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He rotates to face me and I do the same to him. “And what did you find out?”
“Personal stuff I should have let you tell me yourself. Family, age. Basic things. I didn’t look at anything deeper.”
“My father and I hated each other. Now my mother and I hate each other.”
His confession is unexpected, but I don’t back away from it. “Why?”
“He was a rich, arrogant prick who wanted me to become the same. I joined the Army to spite him. My mother blames me for his death even though I wasn’t even on the same continent at the time.”
“And now you’re here, and Project Zodius happened. Do you regret joining the Army?”
“Regret is a fool's emotion that makes you weak and insecure.”
It’s a telling statement that cuts open those family troubles and lets them bleed out right here in front of me. “You really hated him,” I observe. “As in, really hated him.”
His eyes sharpen, his jaw with them. “Why did that statement bring you to that conclusion?”
“Because I think I’m a pretty brave person, but my mother died in a car accident eighteen months ago and all I have is regrets. We were close. We were headed to Houston that morning for an opportunity of a lifetime at NASA.”
“And now you’re here. Why, Addie?”
Unbidden, I bristle defensively. “Is that why you asked me to dinner? To find out?”
Chapter Six
“No,” he says, without hesitation. “I did not ask you to dinner because I wanted to know your motives for being here. On the other hand, I can’t know you without knowing why you’re here anymore than I can expect you to never ask me a GTECH-related question.”
“There are a number of ways I could take that statement.”
“And I meant it in about every possible context you can conclude. You and your mother stayed away. You went to Houston. You left NASA, which we both know was a prestigious place for you to be. So I repeat, why are you here now?”
I have this overwhelming urge to show him the notes and the file I was left, but it’s damning to my father, and I don’t know if he’s guilty or how Creed feels about him. I don’t know that it’s in anyone’s best interest to turn the men against him.
“I received anonymous letters and a file that explained Project Zodius to me. I was blown away. I couldn’t look away.”
“Why do think this person went to you?”
“You know why. Because I’m my father’s daughter, but also because I worked with alien microorganisms at NASA. No one knows better than me how little research has been done on this topic. And, most importantly, I’m nothing like him.”
“Did you confront your father?”
“That’s not the way for me to get answers—real answers you and the other GTECHs need. Honestly, answers the world needs. He’s long wanted me out here. I told him my grant expired and it was time for me to come home, all of which is true. The best way to get anything from my father is to let him believe he got what he wanted.”
His stare is heavy-lidded, the silence stretching before he says, “No one expects you to be loyal to anyone but him.”
“And that’s fair. How could I expect any different until I prove myself, and I realize that is a high hill to climb.” My chin lowers to my chest and battles with what I should or should not say.
“Addie?”
I force my gaze back to his eyes and say, “Let me see their real color.”
“Not now.”
“Why not now? Why do you have to hide being who you are?”
“You know why.”
“I don’t know why. I don’t like the hidden nature of any of this.”
“We live in a world of humans, and I am not that anymore.”
“You are to me.”
“Then you can’t handle the truth.”
“You’re buying into the legend of Creed. You’re letting the talk make you a monster. I can see that in your eyes, no matter what color you show me when I look at you.”
He pushes to his feet, so close to me momentarily that our legs press together, his hands pressing to either side of my chair, and my entire body is alive in ways I can barely process. There is something intense connecting and me and this man. And there is something intensely angry and wild about him right now. “What would your father think if he knew I was here?”
“I don’t need his permission, and I don’t care what he thinks. I’m not him. And you can talk to me, Creed, and it stays with me. I swear to you.”
“Only we won’t just talk, now, will we? And if that happens, you might find out just how not human I am.”
“The mark on the neck? I know about it. I’m not afraid of you or it.”
