“Okay, okay,” I mutter. “Just a little more.”
Seconds later, there’s movement and sound, no longer inside the system but inside the room with me.
“Shit.”
I turn, but I don’t see a thing before pain explodes at the back of my head, and the connection is severed. The guts ofthe servers vanish before I can finish wiping data. The room tilts violently as my knees buckle, hands trying to hold on but slipping off the metal as I sink to the floor.
You’ve gotta be fucking—
All the blinking lights go out.
I give him fiveminutes. That’s five minutes longer than I should.
As I watch the feed that Sebastian has pulled up for us, Cason disappears into the lower levels, moving like he belongs there, like he was born in that building. But that’s the problem. He practically was. It’s a place where he’s too confident, and confidence can lead to recklessness. Recklessness gets people killed.
I told him I’d let him do this alone.
I lied.
“Stay on comms,” I tell Sebastian through the radio I have nestled in my ear. “If anything goes wrong—”
“It will,” he cuts in.
“—don’t come in,” I finish anyway. “You wait for my signal. If it doesn’t come, you go back to the safehouse and warn the others.”
A beat passes, a second of hesitation that also gets people killed.
“Yeah. Sure,” he says slowly, unconvincingly.
“I mean it, Baz. They’re going to need you.”
“Whatever you say, boss.” This time, it’s a little more convincing. Then he adds, “Just come back out of there in one piece, alright?”
I don’t answer as I get out of my SUV. I’m less concerned about myself than I am about Cason. Making surehegets out of there in one piece first is my priority. Then I’ll worry about myself.
As I head up to the building, I don’t look in the direction I know Baz is because he nor Cason are supposed to be here at all. As far as anyone’s concerned, I’m the only one here. I’m walking right through those front doors like I’ve done a thousand times before, all so the others can stay invisible.
Bellrose Institute doesn’t feel any different than it did the last time I was here. Still clean and structured, still pretending as if it isn’t built on failed experiments and the bodies of Ascended.
It takes exactly twelve seconds for them to find me. I feel it before I see them. There’s a thinning of air, a tightening of space. It’s as though a candle snuffer has been placed over the entire lobby. Because that’s what happens to my shadows—snuffed out. One second, they’re floating behind me, and the next they’re gone.
“Reese Morgan.”
The voice comes from behind me, feminine and calm.
I turn to see her standing a few feet away, exactly how I remember her. Posture as straight as her platinum blonde hair, expression controlled, light brown eyes sharp as she stands there with her hands on her hips.
“Hello, Samantha.”
“It’s been a long time, Reese. I’m flattered you remember little ol’ me.”
“I tried to steal you away. Hard to forget that kind of rejection.”
Her laugh is the same too. Too high, too grating on the nerves. It’s not just the laugh; it’s everything about her. I should probably be thankful she didn’t want to come with me. Ash may have killed her.
“Still loyal as ever, I see.”
“Still misguided,” she replies.
