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When she was done with the blood, she sent it out immediately. I got juice and cookies while she waited for the lab tech. It was the same kinds of juice and cookies I'd been getting since I was five, which was creepy. The Nasts hadn't just bought us, they'd bought everything about us, replicating each detail to ease the transition.
I shivered.
"Cold?" Dr. Wiley asked.
I shook my head.
She frowned. "Have you been shivering a lot recently?"
"No."
"Anything more serious? Shaking? Convulsions?"
"The girl shivered, Doc."
"Mr. Moreno, I'm going to ask you to leave now."
"Ah, hell." Moreno leaned back in his seat. "Fine. I'll be quiet."
"I'm afraid that won't be sufficient. I need to conduct a thorough examination, which requires . . ." She picked up the robe and waggled it at him.
Still he hesitated.
"Mr. Moreno."
"Yeah, yeah." He stood and walked over to me. "Your dad will be here soon, kiddo."
Dr. Wiley sniffed and waved him out. I watched him go.
Okay, what was that about? I'd sensed the tension between Antone and Nast earlier, but I hadn't given it much thought. Antone was more accustomed to giving orders than taking them. But Moreno's hovering? That was weird, as was his insistence on waiting for Antone and Dr. Inglis.
Something was going on here. Serious tension, and not just between Antone and Nast. I could see Dr. Inglis being uncomfortable having someone else work on me. I was "hers," and there was bound to be conflict between the Nast camp and the former St. Cloud employees. But Antone and Moreno had been with the Nasts since this had begun.
The rest of the physical was exactly what I'd had since I turned twelve, right down to the order of the steps. Physical exam. Pap smear. Breast examination. Cheek swab. Vitamin injection. And, finally, the sour apple lollipop.
I stared at the green sucker. "Seriously?"
"We were told you liked green apple." She opened the drawer and pulled out a bag. "We have cherry, raspberry. Even . . ." She picked up a brown one. "Root beer? Oh, yes, that'd be for Daniel."
I stared at that brown sucker. My stomach twisted. She set it on the counter where I could see it.
"Do you know what happens when a car strikes the human body, Maya? Yes, Daniel got up and walked away. I'm sure he just felt battered and bruised. But the force of that impact must have done damage. Internal damage. He could go to sleep feeling fine and then . . . never wake up."
I clenched my fists to keep from shaking as panic whipped through me.
They're exaggerating. You know they are. Corey will take care of him. Trust Corey and trust Daniel. Worry won't help you get out of here. You need to focus on escape.
"I don't know where he is," I said.
"I think you do."
"I don't. We got separated--"
"Then he'll find a place you all stayed before that and go there to wait. You need to tell us--"
"There's nothing to tell." I hopped off the exam table, scooped up my clothes, and retreated behind the curtain to dress.
TWENTY-THREE
