Free Battle: BWWM Dystopian Interracial Sci-Fi Romance (Betwixt Chocolate Book 2) by Tamara Black

Tony
     
    I looked out on the factory floor from my glass enclosed office. A month after the revolution life was stabilized. With everyone working together, we were able to defend the factory-city from ravagers while feeding ourselves - not to mention the chocolate production. Production was higher than our consumption, so we stock-piled as much as we could, hoping it would someday save a person’s life. Then everything changed.
    “Are you sure?” I asked the ragged man in front of me.
    He nodded his head. “Yes, Guv’ner. I seen it with my own eyes.”
    “What’s his name?”
    “They call him Doc Chang. He ran House Newyo for many years before going mad.”
    “I’ve heard of him. The legend is that he died.”
    “No, guv’ner. I seen him not two weeks ago. He was raving mad.”
    “How so?” I asked, studying the bearded man’s face carefully.
    “He kept saying how he can stop the chocolate from working.”
    “Go on,” I said.
    “That’s it. Says he can cure the world and make freedom for all.”
    “Thanks. You can go now. I’ll call for you if I have any questions.”
    “Mighty appreciate you, guv’ner,” he said, bowing.
    “Enough of that,” I scolded gently.
    He scurried away, leaving me alone in my office, where I ran the entire factory-city. The people, white and black, put a lot of faith in me for some reason. After the revolution, word got out about what we’d managed to do. People came from the surrounding area to join us. They looked at me like I was some kind of bleaking hero or king or something. I shook my head at the idea.
    With no more pressing problems, I headed to my father’s secret chambers. Slick paper books from years ago made up a lot of his collection of artifacts, but he also had a diary he started right after he took power of House DeeCee. After hours of reading, I discovered I barely knew the man who I’d called Father. In many ways, he was an absolute monster.
    Intrigued by the travelers story of Doctor Chang, I skipped forward to some of the more recent tomes to see if my father had been aware of a cure for chocolate addiction. After skimming a few entries, I found something showing for certain he had known all along. That bastard, I muttered to myself in my mind. Was he ever going to tell me the truth?
    “Are you okay?” Ree asked from the doorway.
    I looked up at her from the desk. “I guess.”
    “You need to quit reading those. It’s not healthy.”
    “I have to find out more so we can survive,” I said. “And I did find something tonight.”
    “Yeah? What?”
    “Well, a traveler came to me and talked about a man with a cure for chocolate addiction.”
    “A traveler, huh? Did he have magic beans to sell you as well?” She laughed.
    “I thought the same thing, but look at this.”
    I turned the book around and pushed it across the top of the desk. She walked over and peered down on the page where I pointed with my finger.
    “Oh, wow,” she said, looking at me.
    “Yeah. Exactly. If we can find this guy, we might be able to help workers everywhere.”
    “No, I meant your father lied to you.”
    I cocked my head to the side and peered at her. “Huh?”
    “Nevermind. I just thought the emotional hurt of being lied to might affect you.”
    “Anyway,” I said, hoping she didn’t mind me keeping on topic. “I want to take a group and go find this Chang guy. He might be able to help us save more people.”
    “It would be dangerous.”
    “Yeah, but worth it. Are you that concerned about me now?” I teased.
    She averted her eyes, smiling. Her beauty never failed to affect me. Even when we were starving and on the road together, she always represented the epitome of beauty. My father would kill me for loving someone of her color, but I couldn’t help myself. Before she could react, I stood, walked around the desk, and kissed her on the lips while my arm snaked around her waist.
    “Wait…” she said, pulling away.
    “What? I thought we’ve been