K8 sighs. “No.” She doesn’t want to put the thoughts to words, but she feels she must ask, “Do you think they’ve decommissioned him?”
“It is a little concerning that you haven’t heard anything from GROW. If they were holding him, I would think they’d be obliged to communicate that to you.”
This is why K8 likes Jett. Of their FRIENDS group, he matches her ability to becynicallogical the best. If she called Lessa, they would only assure her about how everything would be fine and tell her to go to bed and worry about her nonexistent wrinkles.
“I feel so useless. If something happens to him . . . if he’s gone, all I’ve done is drag my FRIENDS around on a fruitless manhunt.” Unable to tolerate the silence, she breaks it after a few stagnant moments. “He has to be alive. I’ll go to GROW when they open. They’ll have to give me answers. Lessa said I still have rights to him.”
The consumer rights board is one of the more powerful NHOS divisions. She’ll bring Lessa so they can speak some legalese at them and get them to return James to her. Who cares if he is from the past—he’s hers. That’s not right exactly, but technically, if she still owns him, they can’t take him. That’s the point.
“Lessa’s right,” Jett says. “I don’t see why you care so much, either. Let the people at GROW deal with him. I read that article you sent. He wasn’t a good man.”
K8 knows this, but she isn’t sure it’s fair to judge the past by the standards of the present. Clearly, some people had a problem with James, but nothing he did appeared to be illegal. And people seemed willing to work with him, so that suggests trust, or ironclad contracts. It’s just that everything she’s read seems to point to the same character flaws. “But he’s still a human being. How can you not see the ethical dilemma I’m facing? I’m morally obligated to help him. Besides, I promised.”
“K8, darling. It is not your ethical dilemma. GROW should shoulder that weight. Not you.” Jett is only a decade older than her, but he affects a fatherly tone so well when he’s trying to impress a point.
K8 appreciates the sentiment. But he doesn’t understand. Even if it was her ethical dilemma, she imagines he’d dismiss it the same way. Such is the way of her FRIENDS. She must make him see.
“If they try to recycle him, he’ll admit he’s real. Then they’ll have questions for me, and who knows what they’ll do with him? He’ll become their experiment. Look at how they handled the runaway unit earlier. They told the public it may be dangerous. Do you think they’re going to let their mistakes live? I imagine there’s a massive coverup being planned as we speak.” She feels her argument is quite stable. “I’m the only one who can do anything to save him. I have to try.”
As if Jett summoned it, her device, which has been sitting idly on her desk, flashes at the edge of her vision. “Oh!” she exclaims. “An email from GROW.”
“What does it say?!” Jett barks into her ear.
She snatches the glowing glass gadget and thinks the command: Open email. When the message pops up, she furiously scans it. Impossible! “It says my unit has passed the inspection and that nothingfurther is required. They released him hours ago.” Technically, the report says more than that, but that is the gist.
“Wait, he passed inspection? So where is he?”
“Great question,” she says, more than a little irritated.
Right then, the door handle rattles, followed by a pounding fist. The series of automatic pings that alert the resident to visitors sounds. K8 turns, dropping the device to the desk with a thwack. The sound reverberates in her mind, and she imagines it does in Jett’s too. “Sorry.”
“What happened?” he asks.
She thinks the command: System, unlock door. The lock hisses as it clicks open, and whoever is on the other side will have heard.
“K8, what is it?” Jett presses.
She wants to answer, but what she sees as the door cracks open effectively silences her. James steps through, looking as whole as he did when the inspectors escorted him away. He’s grinning like a madman.
“K8, what’s happening?” Jett barks in her ear.
“He’s back,” she whispers. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
She doesn’t take her eyes off James as he saunters toward her. She turns her chair to face him, crossing her arms. “Where have you been?”
“Nice to see you too, beautiful. I thought you’d be happy to see me.” His grin transforms into a lopsided smirk. In response, her heart catches in her throat despite her many misgivings. “Come here.”
Her body launches itself out of her chair. He’s so handsome, and she’s so relieved. And angry, but mostly relieved. She isn’t thinking as she throws her arms around him. He returns her embrace, holding her almost too tight. She doesn’t care, burying her face in his chest. Breathing in his delicious scent. Feeling his firm body beneath her fingertips. She still isn’t thinking as she runs her hands up the firm muscles of his back, tilting her head back to look at him.
“Oh, K8, you have no idea how happy I am you’re here.” He leans down to kiss her forehead. “I thought they were going to turn me into a lab rat and I’d never get to see you again. It made me panic. I just needed to see you.”
He nuzzles her neck, and she lets every word he says burrow into her psyche. She’s so dangerously close to getting lost in the moment. She could arch her neck in offer to him. What would he do? Kiss her slowly and draw out this first time, teasing her until she’s overcome with desire, or would it be an explosive frenzy? The warm feelings make her dizzy.
James, however, is stroking her waist as if he’s content to keep holding her.
“James,” she prompts, curious about what he’s thinking. What he was doing for those several hours . . .
“Yes?” He pulls back and takes her jaw in his hands, tilting her head so she’s staring up at him. His eyes dip to her lips, causing her pulse to skip.
