by Shelly Crane
“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” I rolled my eyes, even though it was a doll and couldn’t see me. I put my legs under me to get more comfortable and thought about what my mother would have programmed in this thing. “So, my mother said she wanted me to know Landu, and your function was to teach that to me. But did she say why? Why would me knowing Landu help me?”
“The technology in which I was made has since been upgraded. I would be more useful if I were connected to a system where I had access to the world net.”
“And you don’t have access to it now?”
“My system was originally designed to access it, but your mother disabled it.” I felt my brow dip. “My entire being is held on my chip. If you take my chip and put into another system, then I would have access to the world net and all my Around Landu capabilities, including the information your mother stored for you for a later date.”
“What?” I breathed. “What do you mean?”
“I do not understand the que—”
I growled. “What do you mean that my mother stored information on you for a later date for me?”
“She wanted you to have certain information, but not have it until you were ready.”
“Who determines when I’m ready for it?”
“You do.”
“Wow. Okay, I’m ready now.”
“No, you’re not.”
I laughed, without any humor at all. “Betsy, we’re not exactly starting off on the right foot.”
“I have two feet. Would you like to start with the left foot instead?”
I covered my face with my hands to keep from throwing her across the room. She lay there prone in my lap, and it was so weird to be having a conversation with a doll that my mother had left for me.
She spoke up, and it must have been my imagination how tentative she sounded. “May I suggest you put my chip in the watch you’re wearing. It would give me access to the world net and give me mobility while being inconspicuous.”
I looked down at her. “Hmm. That’s actually pretty smart, Betsy Ross. No one will know that my watch is smarter than I am. But I’ll keep your body in my bag, okay? In case you want it back someday.”
“Of course. It would be inhumane to dispose of it.”
I shook my head and followed her instructions for how to remove her chip. I put the chip into the back of the watch and then watched it come to life. It was epically strange to hear her talking to me from my wrist.
“I would have loved this as a kid,” I murmured.
“I would have loved to watch you love this,” she said back, surprising me. “I’m going to power down now, until you need me again. When you need me, I’ll be here.”
I curled up in the chair and closed my eyes tightly, begging for sleep to come, and eventually, it did.
When I woke up the next morning, my eyes ached, along with my head. I didn’t waste any time opening the door and squealed in surprise when Maxton fell inside my room onto my feet.
He startled awake, looking around for danger that wasn’t there—there was just me.
He had slept against my door all night? On the floor, in the hall? Why would he do that? It wasn’t the first time he had slept on the floor for me. This boy was ripping through my defenses like a toddler through a sand castle.
He stood and looked like he was about to give me an answer when we heard noises downstairs and outside. He ran quietly to the end of the hall to check through the last door, which led to the top floor. When he came back, he whispered, “Grab your bag. They’re here.” I went to turn, but he grabbed my upper arm gently and brought me back to him, so close his nose was almost touching mine. “But just so we’re clear, that other conversation is far from over, sweet.”
He left me there in a stupor before I remembered that I needed to move.
Chapter Twelve
fate - the development of events beyond a person's control, sometimes predestined, regarded as determined by a supernatural power bigger than us.
Maxton
As soon as we rounded the back of the building, we saw the Militia had already ransacked the other warehouse we had been debating about staying in before they got to ours. If I hadn’t heard the noises from the other building first, I might not have woken up in time to get us out.
I hoped that this gave Sophelia a little faith in fate.
And a little trust in me.
We’d been gone from my family’s house four days now and she seemed more conflicted than ever. For a peek into that gorgeous creature’s head, I would pay a lot of silver. It’d be worth every cent. I know she’s scared and cautious and skeptical. Hell, I’m those things, too. That redhead, who’s so gorgeous inside and out, who thought she was worthless, who had the audacity to say that I would think she was beneath me. She actually thought I hadn’t wanted to kiss her. I’d been trying to keep the way I’m feeling held back, tamed, on a leash, so I wouldn’t scare her. I guess that had been a mistake because she thought I just didn’t want her at all.
When she kissed me, I was so stunned I didn’t know what to do but wait and see if I was going to wake up or not. But I didn’t wake up, so I turned and pressed her to door, but then I had to stop. I’m a black market trader. She was such a gorgeous creature. She could have been one of the Elitist manufactured babies. What was she doing with me? She could have anyone she wanted if she put her mind to it.
And I asked the question, just one question, and since I’ve met her, I’ve never seen a look so sobering and heartbroken on her face. And I had put that look there, even if I hadn’t meant to. She actually believed that people saw her as a slave first and foremost. I had to fix this. I had to show her that way of thinking was loco, insane, unreasonable. I had to get her to see that there was no other reason for me to want to be around her except she was this amazing person, who had fought her way out of a crap past. It was written all over her that she had been through a lot, even though she never said specifically what had happened to her. The loudest voices are often the ones that don’t even know they’re screaming.
