Deviation (Clone Chronicles #2)(11)

“Hell, I’m so sorry. Are you all right?” he says, his breath labored and warm on my face.

I nod, my chest rising and falling with my racing pulse. I don’t care about the pain or the fact that he’s looking at me like he’s just mortally wounded me. “What is it?” he asks, his brows crinkling as he tries to decipher my expression.

“What is it?” he prompts, his expression lightening by a few degrees as he scrutinizes my face.

“Is that what it feels like to ….? I didn’t—that was amazing,” I say.

One side of his mouth lifts in a crooked smile. “Well, thank you,” he says, eyeing my mouth again. His eyes glitter with an alluring promise. “Just wait until we’re—” He’s cut short by the sound of the door opening.

Linc shoves away from me and I bite my lip to keep from gasping aloud. All of my earlier bravery vanishes. It’s not just me who will face the consequences of broken rules. It’s Linc. And I am not nearly so willing to risk him as I am myself. A body fills the doorway and even in the darkness, it is unfamiliar. He’s not very tall, but his shoulders are broad and set with confident authority.

“Crawford, that you?” the man snaps.

“Yes, sir,” Linc says, angling his body away from mine. I shrink farther back into the corner, silently willing the stranger to pass me over.

“What the hell you doing in here, in the dark?” the man asks. I can see the silhouette of his face as it turns to scan the room for a possible reason for Linc’s presence.

Linc produces a small device from his back pocket. It’s the size of a cell phone but covered in buttons. He holds it up for the strange man to see as he says, “Deitrich said he wanted to check the infrared. I figured I’d do a pass-through in the dark and then watch it back from the tower.”

“That the new device?” the man asks.

“Yes, sir.”

“Huh. All right. Team meeting in five. Bring the device. We’re calibrating the signals.”

“Yes, sir. Be right there.”

The door shuts with a firm click and I allow myself to breathe again. “Is he gone?” I whisper so low I don’t know if Linc hears.

“Yeah, but that was close,” Linc says on an exhale. He returns to the corner and his arms come around me. “You need to go back to your room now.” He hits a couple of buttons on the box in his hand.

“Who was that?” I ask. His arms tighten. “Linc.”

“His name is Alton. He’s the new head of security for Rogen Tower.”

“I thought you were head of security.”

“Interim. Not permanent.” He lets out a noise between a grunt and a laugh. “He’s not going to put the guy in love with you in charge of his personal security. I’m surprised he kept me on at all.”

“He won’t fire you,” I say quietly. “It’s part of his leverage.”

“I’ll take it if it means I’m still assigned to you.”

“Are you?” I ask, struck with the horrifying thought. “Still assigned me to me, I mean?”

“I haven’t heard otherwise,” he assures me. “There’s something else, though. Alton’s added himself to your security detail. I think he means to monitor me more than anything but it’s a problem. It’ll be impossible to get away to see the others. At least for a while.”

And then I understand his reluctance. “How will I check on them? How will I help?”

“We’ll figure something out.” Linc presses a kiss to my forehead.

Now it’s my turn to keep quiet.

I don’t disbelieve him, but Linc is just as much a pawn as I am. Every risk I take puts him in danger right alongside me. And I can’t afford to lose the one person on this Earth who wants to keep me.

“You should get going,” Linc says, breaking into my thoughts. “The staff meeting is to introduce Alton and give assignments. It should give you a chance to get back to your room without anyone noticing we both came out of here. Wait five minutes after I leave and then go, all right?”

“Okay.” I nod and wrap my arms around his neck.

“My angel,” he murmurs against my ear. I smile at his pet name for me. He refuses to let me talk about how I was manufactured instead of conceived. Unless I mean it in a supernatural, godly sort of way. Which I don’t. But he’s made it clear he does. “I’ll see you soon,” he adds.

I watch in silence as he makes his rounds to the various bugs in the room and switches them on. As he passes, he presses a silent kiss to my temple and then he’s gone.

After Linc leaves, I count silently in the darkness until five minutes have passed. The door is soundless as I crack it open and peer into an empty hallway. I slip out and walk to my room in a way that I hope seems innocent of making out in a dark room with a handsome boy.





Chapter Four


The next day, I am sent out for lunch. I eat alone with a team of men hovering just out of sight. No one tells me why or what the purpose of my outing is beyond Raven Rogen being photographed in public wearing the latest Jorge Estrada pantsuit. That’s enough of a reason.

Linc is conspicuously absent from the group of men who escort me. I ask about him but a sour-faced standin simply says he’s “unavailable.” I try to pretend I’m not worried about what that means.