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“Lexie, listen to me. You’re safe here at QT. That’s why your mom brought you. She saw Grant at the mall that day and knew it was only a matter of time until they found you. She left so she could lead them off your trail.” He let out a sigh. “It looks like it didn’t work, unfortunately.”
I froze, fear making everything sharp and clear. “Where is she? Is she all right?”
“Yes. She’s fine. She emailed earlier today. She has a few more things to finish up before she comes back to us. Branston isn’t after her. They’re after you. But now that you’re here, we can protect you. There’s nothing to worry about.”
And yet Dad didn’t exactly look relieved. “What else aren’t you telling me?” I asked.
“Nothing. That’s it. I just need you to let me know if anything else suspicious happens. QT security will protect you anywhere in the city or the facility, but you have to keep your eyes open.”
I didn’t know whether to feel reassured or creeped out. I decided to focus on a third option: anger. “I could have kept my eyes open a hell of a lot better if I’d known about this. I am. Sick. Of. Your. Lies.”
He didn’t say anything, just stared at me, which pissed me off even more.
“I thought things were going to be different between us, and this was our opportunity to start over. Obviously, I can’t trust anything you say. How come I’m not surprised?”
“Damn it, Lexie.” He slammed a hand down on the back of the couch. “I’m sorry. I didn’t feel like we had another choice.”
The words sliced through me like a knife. “Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? That you can’t trust your own daughter with the truth? Do you even want me here? Or is that another lie, too?”
He still wore his white lab coat over his jeans, the QT logo in navy blue against the white, his name in script below it.
Dr. William Kepler.
We shared a last name, but that was it. I glared at him and waited for him to answer.
Finally, he shook his head. “Everything I’ve done has been to protect you. Your mother and I told you that when you arrived. I’m sorry that meant not being there for you.”
“Really? Because you seem to have plenty of time to ‘be there’ for Jordan Sellers. If Branston wants me that badly, maybe they’re not so bad after all.” My voice broke, and I had to look away.
Dad shook his head. “Branston is terrifying. They have destroyed villages just to show they can. They’ve released bioengineered viruses to threaten governments. They have worked behind the scenes to fund terrorists and fringe groups. They want you to be a part of the team to develop these weapons, to destroy instead of create.”
He still didn’t get it. I didn’t care about Branston. I cared that he couldn’t be bothered to ever tell me the truth, to trust that I might be able to handle it. Anger curled through me like poison, and I hated him at that moment. Hated everything he’d done, even if it had been to protect me.
“I don’t see where you’re much different from them,” I said with a sob, snatching my laptop off the couch and sprinting to my room.
“Lexie!” he called after me.
I slammed the door on him and threw myself on the bed. All I’d ever wanted was my dad to be there. I’d let myself hope moving in with him might rebuild our relationship.
Obviously, I’d been fooling myself.
The ride to QT the next day was one long, awkward silence, broken by Dad’s attempts to explain. I stared out the window and refused to answer. There was nothing he could say. I was done letting him disappoint me. I was still freaked out that Branston was out there looking for me, but right now, Dad was the bigger pain in my ass.
I left him in the lobby without even a glance back, though I could feel him staring after me, feel his frustration. Maybe if I let him stew, he’d finally get the point. I stomped into the classroom and threw myself into one of the clear, plastic chairs.
Some of the other students looked at me, but I glared them down. I was not in the mood for their bullshit today. If Asher thought I needed to stand up to them, then so be it.
“Morning, Lexie.” Max dumped his bag on the floor and sat down beside me. His scraggly beard was gone, and his hair neatly trimmed.
For the first time that morning, I smiled, surprisingly glad to see a friendly face. “New look?”
“Mom said I looked like a hippie.” He sighed and ran his hand over his smooth jaw. “I guess it’s not that bad.”
“I like it. Very preppy.”
Max rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Preppy. That’s me.”
“Here, let me help.” I reached over and roughed up his hair just as Zella appeared in the doorway. She narrowed her eyes at me before stalking over and taking a seat on the other side of Max.
“Hey, Z,” Max said over his shoulder. “Lexie is trying to make me less preppy. Is it working?”
Her stare was cold, assessing. “I thought you were fine the way you were.”
Max laughed, totally missing her glare. “Always room for improvement, right?”
Zella didn’t bother to answer him and turned to rummage in her bag. I went back to adjusting Max’s hair.
“There.” I leaned back to examine my work, a mock frown on my face. I tapped my chin with my finger. “There’s something missing, I’m afraid.”
Max sighed. “There always is.”
“Hey, stop that. I’m just kidding with you. I think you’re perfect just the way you are.”
“That’s more like it,” he crowed, grabbing me in a headlock and ruffling my own hair.
We both laughed, and I struggled to get away from him. Asher wandered into the room and flopped into the chair across from us. He raised an eyebrow. “Careful there, kids. Someone could poke an eye out.”
“We can only hope,” Zella muttered, loud enough so we all could hear.
Max sat back in his seat with a frown at her, and I tried to smooth down my messy hair. I wasn’t going to let her get to me today.
“What’s the plan?” Asher stifled a yawn and stretched his arms over his head. I tried not to stare as the bottom of his shirt rode up and displayed the muscled strip of skin above his jeans. “More research? Team meeting? What do you think we should tackle, Lexie?”
I shrugged, feeling slightly breathless at the sight. “Zella seems to have taken on managing the project. What do you think?” I asked her. Maybe deferring to her a bit would get her off my back. Or at least show her I was a team player.
