Deviation (Clone Chronicles #2)(12)

Outside the restaurant, I stop and pose in manufactured polish and poise while paparazzi whistle and flashbulbs click. An overzealous reporter manages to duck the perimeter and almost reaches me while shouting promises of large monetary sums if I’ll interview with his tabloid. My security team—sans Linc—sweeps me away before the man can make contact.

My ride home is full of me composing myself while my security team runs a full background check on my would-be assailant.

I step out of the elevator and into the penthouse that is my current home and my feet go still. From where I stand in the hallway, I can just make out voices coming from the parlor.

It is a room that, for reasons I don’t understand, Titus seems to favor. It confuses me because it is so unsuited to him. It’s elegant and gentle and daintily decorated save for the giant fireplace that consumes one wall. Even the curtains are gauzy and white—much too feminine and inviting for someone like Titus. It has crossed my mind more than once that maybe Titus was once married but the thought always dies off. I cannot imagine him loving anyone. But, more than that, I cannot imagine the sort of person that could love Titus Rogen.

The voices come again. Titus and another I can’t quite identify. A low baritone that is unmistakably male and just this side of angry. Curious, I slip out of my heels and pad closer.

“She is serving her purpose,” Titus says.

“As long as the rebellion continues to siphon our resources no one is serving their purpose,” another voice snaps.

A thrill of anticipation rushes over me. I know this voice. It is the same voice I heard speaking with Titus months ago about the next batch of Imitations and their plan to infiltrate more and more of society by replacing unsuspecting Authentics with their own personal Imitation. The man had been stern, unafraid to challenge Titus. It both surprised and intrigued me, the way they’d argued then. I’d tried—and failed—to get a look at him before. Maybe this time …

“Relax,” Titus says. “Soon, this batch will be finished and we’ll be ready to make the needed replacements. From there, we will have no problem eliminating the city’s undesirables.”

“They’re past the point of simply ‘undesirable,’” the man says. “They’re draining us. They’re gaining a foothold with their identity fraud scams. We can’t afford this.”

“I can’t rush the process. You saw what happened last time we tried. Half of them fled.”

“I’m still unclear on how you managed to lose almost a hundred Imitations over the past eighteen months.”

Titus growls.

“We can’t wait much longer, Titus. You assured me this would work. Now, we’ve got half of Congress full of products and the other half wondering what’s changed the swing votes. You brought her here to test whether the fix was working—since obviously the last one failed. Now, is she loyal or not?”

“She’s loyal,” Titus assures him. Even I can hear the hesitation in his words.

“She’s following the rules?” the man presses.

“Ven is not wired like the others. She cannot lie, or if she attempts it with her words, her expression will give her away. Between that and her GPS device, she will not deceive me like the last one.”

“And what of that one? Raven number six. Did you get anything useful out of her yet? Or the two traitors you’re playing with downstairs?”

Raven number six?

“The redhead is dead,” Titus says flatly.

“Dammit, Titus! You said you could handle this!” The man’s anger finally spills out. “Have you gleaned a single bit of intelligence from Ryan? Or are you simply wearing him thin until he collapses as well?”

Titus makes a noise of contained frustration. A glass slams down on a hard surface. “I’m doing what’s needed. He may not have crumbled yet but he’ll talk eventually. They all will.”

The stranger clucks his tongue. “Come on, Titus. We both know if he hasn’t conceded yet, he won’t. It’s the same with the others. The Ravens. They’ve found something worth dying for. You can’t compete with that no matter what sort of torture you offer.”

“They would all die for … for products,” Titus spats. “It’s insanity. I can understand the Ravens’ self-preservation, although it’s not how I programmed their DNA sequence, but Ryan is human. Daniel was my biggest supporter. And the girl … I offered her everything. Money, status. She wouldn’t budge.”

“Everyone has a motivation. You just aren’t looking hard enough.”

“I’ve had sessions with them almost daily. You’re telling me I’m not trying hard enough?”

“Stop playing with your pain management toys and get inside their heads, Titus. Figure out what makes them tick. Figure out the one thing they want more than beating you.”

“Don’t tell me how to interrogate. I know what I’m doing.”

“Obviously.” The single word spoken by the stranger is laced with sarcasm.

I can almost hear Titus seething. Again, I am awed by the way this stranger openly defies the scariest man I’ve ever met.

“My campaign’s being announced tomorrow. You know what’s at stake. I need the public to back me on this. It’s our best shot at beating these fanatics and taking control, once and for all. Not to mention it would seal your power and quell any further attempts at exposure. That last one was too close for me. We both need you to make this work.”