Page 226 of Override

I laugh quietly.

"So you sent Bullet."

"It was the most efficient solution."

Of course it was.

The television continues talking about reinforced concrete and Soviet engineering while I settle deeper beneath the blanket, my new Kindle resting forgotten beside me.

My eyes wander around the apartment instead. The bookshelves. The kitchen. The hallway.

Then...I notice it.

The small security camera mounted above the front door. A smile finds me before I can stop it.

Earlier, after catching me staring at it for far too long, Keaton had silently opened his laptop and turned it toward me.

"I thought you might want to see."

Four camera feeds filled the screen. The front door. The hallway outside the apartment. The elevator. The parking lot outside the building.

"That's all?" I'd asked.

He'd nodded. "It's a closed system."

I frowned. "You could've just hacked into the building's cameras."

"I could."

He'd said it as casually as someone commenting on the weather.

"So why didn't you?"

He'd looked almost offended by the suggestion. "Because if I can access it..."

Understanding had settled over me before he'd finished. "...someone else can too."

He'd nodded once. "I prefer stable systems."

Then he'd quietly closed the laptop again as if he'd merely been explaining how the coffee maker worked.

I look back toward the camera now.

It's strange. A week ago, the idea of a camera watching me would've made my chest tighten.

Now...I know exactly where this one points. Exactly who has access to it. Exactly why it's there.

For the first time in months... Being watched doesn't feel like losing my freedom.

It feels like someone making sure I make it home.

Chapter 50

Keaton (Skee)

Sleep should have come almost an hour ago.

Instead, I've walked the apartment enough times that I could probably calculate the exact distance without looking at my watch. The hardwood beneath my feet has become familiar in a way it wasn't even this morning, each board announcing itself in tiny, predictable ways that reassure me nothing has changed since the last lap. The front door is still locked. The deadbolt is still engaged. Every window remains secured. The camera feeds show exactly what they've shown for the last forty-seven minutes.