Page 76 of The Code of You

I cleared my throat. "Where are we going?” My voice sounded strange.

"Don’t worry about it. I know what I’m doing.”

I rolled my eyes. Maybe I should jump from the moving car after all, just to escape his arrogance.

His gaze found me. His irises lit up briefly, like a warning. I snapped my eyes back to the headrest in front of me, felt the acceleration through my back, my neck, my fingertips as they clawed into the upholstery. The car vibrated faintly. Lights slid past. Osaka changed around us. The buildings got smaller, the characters on the facades disappeared. We drove through forgotten districts. Was that intentional? Had Neo chosen a route that no system could track?

I sat upright, didn’t dare move, waited for a motorcycle to appear. A voice over a loudspeaker. A sudden stop. I almost wanted it. Nausea turned in my stomach as I looked over at Neo. He was staring forward, jaw working. He was somewhere else, maybe inside some network.

Buildings slid past like faceless figures, and the streets narrowed. We drove past a fast-food place, then an empty laundromat. The last remnants of the city. After that, only dim light and dark windows, no people, no signs. Were we safe? I crossed my legs, uncrossed them, felt pressure in my ears as if the air had changed.

Neo said quietly, almost casually, "I’m in every camera we pass. Deleting us as we drive.”

We kept driving until the road deteriorated beneath us. Eventually, I spotted a faded sign, an arrow with characters I couldn’t read, and the car turned and pulled up at a gas station. A fluorescent buzzed behind the window, throwing a single cone of light across the glass. Someone was inside.

"You should get something,” Neo said.

I hadn’t eaten in hours. My stomach had been growling, but I was certain the tension would stop me swallowing a single bite. Still, I got out.

Neo circled the car in an instant, as if checking no one was nearby.

"It’s better if you wait here,” I said.

"No.”

"Neo, it’s too dangerous. You might . . . stand out.”

Suddenly, he was behind me, his body pressed against my back. His voice was a dark growl at my ear. "I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

Goosebumps rose along my arms as my knees went soft. Heat shot between my legs, even now, even on the run. My body was so broken that his threats still aroused me. Damn it. Why did he do this to me?

A bell chimed as we went in. Inside, the smell of pastry and car tires hung in the air. Neo moved like a predator. His hand hovered above my hip, possessive even without touching. I took two bottles of water, some bread, a pack of instant noodles. Things that wouldn’t draw attention.

Neo paid cash. Where did he get the money from?

The woman behind the counter glanced up, looked at him. Her eyes widened slightly. Had she noticed that he wasn’t quite human? Had she registered the slightly unnatural way he moved? Maybe I was imagining it. The machine dispensed the change too slowly. She placed it on the counter without a word.

Outside, a rough wind was blowing. I shivered. "Did she notice?”

The corners of Neo’s mouth moved. "No. She was . . . taken with me.”

A sharp pain moved through my chest. She’d found him attractive. Of course. What woman wouldn’t? He had built himself as the perfect man.

"If she had noticed . . .” The edge in his voice sent a shiver down my spine. The thought of what he could do with his superhuman strength sent cold through me. I stared at the road winding back toward the city. If I ran now . . . No. We were in the middle of nowhere. He would catch me anyway, with that body built for hunting, thighs like a sprinter.

"Your pulse is at ninety-five,” he murmured. "You’re thinking about running. Useless. I would find you in every system.”

I held a bottle out to him. He looked at it like it was a symbol of everything that stood between us.

"I don’t need anything,” he said quietly.

His words stung, because they reminded me of what he was. I drank as I climbed back into the car. We started moving again. I felt Neo’s gaze on me, as if he was swearing that no one would ever come near me again. My heart sank.

"You’re worried,” he said. His voice was rough. "I don’t like that.”

"Neo . . .”

"No.” He turned to me. His eyes glowed in the passing lights. "I’m the one who worries. About you. Only you.”