Deviation (Clone Chronicles #2)(34)

“We’re leaving?” I ask

“You’re leaving. I’m securing the area,” he says.

“Aren’t you supposed to come everywhere with me?” I ask, unable to help the sarcasm in my reminder.

“I’m supposed to keep you alive,” he snaps. “Now, shut up and let me do my job.”

I am about to argue, mostly because I don’t want to do anything Alton tells me, but Alton is already dragging me to the curb where the car waits. The back passenger door opens from within. No one gets out. I barely manage to keep up as Alton propels me forward.

I land in a heap, half on the seat and half on the floorboard. My new purse catches on the edge of the jamb and I barely pull it inside with me before Alton slams the door shut.

The car lurches forward and I’m thrown back with the momentum, finally dropping the bag in favor of keeping myself upright. I straighten and twist, catching a glimpse through the back window of a red-faced Taylor, her hands gesturing wildly as she fusses at Alton. He is already moving around her when we take a hard corner and they disappear.

“Ven?”

It’s not the sound of my name spoken but the voice speaking it that has me whirling back to face the car’s interior. “Linc?” I say, my heart pounding.

Linc shifts from his position in the far corner and slides onto the seat next to me.

“What are you doing here? What’s the threat?” I ask.

His expression is off somehow. It takes me a few blinks to realize he’s smiling. It’s not the appropriate response in a dangerous situation, not even for someone as confident as him. “There’s no threat,” he says and scoots closer.

“What? But Alton said—”

“I made it up.”

I stare at him, putting pieces together. “You …. made it up,” I repeat. He nods. “Why?”

“The orphans were getting antsy,” he says, and then his smile slips and he adds, “I was getting antsy.”

“It’s been a day,” I say wryly.

“It’s been a really long day.”

A radio chips and Linc detaches it from his hip, talks into it, responding to Alton as if he’s whisking me away to safety. They exchange a few words; Alton gives the directive to take me home. Linc agrees and tosses the radio aside. He pulls out his remote tracker, the one that matches my scrambler, and punches buttons.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Masking you.” He punches a few more buttons, then tosses that aside as well.

I’m not sure what to say or how he’s done it, but I’m grateful to be away from Alton and Taylor. Linc slides his arms around me, one hand smoothing my hair away from my face. His expression is tender and sweet, his eyes soft on mine. He leans closer. I wait, my mouth already tingling in anticipation. It’s been too long since our lips connected. I lean to meet him, impatient for his kisses.

The partition makes a sudden humming noise as it’s lowered from the driver’s side. I go rigid and my eyes widen. “Linc, who’s driving?”

“Relax, sweet lips, it’s me.” Through the rearview mirror’s reflection, my eyes meet Obadiah’s. His are crinkled around the edges from grinning at me.

“But how—?” I begin.

“Just go with it,” he says.

I shake my head. “I should’ve known from the way we took those curves that it was you.”

He laughs and glances between Linc and me. “You know it. All right, I’ll let you two crazy kids get back to whatever it is you were doing.” His eyebrows wiggle and then the partition slides back into place.

Linc is smiling when I turn to him. “Thank you for this,” I say. “I wasn’t sure how I’d see them again.”

“Of course,” he says, leaning toward me to pick up where we left off. My skin hums in anticipation. His lips are a breath away when he whispers, “I just couldn’t let him hurt you anymore.”

I stiffen and lean away so that I can think clearly. His words, the concocted threat, whisking me away … I begin to understand. “Linc, what exactly is happening here?”

He blinks as if the answer is obvious and a hard ball forms in the pit of my stomach. The car turns sharply and we each grip the seat as we’re thrown sideways. “I made a call, faked a threat against you, Obadiah got the car… I’m taking you away from it. From him.”

“For how long?”

“For good.”

“For good? Linc. You can’t— You didn’t ask me what I wanted.”

His eyes cloud. “I thought you’d be happy. You’re safe now.”

“I told you before, I want to stay,” I say. “I want to help them and the only way I can do that is from the inside.”

“That was before Alton was assigned as your new shadow.”

“Right, but we can work around him. I still have you around to help—”

“I told you last night, they won’t let me near you anymore.”

“Linc, I can’t—I know you don’t want to hear this, but something’s changing and … I won’t leave without Daniel,” I say quietly.

That shuts him up. The surprise in him gives way quickly to temper. “How in the hell do you plan to pull that off, huh?” His tone is teasing, biting, and full of accusation that I am incompetent.