AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mercy,” he said, tapping out against her arm for good measure, and she laughed and let go.
When he came around, she dove into him, her cheek smashed to his chest, arms tight around his waist. He could smell her vanilla lotion, the citrus shampoo in her hair, and her breath carried the tang of Dr Pepper. Her shoulders were rising and falling, rising and falling. The wall-to-ceiling windows offered an unparalleled view of Wilshire Boulevard beelining downtown, cars and lights and commerce, a vibrant, dangerous, wondrous city and them here in their tiny piece of it.
She pulled away, heading across the great room without so much as a glance back. Winding up the stairs, she paused halfway. Her eyes glinted and that diamond, too, just above her heart. “You’re the worst, X.”
His voice had more gravel in it than he’d anticipated. “You’re the worst, too.”
But she’d already ascended.
53
Chastenment and Humblement
Evan awoke to a clattering in the Vault. He sat up on his floating bed, momentarily disoriented.
He was home. There was human noise inside his penthouse. And yet some half-remembered impulse stopped him from grabbing his ARES 1911 and rushing to neutralize the intruder.
Then he heard, “Dog! Get off! X’ll freak if you put your paws up on there.”
And he lay back down with a sigh.
Out of bed, into his cargo pants, pulling on a T-shirt, through the shower into the Vault.
Joey sat at his L-shaped desk with her bare feet up, keyboard in her lap, diamond around her neck, hacking away at Devine’s system. The OLED screens horseshoeing the walls flurried with code and various progress-update bars. Dog the dog was beside her, both paws up on the desk, drinking water out of a Dorset crystal highball glass that she held loosely around the base.
Evan raced over and seized the glass. “What are you doing?”
Joey and Dog aimed matching expressions of disappointment at him. “I couldn’t find a water bowl.”
“So you served him in hand-cut lead crystal from southwest England?”
“What was I supposed to use?”
“I don’t know. A bucket?”
“Well, ex-cuuuzeme, I didn’t know I should let my dog dehydrate to death rather than drink from some barware you never use.”
He breathed into himself, trying to loosen the grip of the Second Commandment. Dog the dog heaped on the guilt, sad yellow eyes beneath a tragic furrowing of brow. He brushed past Evan and plopped down in the corner near the weapon lockers.
Evan leaked an exhalation through his teeth and reoriented toward the screens. The right wall of the horseshoe showed an array of surveillance-cam angles from around the building; Evan had infiltrated the Castle Heights system so he could keep facial-recognition software continuously monitoring incoming traffic. The sight of the software overlay looked eerily similar to Luke Devine’s setup in the scarlet room, a parallel Evan chose not to dwell on.
Right now the lobby was empty aside from Joaquin behind the security desk, tossing Corn Nuts into the air and trying to catch them in his mouth. His performance was subpar.
A movement at the door to the underground parking garage caught Evan’s attention.
He stiffened at the sight of them, emotion arrowing through his gut.
Mia walking in slowly, Peter at her side. With one arm slung across his shoulders, she moved gingerly toward the elevator, her muscles stiff from the hospital stay. She wore a tired smile, taking in the familiar sights of the lobby. Aunt Janet bustled along behind them, followed by Wally, loaded down with various bags and groceries like a pack mule. Peter scurried ahead excitedly, gesturing at Joaquin, who found his feet to welcome Mia home.
As the family waited for the elevator, Evan reached across Joey to kill the surveillance feeds from the building. It felt impolite to watch them.
His finger hesitated over the mouse as he gave Mia a final look—that lovely bearing, the wild heap of chestnut curls, the birthmark kiss on her temple. And Peter, clutching her hand as if he’d never let it go.
Evan felt their safe return as a warmth in his chest. But there was no place for him there. He said good-bye to them silently.
And clicked.
The feed blinked out horizontally, darkness extinguishing them.
