Page 85 of Anarchy Chained: Alpha Thomas

I smile internally at my audacity.

“I have a great one down at the end here. It’s got an amazing bathtub,” Molly says, winking at me over her shoulder.

I shoot her a weak smile just as Uzi grabs my hand. Why can’t he take a hint?

“Here you go. Everything you need is in there. But if I forgot anything, just—”

“Excuse me, Molly?” The Sheila thing pops into existence.

“Yes, Sheila?”

“I’m going to need Sadie to come down to the lab. I looked up the protocol and just realized I have a lot of prep work to do. Tests,” she says, looking at me. “But mostly painless.”

“What the fuck is this about?” Uzi growls. “She’s not going anywhere with that thing.”

“OK,” Sheila says, nodding her head. “We can do it in the morning. But you’ll probably have to stay another night. The procedure appears to be long. Quite complicated. And we want to do it right the first time. You don’t screw with people’s minds without some forethought.”

Uzi is ready to explode. I might not be linked to him anymore, but he’s squeezing my hand so tight, it makes me wince. “Uzi,” I say. “Let’s just get it done. I want this to be over, don’t you?”

He stares at Sheila a moment longer. Then Molly. Then his gaze lands on me.

I rub his arm to help him calm down. “I’ll be fine.”

“I’m going with you then.”

“Well,” Sheila says, sheepish smile on her face. Jesus. I don’t know who programmed her emotions, but she’s got this shit down. “She’s going to need some privacy, Uzi. I’ll have her completely naked for most of it.”

“So?”

I laugh. “What do you mean so? I’m not going to let you hover over my naked body while I have tests done. It’s invasive, Uzi.”

“You want this, don’t you?”

I know what he’s implying. That I’m eager to get away from him. And I am. But I can turn that around. Manipulating what people see when they look at me also involves manipulating what they think. “I thought you wanted this too! Don’t you want us to be linked again?”

“That’s not what I meant,” he says.

“Then what do you mean?” I ask. “Do you think I’m excited about this?” I raise my voice a little. Put an edge on my words. “This was your idea. None of this is my fault, Uzi. I’m here because you wanted to come here. I’m doing this because you said we should. And now you’re going to accuse me of what? Ditching you?”

He shrinks back. Just a little. But just enough. “No. I’m not trying to be an asshole. I’m just…”

“Insecure?” Sheila offers.

He glares at her. “No.”

“Good,” she says, taking control. “Then she comes with me. We’ll do all the prep work and tomorrow afternoon you can be on your way. I, for one, cannot wait for you to leave.”

“Sheila,” Molly says, chastising. “Stop it. They’re guests. I tell you what,” Molly says to Uzi. “I’ll bring you status reports every hour. And you don’t have to stay in these rooms. Just come downstairs whenever you want. Lincoln and I will be up for a while. And Case and Lulu will be here soon. We’ll have dinner.”

“He can’t eat,” Sheila reminds him.

“Ignore her,” Molly says to Uzi. “I ignore her too. But her and Linc are a package deal. So we endure.” Molly rubs Uzi’s other arm. And holy shit. These people are way out of my league in the manipulation department. She’s playing him like an instrument.

Uzi finally huffs out some air, giving in. “Fine.”

“Great. Come with me, Sadie. I’ll show you down to the lab.”

I turn to follow the walking woman made of light. But Uzi’s not done. “I want hourly updates,” he says. “With video. Or I’ll just find my own way to that lab.”