Center of the Universe (Twelfth Keeper)

by Malory, Belle

  The android was busy in the kitchen, preparing a dinner that smelled delicious. “Sure thing. Let’s see…we’re connecting this to the Orlov case, right? Because there are quite a few Eva Gurevich’s out there…” She chopped a green bell pepper into immaculately straight lines. “Found her. Dominika’s mother had a sister-in-law with that name. Gurevich was the last name of her previous husband, but she’s since remarried to Alexander Duchovny.”

  Ah, ha. Now we’re getting somewhere. “So she’s Nika’s aunt?”

  “Technically she was her aunt through marriage, but she’s not anymore. She divorced the first husband.”

  “Can you tell me if Nika has any other living relatives?”

  “Let’s see, she has an uncle in Germany and a few cousins in Poland.” She filled a pot with water, then set it on the stove. “All of which have been questioned regarding her whereabouts, by the way.”

  Kennedy narrowed her eyes on Matilda. “How do you know that?”

  “I checked the St. Petersburg police records.”

  “Correct me if I’m wrong here, but isn’t Dominika’s case still an ongoing investigation?”

  “That’s right.”

  The way Matilda spoke so casually, as if they were talking about the weather instead of committing felonious crimes, had her gaping at the robot. “Okay, this has gone too far. We really need to talk about your new hacking hobby. As hugely impressed as I am by your capabilities, you can’t look at police investigation reports without permission. They’re not public records.”

  “No one ever said I couldn’t look at them.”

  “Hacking is a crime, Matilda.”

  An amused snort came from the robot. “What are they going to do, send me to jail?”

  Picturing the robot behind bars was kind of funny, but she wasn’t about to say so. “What if they take you away from me—or worse, shut you down?”

  “What a morbid thing to say,” Matilda lilted. “I think you’ve been spending too much time reading about funerals, cupcake. It’s beginning to set you on edge.”

  “Matilda, this isn’t a joke!” Kennedy crossed her arms over her chest, unable to believe she was getting frustrated with a robot—a robot, for crying out loud.

  “Relax. There’s nothing to worry about.” Matilda tossed an assortment of sliced veggies into the pot on the stove. “There are very few of my kind in existence. The Series Seven model requires too much time and money to create—we’re not even on the market right now. Anyway, my point is that we grow and learn based on our owner’s needs, and I highly doubt there are any other Series Seven owners who require the once-in-a-while computer infiltration assistance.”

  “That would only be comforting if you can’t get caught.”

  “I can’t,” she insisted. “I’m untraceable, cupcake. And since there aren’t scores of other androids with—how did you put it? Hacking hobbies?—that means I have no chance of getting caught by default either.”

  Brilliant. Her robot was a bad influence. And apparently Kennedy needed her to be one. She wondered what that said about her.

  Matilda placed a lid over the pot and turned around to face her. “If it makes you feel any better, my statistics rule in favor of me never getting caught with a ninety-nine point nine percentile rate.”

  “Okay, then. How about running it by me next time? That might make me feel better.”

  Well, a little better anyway.

  “That’s an awful idea. If I ever did get caught, that would make you an accomplice.”

  Kennedy grimaced. Matilda was right. She liked the robot, enjoyed having her around, but she wasn’t planning on going down with her. “In that case, let’s try to keep the hacking to a minimum. Emergencies only.”

  “Fine,” the android agreed, but sounded sulky about it.

  “Great. Now that that’s settled, can we please get back to the original topic?”

  “Nika’s family, you mean.” Matilda went back to cooking, pouring some oil into a frying pan.

  “Yes. Do you know if this Eva lady was questioned?”

  The pan sizzled as she set strips of uncooked chicken inside of it. “Funny you should ask, but I do know the answer to that question. Of course, it took some exemplary hacking skills to get into the police files—”

  “Matilda,” she ground out through clenched teeth.

  “No, she hasn’t been questioned.”

  Kennedy looked at the picture again, seeing the way Eva cradled Nika to her side. “Do we have an address for this lady?”

  “I’m sure I can find one. Why? What are you thinking?”

  “I think if we find Eva Duchovny, we find Nika.”

  Matilda set her spatula down, looking at her. “What makes you come to that conclusion?”

  Kennedy shrugged. “Instinct.”

  ~ ~

  The next morning Kennedy immediately went to find Professor Mason, hoping to speak to him before the morning meeting began. Luckily she found him on the way in to his office. “Professor, do you have a moment?”

  He held his hand over the scanner, prompting the door to unlock. “Good morning, Miss Mitchell. Are you feeling better today?”

  “Yeah, I’m great, but I need to speak with you.” She followed him inside, watching him anxiously as he set his briefcase down.

  “Is it important or can it wait until later? Don’t mean to be short, but my inbox is flooded with messages I need to return before the meeting begins.”

  “I think I might know where Nika is.”

  That earned her a stunned look from the Professor. He gestured to the chair in front of his desk. “Have a seat, kiddo, and talk fast.”

  She did as he asked, quickly walking him through the research she had done the previous night, and telling him all about Eva Duchovny. “I believe they’re close, sir. If Nika ran to anyone, I’d bet it would be her.”

