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Luke
I'mplungedintopitchblack. When my eyes adjust, I’m sitting up in bed. I had another intense dream of Liv again. The dreams always seem so… real. Her skin feels warm, but there’s a weird energy about our touch I can’t quite place.I sigh and lay back down, running my hands through my hair as I stare at the ceiling.
I covet these dreams, even though they aren’t real. It’s the only way I can be near her. This time felt different, though. It’s easy to tell it’s a dream because she’s so willing to let me in, both into her heart and her body. I make love to her in my dreams like I’ll never get the chance again, because that’s my reality. But tonight, I saw her kissing another man. I thought he was attacking her at first, but then it registered. She returned his affections. I’d lost her. I tried to wake up from the nightmare, but then I was with her again and she was alone in bed and my dwindling hope halted its downward descent. She was open with me, but clearly hurting. It killed me to see her so upset, but I couldn’t leave without telling her how I truly felt. I told her everything I’d been wanting to since about five minutes after I left her.
Of course, even though it seemed real, none of it was. It was all just a reflection of my own fears and desires. It’s been a year and half since I left her, but I want her to still be in love with me. I don’t want her to move on, as selfish as it is.
Sleep comes, but only lasts a few hours before my alarm goes off. I rely on my routine to get my day started and head to the gym, but the dream stays with me.
I send Jackie on a break and settle onto a stool at the front desk. Jeremy works out with a couple of guys nearby, and I can’t help the scowl that forms. Liv forgave him for cheating on her. She even forgave him for involving her with a murderous psychopath who almost killed her. Why can’t she forgive me?
My phone rings and Fox’s name pops up on the screen. I bring it to my ear, and he speaks before I can get a word in. “I’ve got something. Get your sister and get to your office, asap.”
Skye, Jordy, and Mark follow me into the Reilly Tech building an hour later. Dylan stands and closes the door behind us.
He motions towards the sofa in front of the small table where a laptop sits. Dylan guides Skye to the sofa next to me and opens the laptop screen. Fox meets my eyes and sits in the chair across from us.
“What is this?” I ask.
Fox sighs and glances at Dylan, who nods. He scoots to the edge of his seat. “I found a video buried deep in Nova’s hard drive. It’s addressed to you and Skye and there’s an encryption on it I’ve never seen before. Only your fingerprints will open the message. Both, at the same time.”
I nod at Fox and Dylan grabs a tablet and secures the room from eavesdroppers.
Skye looks at me, her eyes wide.
“This could be some heavy stuff, Bug. You want me to watch it first?”
She shakes her head no. “I can handle it.”
I nod to Fox, and he points to the laptop in front of us. “Put your thumbs on the screen.”
We do, and it flashes red, then the laptop turns on. My dad appears, sitting behind his desk in his study at home. He’s in a green t-shirt. It must have been a weekend, or he’d be in a suit. My heart clenches as Skye grabs my arm.
“Hey kids. I hope you never see this video, but if you’re watching, it means I’m not around anymore. It means I’ve failed.” He adjusts in his seat and takes a breath.
Skye sniffles, and I wrap my arm around her.
“I hope I live a lot longer. But if I don’t, I’ll be there with you. I’ll never stop watching over both of you. Death can try to stop me all she wants.”
He smirks, and I meet Skye’s eyes. She lets out a sob and I squeeze her shoulders. Jordy hands her a tissue and sits next to her. He offers his hand, and she takes it, gripping it tight.
“Luke, if I know you, and I do, you’re pretty pissed that I handed over control of the company to you. Emilia is a great CEO, but you know my soul, son. I’m sorry to put that burden on you. I hope you’ll forgive me someday.” His smile is playful.
I laugh and shake my head at his obvious sarcasm.
“You might have figured it out already, but in case you haven’t, your mom’s death was not an accident. It was deliberate and aimed at me. I know you carry guilt, but I couldn’t tell you the truth. It was too dangerous. They would have killed you too if you were with your mom. The bad choices you made that night at the party saved your life. I underestimated my enemies, and your mom paid the price for it.” He pauses and stares off to the side. He kept a picture of Mom on his desk and by the way his eyes change, I know he’s looking at it.
“I’ll never ask your forgiveness for not being able to save your mom. But Luke, you’ve got to let it go. I don’t want you to harbor any guilt for your mom or whatever might happen to me. All I want is for you to live a happy, normal life. You can’t do that by carrying that heaviness around.”
A lump forms in my throat as I meet my dad’s eyes on the screen. He recorded it years ago, but it’s like he’s staring into my soul and telling my demons to fuck off. My eyes burn as I inhale.
“I’ve put a plan in place to protect you both. If I die, the information they want dies with me. But that doesn’t mean they won’t come after you. Nova is an advanced AI masquerading as a home security system. I built her to protect my family. If you’re seeing this video, it’s because she deemed you ready to watch it. Anything you find in Nova, she lets you see.
“Nova will continue to feed my enemy false information, but I can’t predict how long they’ll fall for it. She will adapt to keep them on their toes. It gives me great pleasure to know I’ll be fucking them over long after I’m gone.”
He smiles and stares at the photo again, then faces the camera and stares into my soul. “Luke, when you find the woman you want to marry, she’ll be special. If these assholes threaten her, don’t do what I did. Don’t push her away,” his voice waivers and his eyes water.
He swallows hard and his Adam’s apple bobs up and down. “The month leading up to your mother’s death, they threatened me. They said they’d kill my wife and children one by one until I gave them the information they wanted. I kept my distance from you guys. I should have disappeared with you all, kept you hidden and safe. But I was trying to fix the mess I was in. I couldn’t fathom that the information I had was worth anyone’s life. I called them on their bluff, but I was wrong. So fucking wrong.”