She was also smart and witty and stubborn. She probably thought her being stubborn was a con, but it was a definite pro. I liked debating with her, going back and forth. I liked a girl who could take care of herself and wouldn’t be pushed around, but I also liked a girl who would accept help if she needed it, and maybe even when she didn’t. We may have to work on that one. I loved how family was important to her, how she talked about her mom or dad and her voice would go soft without even realizing it. When she’d met my family, she watched them so carefully, afraid that if she made a sudden move they’d shatter like glass. And she wouldn’t dare because she knew how precious they were to me. And when you’re speaking to her, no matter what you’re saying, good or bad, she always looks you right in the eye.
And those gray eyes were a force all their own.
Right now, they were on me, watching my every move as she trusted me completely to get her out of this safely, making our way out the window and up the fire escape to the roof. Once there, I looked for the best exit and found it in the next building over. The gap was miniscule from one to the other. There was no such thing as wasted space on this planet. There was only enough room for someone to stick a trash receptacle in between or walk in between it if they had to. But we had to go quickly because I knew they’d search the entire building, and I knew I had to take my time, because I just knew Sophelia was going to—
Before I could even tell her what we were doing, I saw her running past me and sailing across the short expanse. I went to the edge, my jaw dragging behind me, and noted it was about a two-foot gap. “Sophelia,” I scolded before I could catch myself.
“What?” she smirked. “Did you think I was going to be a querulous damsel?”
“No,” I muttered.
Yes.
“Wait,” I asked. “What does querulous mean? Maybe I did.”
She rolled her eyes, that little smirk she was so good at in full-swing tilting the side of her lips up, a
nd I was glad to see that playful Sophelia was back. Regardless of what happened last night, I wanted her to trust me. I wanted her to feel safe with me. I wanted her to know that on this planet, she had someone on her side and I didn’t want anything from her but friendship if that’s all she was willing to offer. She was an amazing, tantalizing, confusing, intriguing, gobsmackingly-gorgeous, infuriating, eyebrow-raising, lawbreaking, smirking, redheaded, horribly-funny-not-able-to-curse person to have around. And the only time I ever thought of the way she used to be a slave was when she brought it up, because she couldn’t forget it. I wouldn’t be that jackass that said, “I understand,” because I didn’t. But I wanted to help her move past it and be there the day she first realized that she was a slave no more.
I just hope she wanted me there, too.
I took a couple steps back and then ran and jumped across. It was a little bit farther than I had anticipated and my foot landed on the very edge. Even more pathetically, I skidded on the roof. Her eyes widened.
“Maxton,” she hissed, scolding me.
“I made it,” I reasoned.
“That was close,” she whispered.
I tilted my head and said softly and slowly, “You did fine without my help. Since I’ve met you, you’ve done just fine. You don’t need me. You could make it all the way to the Providence on your own and be just fine, I think.”
She looked so stricken that I went over the words I’d just said and tried to find the fault in them. Did she think I was trying to ditch her? Was that it? She took it as me leaving instead of the compliment it was. I shook my head. “I’m not leaving your side. I’m getting you to the Providence.” I stopped and licked my bottom lip, suddenly angry with our circumstances. “If that’s what you still want to do. I just meant that you ran and jumped and didn’t even blink. You ran from your proprietor without a backward glance. You fought those guys on the roof and then turned around and tried to help them. You don’t need me. If I had fallen just now, you would have been just fine.”
“Would you stop saying that?” She scrunched her shoulders and closed her eyes.
“You would be okay,” I insisted.
“No,” her head shook almost violently, “the part about you falling. Or not being here. I can’t imagine getting this far without you.”
We were talking circles around each other, both not saying the thing that the other wanted to hear. I couldn’t go another second without hearing from her mouth whether she wanted me for me or for my muscle. Was I just a guy to help keep the baddies away or did she forgive me for all the jackass things I’d done in the name of familial love and want me for me?
I opened my mouth to ask her, but heard an alarm go off in the building under us. The Militia didn’t care about getting the codes right. Within the suits they wore were protective measures for just about everything. They were biometric so no one could steal their suit and use it for themselves. The suits had a needle and wire that plugged right into the base of your neck and you controlled the temperature automatically, on top of the size and fit, and then all the cool stuff, like being able to walk through a holographic door that was armed. They could plow through the holographic door’s barriers and it wouldn’t shock and seize their body like it did ours.
I took her hand in mine and started across the hot roof, maneuvering through the solar panels. “Come on, Red. We’ll finish this discussion later—you can bet your beautiful behind we will—but first, let’s jump off this roof before they get here. What do you say?”
Just as the words left my mouth, I heard something bang on the roof behind us and looked back to see two sentries coming up the ladder on the side of the building we’d just jumped from. I yanked Sophelia down to the rooftop and lay beside her, my hand on her stomach to steady her and keep her there more than anything else as I watched the two sentries climb from the ladder to the roof.
They looked around, looking bored and not at all like they were on to something, just like they were told to go to the roof so that’s what they did. Sophelia’s erratic breaths soaked through my muddled mind and I looked down to make sure she was okay.
I hadn’t realized.