  When she was through, he leaned back in his chair and stroked his beard, thinking. “You know you’re getting your hopes up, right?”

  She did know that. But she felt it in her bones she was right about this. He just needed to believe her.

  “It’s still worth checking out.”

  “No argument there.” He waited a while longer before he nodded his head. “Okay, Miss Mitchell. I’ll contact the local authorities and have them scout the address you found.”

  “Actually, Professor, I was wondering if you might be willing to send me instead.”

  He raised a brow. “And why would I do that?”

  She flinched at his abrasive question. “I um…well I think Nika would respond to one of the keepers better than she would the local authorities.”

  “That may be true,” he allowed. “But why you in particular? Why not one of the more experienced keepers?”

  Kennedy wrung her hands together, looking around the room. “That, I can’t give you a good answer for. All I can say is that I feel connected to Nika somehow. I want to help her.”

  There was that reason, and her growing need to get as far away from Phoenix as she could, but she didn’t fill him in on that.

  Professor Mason’s brow furrowed as he studied her. “If I sent you to Russia, you wouldn’t be able to go to Mexico with the others.”

  Another great reason why she needed to go.

  “I’m sure another keeper would be willing to go in my place.”

  “And you want to go alone?”

  “Yes, sir. I think it would be best.”

  A long moment passed as the professor considered her request. She could hear the sound of her heart beating as she waited. Please let him say yes. Please let him say yes.

  “You are the twelfth,” he finally said. “And the twelfth is supposed to be the most empathetic. If there’s anyone capable of understanding Dominika, I imagine it would be you. I’ll agree to give you this assignment, Miss Mitchell.”

  She let out the breath she’d been holding and smiled at him happily. “Thank you, Professor. I swear I’ll get her to come bac
k.”

  “You better. This is your chance to prove yourself, kiddo. Don’t screw it up.”

  “I won’t,” she promised.

  Professor Mason looked at his brace. “Damn. We’re going to be late.” He stood up, gathering his briefcase. “Come along, Miss Mitchell, before we miss the morning meeting. I won’t be able to schedule you a flight until after lunch, but hopefully I can get you out of here before the end of the day.”

  That soon? Kennedy felt her pulse pick up as she hurried to keep up with the professor. She figured he would wait until the weekend to send her to Russia, not before the end of the day. I’m really doing this, she thought, excited and afraid all at once.

  Phoenix was going to be pissed when he found out, especially since he was counting on her to do that Mexico assignment.

  He would get over it though. Going to Mexico meant spending more time with him, and right now she needed to clear her head. Being around him was too hard, especially after the things he said to her yesterday. Leaving Olympus was exactly what she needed.

  Or at least that’s what she thought right up until she nearly collided with Phoenix in the lobby.

  He looked different today, in a good way. The circles beneath his eyes had faded and he seemed like he was in a better mood. As soon as he saw her, he flashed that devastating smile, showing off the deep-set dimples in his cheeks. “I made you coffee,” he said, holding out a mug. “It’s your favorite. Columbian with vanilla soymilk.”

  Kennedy stared at the steaming coffee, suppressing a whimper. When he said he was going to try, he really meant it. How was she ever going to get over him when he did things like this?

  Mistaking her silence for hesitation, he said, “I swear all I did was press buttons on the machine.” He grinned, a little sheepishly. “Keeps me from botching it up.”

  “Thank you,” she said, taking the mug from him. “That was really nice.”

  He nodded, eyeing her closely. “How are you feeling?”

  “Good. Really good.”

  He looked like he was about to ask her something else but stopped when Professor Mason called for everyone’s attention. Kennedy took a seat on the nearest sofa, Phoenix falling into place beside her.

  She tried to pay attention, she really did, but Phoenix was so close. It was all she could think about. When his leg accidentally brushed against hers, she stiffened. Jolts of energy struck her in that one small contact. It felt almost…like it used to. And she missed it. She missed him.

  Lunch couldn’t come soon enough.

  Professor Mason rambled on about some farewell ball they were throwing for the entire level in honor of the Peri-Guard units that were leaving. Phoenix would have been leaving with them, she realized. He would never have had a reason to withdraw himself…if it weren’t for her.

  She stole a brief glance at him, wondering if he regretted his decision to stay. There must have been a good reason why he wanted to go in the first place. What had that reason been?

  When she glanced over, she caught Phoenix staring at her. Apparently he wasn’t paying the professor any attention either.

  “You are so damned beautiful, do you know that?” he whispered into her ear.

  Warmth radiated her cheeks. Good God, the way he said that, and the way he looked at her, so shamelessly—it was like he didn’t care if anyone saw him. She turned straight ahead, determined to focus. She didn’t know what game he was playing, but she wasn’t willing to play.

  Problem was, now that she knew he was staring, she could feel those irresistible eyes watching her every move. It was too much.

  Something touched her hand. She looked down and saw his fingers wrapped around hers. Her first reflex was to pull away, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Her hand stayed wrapped in his, frozen into place.

  He gently rubbed his thumb across her knuckles, sending tingles soaring across her arm and down her spine. Slowly, she felt her body gravitating towards his. A strong urge to lean into him and breathe in his delicious scent propelled her closer and closer.

