The First Unforgivable Thing — Zoe Cannon

When a dissident working undercover as an interrogator is ordered to torture a confession from the only girl he's ever loved, he chooses to defy both the totalitarian regime and the resistance by helping her escape--but she has an agenda of her own...

This dystopian novella is approximately 14,000 words long, or about 50 print pages. Set in the world of the Internal Defense series, it takes place between Necessary Sacrifices and No Return, but can also be read as a stand-alone story.