UnBound - Neal Shusterman Page 0,85
back of the office she rings a bell.
Immediately a voice sounds through the intercom, too distorted by static to distinguish whether it’s male or female.
“Are you here for our termite special? A free inspection and ten percent off if you decide to use our service. Good till the end of the month.”
It’s a pretty lame code, but the girl presses the button and speaks into the grille as serious as if she works for the CIA.
“My fire ants are back.”
In a moment the door cracks open. “That you, Miracolina?”
“Yeah, Jack. I got an AWOL here name of Bryce Bower. . . .”
“Barlow.” Bryce corrects her.
“Bryce Barlow. Can you take him?”
“Of course.”
A man in his late twenties with thinning red hair opens the door wider. He yells over his shoulder, “Jill, we got a guest.”
A woman immediately appears at his side, the top of her head barely reaching his chin. She’s wearing a moose oven mitt on her right hand and a wedding ring on her left. With a radiant smile, she pulls Bryce into a hug. He hasn’t been held by anyone since forever, but after about five seconds he pats her back awkwardly. When she releases him, he has to turn away because he doesn’t want anyone to see how watery his eyes have gotten.
“I’m so happy you showed up, Bryce. We have about a gallon of stew left over from dinner and several pieces of my famous rhubarb pie. Hope you’re hungry.”
Bryce, glancing at her oven mitt, says, “I could eat a moose, ma’am.”
“Sorry, not on the menu,” Jill says. “And don’t be calling me ma’am. It’s Jill.” She leads him down the long hallway.
5 • Miracolina
Miracolina starts to follow, but Jack stays her with a hand to her elbow. “Let’s talk.”
They return to the office, and he peeks through the blinds for a second before turning to face her.
He smiles, but it fades quickly. “You’ve become our biggest customer, girl. How many AWOLs have you brought us? Five? Six?”
“Eight,” she says. “Bryce makes eight.”
He tries another smile, but it vanishes as he looks through the blinds again.
“What’s wrong?” she asks.
His forehead has more worry lines than she remembers. Suddenly he looks decades older. “We lost thirty-one kids last week. Parts pirates took a van in Milwaukee. Two days later, they clobbered the safe house in Saint Louis.”
She sucks in a breath. “Were any of them mine?”
He shakes his head. “No. But I’m not sure how long we’ve got before one of the kids that got taken cuts a deal with the pirates and tells them where we are and what we’re doing. Don’t bring any more kids till we find a new place and a new cover.”
She frowns. “But what if . . .” She fizzles to a stop seeing the wretched look in his eyes.
Jack nods to the back of the house. “I can’t trust anyone till I find out who’s selling us out. I’m keeping intel down to just family—and now you. We got twenty-seven kids upstairs. Twenty-eight with Bryce. Later tonight we’ll be driving them out in three vans to different safe houses, but I don’t want you coming around here again. Hear me?”
She shivers, knowing the danger they’re in, and feels absolutely furious that she can do nothing to help. “I hear you, Jack. Promise me you’ll tell Father Lawrence when you’ve got a new place. He’ll let me know.” She jerks her head to the back door. “Can I tell Bryce good-bye?”
Walking through the narrow house, she wonders what she’ll do if she can’t save AWOLs. This is how she keeps on living whole when she still has such a hard time believing she should be. She has a mission. Which she just lost to parts pirates.
Remembering the parts pirate that kept her and Lev imprisoned, she seethes.
In the kitchen Miracolina finds Jill ladling a second helping of stew into Bryce’s bowl. Even after dinner at the soup kitchen, he’s eating like he’s starved. The boy must have gone shy, because he’s pulled his hoodie low over his face. Jill’s brother, Griffin, is wiping down the stove. He’s got a shaved head and a bushy beard, but like Jill, he has a smile that can melt ice.
Jill pats Miracolina’s cheek. “Eat some pie, girl.” Then she nudges her brother. “Come on, Griffin. We got packing to do.”
They leave Miracolina alone with Bryce, and she takes the chair across from his. Although she hears rustling through the walls, floors, and ceiling around her,