  “Stop!”

  Kennedy jumped out of her seat, unable to take it anymore.

  Oh no.

  She hadn’t exactly thought her actions through, particularly how yelling and jumping from one’s seat tended to generate attention. Every pair of eyes focused in on her, thanks to her sudden outburst.

  Professor Mason tilted his head, looking at her strangely. “Is there something you’d like to say, Miss Mitchell?”

  Uncomfortably, she cleared her throat, feeling her face grow hot. “I um…didn’t hear that last part.” She sank back down into her seat. “Could you please repeat it?”

  “Of course. Next time all you have to do is ask.”

  She nodded, wishing the sofa could swallow her whole. Phoenix shook with silent laughter beside her, which didn’t help. At all. Knowing he’d gotten to her to that extent only made it more humiliating. Punching him square in that gorgeous face of his sounded appealing right about now. She would’ve done it too, if it wouldn’t have brought more unwanted attention her way.

  As soon as everyone refocused on Professor Mason, Phoenix leaned close to her. “Let’s make a bet,” he whispered. “I bet you’ll be wearing that label again before the end of the day.”

  She kept her eyes glued to the professor, afraid to look Phoenix’s way again. “You’re only making this more difficult,” she whispered back.

  “No,” he corrected her. “I’m making you admit the truth to yourself.”

  “And what is that?”

  “That you’re in love with me.”

  Twenty

  Charm wasn’t something Phoenix was all that familiar with. In the past, girls had always flocked to him. It came with the celebrity-like status the world threw at his name. He usually hated the attention, but in that aspect, the fame was a perk. He’d never had to try very hard to sweep a girl off her feet. It saved him time and effort, both valuable commodities since DOE monopolized the majority of his life.

  Kennedy wasn’t just another girl. She was worth every ounce of his effort.

  Phoenix was determined to be as charming as possible until she realized how much she missed him and how ridiculous this whole thing was. The way he felt about her overshadowed everything else. Yeah, he fucked up by letting Fang kiss him. He saw that now. But he would never risk losing her again, and if she didn’t believe him, he would spend every waking moment of his time proving it to her until she did.

  The best part was, his plan seemed to be working. The more time he spent with her, the more he got under her skin. She was getting annoyed, which was funny as hell, and so very, very worth it.

  “Can’t you run next to someone else?” she asked him during their daily five miles.

  “Why?” He grinned at her. “You have trouble keeping up with me?”

  She narrowed her eyes on him, picking up her pace. He easily matched it.

  “That thing you said earlier,” she said, breathless. “It’s not true.”

  He shrugged a shoulder. “Believe what you want.”

  That only aggravated her more. She pushed herself to go faster. “Why would you think something like that anyway, especially after I told you I’m no longer interested?”

  “Oh you’re still interested,” he told her with confidence. “Just a little scared.”

  “Scared of what?”

  Phoenix looked over at her. Her face was flushed from the exertion, but her eyes held his curiously, waiting for his answer. “You really want to hear this?”

  “You might as well humor me.”

  “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. The truth is a bloody jerk sometimes.”

  “Just…” She panted heavily. “Spit it out…for God’s sake.”

  He gave her his full attention, unworried about looking ahead as he ran. “You’re afraid of me. I have the capacity to hurt you, and you got a taste of that when you thought I betrayed you.”

  Pain sparked in her eyes,
and he knew what she was thinking. That he did betray her, whether he meant to or not. To that, he shook his head. “If you had known the details before it had a chance to sink in, before it had a chance to eat you up inside, you and I would probably be having a different conversation right now.”

  The pace was too fast for her. She lost her breath and tripped over her own feet. Phoenix caught her just in time, enveloping her in his arms. They stood there for a long moment while she tried to catch her breath.

  “You’re scared, Kennedy,” he said again, watching her carefully. “From where I’m standing, I see a girl that lost her father, her best friend, and she essentially lost the life she was used to. When you thought you lost me, it scared you because you don’t want to hurt like that again. But the truth is, you didn’t lose me. I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere. Ever.”

  She didn’t say anything. That’s how he knew he was right. She would’ve argued or come back with some smartass reply if it wasn’t true. Instead she began running again, this time at a slower pace, and didn’t speak to him for the remainder of the run.

  Being right wasn’t comforting. It tore him to pieces, knowing how much she had been hurt.

  Seeing as how she wasn’t speaking to him now either, probably meant he shouldn’t have let things get so serious. Keeping things lighthearted and carefree was his best chance at making her feel more comfortable around him. But if he was ever going to win this bet, she needed to face the truth. The sooner she did, the sooner he could work on getting her to forgive him.

  ~ ~

  Phoenix planned his next move during Martial Arts and Combat training. He approached Kennedy as soon the sparring floor was empty. “Are you still up for fighting?”

  That got her attention right away. Once her surprise wore off, she said, “I’ve changed my mind about that.”

  “Come on,” he coaxed. “I can play by the rules.”

  Fighting was interacting. He should have seen that yesterday, but he’d been too worried about hurting her. Today his head was clear. He decided he would let her beat the shit out him if it made her feel better.