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My jaw clenched.
“Enough.”My single word cut through the noise, quieting the crowd for a heartbeat’s time, before drawing more flashes and louder voices than before.
We needed to escape. I needed to get Layana inside.
I pulled her toward the steps, shielding her as we made our way toward the open doors.
A mechanical buzzing hummed beneath the din.
I paused, curious, and glanced back.
A black object swooped over the crowd—a drone. It wobbled erratically, as it headed in this direction.
Instinctively, I turned to usher Layana inside and out of harm's way.
The sound grew louder.
Sharp and forceful, something pelted me between the shoulder blades. The buzzing stopped.
I turned back, and found the drone on the steps, one of its propellers bent. The shape of the body was strange, altered with hot glue and plastic sheets to look like a child’s toy train. Pieces of the plastic facade had broken and lay scattered on the steps. The drone flailed sadly, turning back and forth, unable to lift back off the ground.
I was about to head inside when I noticed a piece of paper taped to the bottom of the broken machine—a note. The hot frustration pulsing through my veins turned to ice.
The note read:The truth will emerge.
TWENTY-NINE
LAYANA
“What in Godzilla’s name just happened?” I asked Gabriel.
But he seemed in no mood to talk, at least not yet. He had a stone-cold expression on his face as he whisked me away from the doors and the lobby, down a side hall.
The barrage of questions and flashes we’d just faced left my brain buzzing in a paralyzing fog.
Gabriel pulled me into the bathroom, locked the door, then only then did he let go of my hand.
He looked me over and touched my cheeks so softly, I immediately felt comforted. His gaze burned—with fury and something else.Fear.“Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Of course. “Areyou?What hit you? Did someone throw a remote-control car or something? I didn’t get a good look.”
His clenched jaw ticked, but he didn’t answer. He pulled his phone from his pocket and raised it to his ear. “Around back. Now. I need to take Layana home.”
“What? No.” I smacked his arm. “You can’t do that. I’m fine.”
We locked gazes in a battle of wills. I knew the kind of person he was, the dedication that had won him this award. More than that, I knew what this night meant—it was his last chanceto sway public perception, his last bid to seal the deal with Biotabloom Dynamics.
If I had a small shark attached to my ankle this very moment, gnawing on me, I’d still insist we stay.
“This place is crawling with security. I’m safe, Gabriel. This is your big night. Nothing happened to me. This is what I signed on for, to help you through this. Everything you want is within reach. Don’t take that away from yourself.”
He stared at me.
I wouldn’t lose this disagreement. If he made me leave, it’d be kicking and screaming.
Instead of saying that, I laid a hand on his shoulder and told him, “I promise, I’m fine.”
His gaze softened. It was sweet, really, that he was so concerned, but he didn’t need to be. I had thicker skin than that. Words couldn’t hurt me.
