The Speed of Sound (Speed of Sound Thrillers #1)(102)

“I let the doctors think I couldn’t answer them when I could have. It was a lie of omission.”

“I don’t know that I’d say you were lying. I’d say that you were acting, like the policeman who pretended to have a heart attack to help us.”

“He was still lying.” Eddie glanced around them, looking more like his old self. “I don’t like this room, Skylar. I don’t like the way it sounds. There are too many hard surfaces. I like my room in Harmony House much better. And I really don’t like the needle in my arm, or the adhesive stuck to my skin. It’s itchy and uncomfortable.”

All at once, she couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down her face again. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

He studied her. “You’re crying.”

She nodded. “Happy tears.”

“I don’t know how to cry happy tears. Do you think you can teach me?”

“I’ll do my best.” Skylar did not actually intend to hold his hand at that particular moment. It just happened. She reached out and gently placed her hand in his. It would have been a completely natural gesture, were Eddie anyone else. But he was not anyone else. He was more special than anyone she’d ever known. Skylar was just about to apologize when she realized Eddie had not withdrawn his hand from hers. In fact, he had not flinched at all. He was letting her hold his hand. “Wow.”

He didn’t know what she was referring to. “Why did you say that?”

She was staring at their hands. “We’re holding hands.”

“I’ve never held hands with anyone before.”

“That’s why I said wow.” This was the most physical contact Eddie had ever voluntarily had in his life. It was powerful. And utterly pure. It was something she had always hoped would happen with her little brother, Christopher, but it never did. Skylar could not stop staring at their clasped hands. Which she soon regretted, because Eddie pulled his back.

He seemed lost in his own world. “I did not let them have the echo box, Skylar.”

She took a deep breath before she answered. “I saw them take it from you. There was nothing you could do to stop them.”

He looked at her with absolute sincerity. “You are wrong, Skylar. There was something I could do.”

He said it with such conviction that she almost gave him the benefit of the doubt. “What?”

His eyes darted around the room for a moment, as he hesitated. “This is just another one of those things that you’re going to have to trust me on.”

She couldn’t help but smile at his imitation of her. “I can do that.” There was a light knock on the door. Skylar quickly leaned down to Eddie. “I don’t want you to talk to anyone else. Do you think you can keep acting for a little while longer?”

“I can do that.” He said it just like she had. He smiled briefly, then turned his blank gaze toward the ceiling, just as the door opened.

Ziggler poked his head in. “Dr. Drummond, pardon the interruption, but there’s someone who would like to speak with you.”

Skylar stepped out of Eddie’s room to come face-to-face with a man she recognized from watching the news. His name was Senator Corbin Davis. As the shorter agent made introductions, she struggled to connect the dots. What the hell is he doing here?

The senator turned to the agent. “I would like to speak to Ms. Drummond—excuse me, Dr. Drummond—privately.” The agent led them into the patient room adjacent to Eddie’s, which was vacant. The agent left them alone.

Davis studied her admiringly, just as most men did upon first meeting Skylar. “You’ve had quite a couple days.”

“Yes, I have.”

He paused meaningfully. “I’m sorry about what happened to Jacob Hendrix.”

“So am I.”

He nodded. “The man Homeland Security believes to be responsible for his murder was found dead early this morning.”

She bluntly asked, “How?”

“An explosion. It appears to have been an accident.”

“That’s what they said about Jacob.”

He nodded again, sounding almost apologetic. “We get it right eventually.”

“Nothing will ever make this right.” She paused, increasingly curious as to why the senator was there. “What’s going to happen to Fenton?”

“New York City Police have opened an investigation into his involvement in the crime, but it’s unlikely anything will come of it.” He did not take his eyes away from hers, but she didn’t flinch. “The echo box. It doesn’t work. But you knew that, didn’t you?”

No, as a matter of fact, she’d had no idea. It was working just fine last time she heard it, but she was not about to let the senator know that.

“It was quite clever making Fenton believe the technology was functional.”

She nodded almost imperceptibly. Why do they think it doesn’t work? Is this what Eddie was referring to? What did he do? “Am I still under arrest?”

“No, you are not. You’re free to go.”

Skylar now believed she understood why the man was here. Damage control. They were concerned about what she was going to do. Which meant there was an opportunity. “What about Eddie?”

“He will be returned to Harmony House.”