Page 162 of The ARC Unit: Breach

“Especially Jackal?”

A faint shift touched the corner of his mouth.

“Especially Jackal.”

I smiled despite myself. “Fine. Your terrifying secret that you have a nervous system is safe.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“You don’t have to.”

Wolf lit the second cigarette.

The flame touched his face again, and this time I deliberately kept my eyes on his hand. It felt important in a way I did not want to examine too closely. He had taken the mask off in a dark room less than six feet from me. I could have looked.

I had not.

Wolf put the lighter back into his pocket.

“What?”

“Nothing,” I said.

“You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“Thinking loudly.”

“You cannot hear thoughts, Wolf.”

“Yours make a lot of noise.”

“I didn’t look.”

He went still and I wished immediately that I had kept the words to myself.

“When you took the mask off,” I said. “I could’ve. But I didn’t.”

Wolf stared at me.

“I know.”

“How?”

“Your phone never moved.”

He had noticed where my phone was before going to sleep, because naturally even that had made it into whatever part of his brain kept track of a room.

“You track things while unconscious?”

“I wasn’t unconscious the whole time.”

“Comforting.”

Wolf took another drag. “You could’ve looked.”

“I know.”