Page 50

Jackson sighed and rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. “Jesus, Sam, you make it sound like I’m some kind of man-slut. I’m just looking for the right girl.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“And having a little fun while I search.” He shrugged and opened his arms for me. “You’re taking it all too seriously. I guarantee you neither guy is looking for long term.”

I glared some more.

“My point is that you shouldn’t beat yourself up. Not that I want my sister with anyone, but, you know, you are my sister.” He shifted and pulled his hair back from his face. “You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you? Fine. I love you, okay? I feel so unclean.”

“Shut up, asshole.”

“That’s my Sam!”

I shook my head and flung my arms around his waist.

He rested his chin on my head. “Now let’s get down to Engineering.”

* * *

Alyssa grunted when we walked through the door. She remained bent over the keyboard, focused on the monitor. The dim lights from the screens covering the walls bathed her in a flickering blue glow.

“Who killed the lights?” I asked, pulling up a chair so I could read over her shoulder.

“Automatic dimming at night time. I didn’t want to ask for anything more than I had to. No sense in drawing attention to what we’re doing to the AI.”

“So you really think the computer is psycho?” Jackson asked. He moved over to the wall opposite to examine each screen.

“Yup,” I said, then turned to Alyssa. “Why isn’t it offline yet?”

“I tried just a few moments ago, but it claims I no longer have clearance. We are lucky you got out of your rooms when you did.” Her face appeared drawn in the light of the screens, and I noticed the slight tremble in her hands as they flew across the keys.

“It locked you out?” I asked.

“It couldn’t do that,” Alyssa said, finally stopping to face me. “That’s the thing. There are fail-safes. I put them there myself. Someone did this. Someone with ability or clearance as high or higher than my own.”

“Mrs. Bennet?” I asked.

“No,” Alyssa said. “She wants it off, at least until we fix it.”

Jackson laid a hand on my shoulder. “So what you’re saying is that someone did all this.”

Alyssa nodded, looking like she wanted to cry.

“Well at least you know Mrs. Lakewood’s death wasn’t your fault,” I said. But that meant someone on Paradise Atlantis was more than a saboteur. No doubt remained.

Someone here was a killer. And a small, terrified voice in the back of my head wondered what if it’s me?