about,” said Jude. “If any of those soldiers listen to Flame, they’ll know who she is.”

“Your woman has skills,” said Lincoln. “She will take care of herself.”

“She can’t do it alone,” snapped Jude.

“Octavia will reach us if she can,” said Annie. “And we will help. We won’t leave her behind, will we?” Her gaze went to each person in the Cobra.

“We’ll get her back,” said Heath. “First off, we need to get to base. We’ve got everything we need there to help.”

Jude could do nothing but sit in the back of the Cobra and count down the minutes until the journey ended. He listened to the radio chatter as they traveled, but heard nothing useful about Octavia.

By the time they reached the bunker, his nerves were jangling. Octavia had skills, but she wasn’t invincible. The longer they left her in the hands of the State, the more the risk grew.

As the Cobra stopped in the vehicle bay, Danni was waiting for them. She watched as the prisoners got out. “Have they all passed the security check?”

“All clear,” said Heath.

Danni nodded. “Annie, take those who need it to the medical bay. I need to speak to Jude.”

Jude’s spine straightened. He recognized that serious tone. “What’s wrong?”

Danni fixed her unwavering gaze on him. “The State have issued an offer.”

“What’s the offer?”

“It came through a secure link. They haven’t broadcast it publicly.”

Jude’s mouth felt dry. “What are they after?”

“They want our surrender,” said Danni.

“No way,” said Lincoln. “That will never happen.”

“In exchange for our surrender they will return Octavia,” said Danni.

“We can’t trust them to do that,” said Lincoln.

“We can’t leave her,” said Jude. “They’ll kill her.”

“I’m more concerned with how they will make use of her enviable skills in comms tracking,” said Danni. “She knows this base. She can track us. That puts this entire operation at risk.”

“Octavia would never betray us.”

Heath rested a hand on Jude’s shoulder. “She might not have a choice.”

“They want to meet,” said Danni.

“So we meet them,” said Jude. “We get her back.”

“It’s a trap,” said Heath. “I understand you need Octavia safe, but if we go through with this, it will only make things worse.”

“For who? Octavia has helped too many times for us to abandon her.”