My face was only inches away from hers. In fact, I could feel her breath on my cheek. My fingers were splayed on her belly, like I possessed it, like she was mine, like I had the right to do it instead of just hoping I would one day. I was resting on my other elbow and my legs touched hers as I leaned over her. She was trembling.
I jerked my hand back like she had the ability to burn me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
She looked so confused and I didn’t blame her. “Why are you sorry?”
“I was just trying to make sure you stayed down and stayed still; that’s all.” I felt a scowl take over my face, my brow pulling down low. “I’d never do anything to hurt you.” I grimaced, looking down. “Not again. You trust me?”
Her gray eyes clouded as her eyebrows pulled together. “If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t be here anymore.”
I nodded, feeling a lump of something that was very hard to swallow build in my throat. “Good,” I answered roughly.
She looked down at my shirt, licked her lips—God, help me—and then looked at me once more, determination spelled out plainly on her face in the clenched jaw and tiny flare of her nostril, just once. “And I want to finish our conversation later. The one about needing each other.” She swallowed. “Or not.”
She wanted the answer either way, and she still thought it was possible that I wasn’t completely under her spell.
Blasted, clueless, gorgeous girl.
I looked over to see the sentries heading back down the ladder. “Oh, we’re going to finish it.” I stood and offered her my hand, feeling an oddly warm, happy sensation in my chest when she blushed at my words, but took my hand and let me help her up. I stared at her for a few seconds too long, letting her know I was coming for her. Maybe not right this second, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon. Sophelia deserved to be loved epically. And it would be my honor to try.
I helped her down until we got to the bottom on the other side, climbing down the straight ladder, all four stories, from the roof. The ladder had no safety hook on it like most of the ones like this did. I went first so I could be her safety net of sorts if she slipped or something. I kept checking her progress, to make sure she was with me, that she was doing all right. Boy, was she doing all right…in those freaking pants that fit her like I bet nothing else in her life had ever fit her before. I was the one having trouble staying on the ladder. I tried to keep my eyes on her feet when I checked on her from then on, but I would have been lying if I said my eyes didn’t wander up a little bit a couple times. I had to grip the rungs tighter to keep my groan in. When I reached the ground, I looked up to check her progress and she was right in front of me. Correction—that backside that was determined to end my life was right in my line of sight. I heard a small growl escape my throat and gripped her sides to help her the rest of the way, plopping her down in front of me. She had gasped once and then held her breath.
I put my mouth to her ear from behind her. “Are you all right?”
Then something happened that I would remember for the rest of my days. You could scrub my brain with bleach and I wouldn’t forget it. She finally took a breath just as her entire body shivered, beginning from her the top to the bottom. When the goosebumps appeared on her skin, showing on her neck, and she hadn’t turned around yet, I gently touched the tops of her shoulders with my palms and said low, “Let’s get going, okay?”
I let my thumbs swipe across her back, to settle her as much as myself. The sight of her shivering, from my voice on her ear alone, would haunt me in the most delicious ways, but I still didn’t know exactly what had happened to her before I found her on Havard’s ship. I felt like I should move slowly.
She turned to look at me, causing my hands to fall back to my sides. Her lips were parted slightly and her eyes were…on fire.
Okay…maybe slowly wasn’t going to pan out.
I rubbed my neck, trying to look away from her, but unable to until she finally dropped her eyes and took a deep breath, the spell broken. “What now?” she asked suddenly.
“We should scoot out of this alley and get out there,” I jerked my head to the street, “mingling with the people. They can’t tell who’s who out there.”
She nodded as she looked around and realized that the alley was only about two feet wide and I was standing very close to her. But I had a feeling I would have been even if I had room. I was on edge right now. I couldn’t put my finger on it.
She started to move that way, but I took her elbow and gave her a look that I hoped said, ‘Since when do you go first?’ as I got in front of her to lead the way. The small smile on her lips as she ducked her head was enough for me to have hope that everything just might work out, that Sophelia’s cracks might be fixable after all.
**
“We want to get some of these,” I said and pointed at the container with the brownies inside. “Two of them. And two of these as well,” I told her and moved my finger over the jumbo chocolate chip cookies.
“Somebody’s got some silver to spend,” she said with a grin as she began to hand my pressure-bagged items to me.
“Somebody’s got a woman with a sweet tooth,” I muttered. I balked that it had just fallen out of my mouth, and fallen so easily. I glanced over at Sophelia. And she looked a cross between amused and outraged.
I grinned at her because I didn’t know what else to do. She laughed silently and finally said, “There’s two of everything you’re getting and two of us.” She bumped my arm with her shoulder. Since yesterday and that whole situation—we hadn’t spoken of it yet, though I knew we would, but we’d been in a good place. An easygoing, chill, good place to be. “And we should probably get some real food.” She looked up at the vendor. “No offense.”
“None taken, doll. But once you bite into that cookie, you’ll never eat real food again. You’ll want to live off these things; they’re that good.” She winked at us. “Guaranteed.”