Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
“Who have you been with today?” he asks as he takes another deep breath. “And I don’t mean Keaton Lone. There’s someone else.” I swear his eyes flash in a way I’ve seen in Keaton’s.
“Your guards upstairs and the driver of the car that brought me here.” He leans in closer and sucks in again.
Okay, Gray Malice is weird. Jade might be on to something.
“Are you lying to me, Ms. Harbor?”
“Oh, I saw my friend this morning too. What is this about?” I don’t know what Jade is to me at this point, but I feel a need to protect her. I step away from him, and he closes his eyes. Then he pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs.
Am I already getting fired?
“Get her started,” he orders Dr. Harlow before he strides out of the lab. The doors open for him automatically, and I watch him quickly stride down the long hallway.
“Am I in trouble?” I ask Dr. Harlow.
“Honestly, I have no idea what that was, but let's get started.” I nod, grabbing a lab coat that’s hanging on a nearby rack.
I think Jade might be right. Why else would Gray Malice have been waiting for me? The new nobody, who I suppose isn’t a nobody after all.
Chapter Twelve
KEATON
I spent most of the day arguing with my father, although he would call it “discussing my options.” For years, we’ve tried different treatments. We’ve tried every drug that was safe enough to test and a few that were experimental. Shock treatments, hydrotherapy, cryogenics, and more. I was a lab rat in every sense of the word, but now I’m finished with that.
This is who I am, and as long as I can live like this while keeping Elsy, then I’ll take it. My father reminded me that having children with Elsy is a risk, but that’s for Elsy and me to decide. If she really wants children, we can research the options, but I would never do anything to put her at risk. My mother reminded him that no one is guaranteed a healthy pregnancy or baby, but my dad wasn’t hearing it.
I’m just tired of the battle. I don’t want to fight my body anymore. What I want to do is learn to use these powers in a way that is safe, and I want to be with Elsy. That’s it. The rest of life can work itself out, but I’ve got my eyes on the prize.
After all of that, I pushed for information on John Malice, but my father didn’t give me much. I could sense there was more, but that’s all I got.
After texting her several times today and then calling three times, there was no answer. I was parked outside the building for two hours waiting to see if she came out for lunch, but there was no sign of her. Feeling worried and a little irritated, I decide that I’m done waiting.
I walk into JM Technologies, and the security is there to greet me.
“I’d like to speak to Elsy Harbor.” The security guard shares a look with the man beside him and shakes his head.
“I’m sorry, she’s in a restricted section and can’t be disturbed.” He goes back to what he was doing, but I clear my throat.
“I don’t think I introduced myself. I’m Keaton Lone.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Lone, but you’re not on her approved list.”
The anger that I try so hard to keep a leash on swells. “She has an approved list?” I try to keep the agitation out of my voice, but it’s no use. I see the colors of the room begin to change, so I know my eyes have. The security guard swallows hard and takes a step back.
“Yes, um, she is, uh, unavailable, but I can call her supervisor.”
“You do that,” I say through gritted teeth. When his shaky hand reaches for the phone, I decide that’s not good enough. “I’ve changed my mind. I’d like to see Gray Malice.”
“Mr. Malice?” The guard’s face pales as I lean closer.
“Now.”
He hits a button on the phone and then whispers into the receiver. After another second, the elevator door next to him opens, and he scans his card.
“He’ll see you now.”
Gray’s office is on the top floor, but the elevator never stops along the way. Outside his office is a reception area with two assistants seated behind desks. One of them stands up, but Gray opens the door to his office before the assistant can speak.
“Keaton,” he says by way of greeting, and I walk past him to enter his office.
“You didn’t want your dad’s old office?” I ask as I look out the wall of windows to the city beyond them.
“No,” he says simply.
“I don’t blame you. I heard he enjoyed every one of his admins.” I turn around and see Gray’s eyes flare. Maybe it was a low blow, but I’m not here to play nice.