Deviation (Clone Chronicles #2)(48)

But with Gus as evidence, it’s all too real.

“All of your terminated products are stored here?” Alton asks in a tone that sounds more clinical than anything else. His words carry not a single trace of compassion or feeling for the mangled pieces of people before him. Nor does he sound the least bit bothered by the fact that the small patch of marked skin on his wrist will someday end up here.

“More or less. This is actually a holding room. There is a vault in the back where each piece is permanently stored after initial testing and cataloging. You could call these the recent additions.”

“Are we going to tour the vault then?” Alton asks.

“No.” Titus doesn’t leave any room for discussion.

No one speaks for a moment that feels like an hour. I want to leave. To run all the way home and use the buzzing, panicky energy up so that when I arrive, I can collapse into bed and not wake again until I’ve been assigned another life. One that doesn’t include an afterlife spent inside a crisper drawer.

But there is nowhere to run. To go home would mean running straight back to the monster I want to escape from. All I can do is swallow back the tears and hold my ground. When I am sure I can speak without sobbing, I clear my throat. “Why did you bring me here?” I whisper.

Titus leans closer, his eyes narrowing. My body twitches with the urge to step back but I lock my knees and force my feet to remain planted. “Take a good look,” he says, his voice dipping low. “Those parts could belong to any number of products. They could belong to someone you know.”

I whip my head back up to the window and scan the numbers on the cases in a frenzy. I’d only seen Gus before but if he means someone else, someone specific …. 679, 784, 343… I read off only the first three numbers on the cases, certain he’s bluffing but not certain enough to tamp down the irrational fear at the possibility he’s not.

Finally, when I’ve scanned all of the cases and not found another number I recognize, I exhale and turn back to Titus. The hint of a smile plays on his lips. “You were worried.”

“What the hell did you expect?” I snap then press my lips together hard the moment the words are out.

Titus looks just as stunned. I chalk it up to the waning adrenaline coursing through me. One of these days, he’ll push me too far and I won’t care enough to stop myself. Today’s not that day, though, and I brace myself for whatever assault is coming. But Titus only nods once, his eyes shining with something I can’t decipher.

It’s happening again.

“Good. Angry is good. It means you’re worried and afraid, as you should be. I brought you here to show you what will become of your friends if you cross me again. I want to make myself very clear. You will end up here one day. You have no control to change it. And I think you accept that fact well enough. But your friends, well, their fate and timing are up to you.”

He pauses as if letting that sink in.

“And your boyfriend?” Titus adds. “If he puts his hands on you again, I’ll personally cut them off and put them in a freezer bag. Which I think I’ve just proven is not an empty threat. Have I made myself clear?”

I nod, loathing my own shame and subservience. I want to murder him, to cut off his tongue and put it on display in the lobby. Or let the others use it for tennis downstairs.

“Good.” He straightens and his features smooth out. His hands deftly refasten the button on his jacket. “Let’s go home.” He hits the light switch and the scene on the other side of the window is plunged into darkness. I only have the space of a breath to relax because the moment I blink, I realize the images are still there—burned into my memory forever.

Alton is the first to head for the door. Deitrich hesitates. I put aside my own horror and realize he looks almost as stricken. I suspect this was all new information for him as well. Our eyes meet. His are full of shock and confusion and more than a little fear. I feel a pang of compassion for him but I can’t say a word. Not in front of Titus. Alton clears his throat and Deitrich frowns. Like shutters being drawn, his expression shuts down and there is nothing to see.

“Let’s go, you two,” Titus prompts from the doorway. He’s typing something on his phone, oblivious to our exchange.

It isn’t until we’re several yards down the hall that a new horror dawns on me. I wrestle with it, positive I’m doing exactly what Titus wants and playing into his threat. If I voice my fear now, he’ll know his effort to blackmail me back under his control has worked. Which is a silly thought. Of course he knows. He’s never doubted.

“Titus,” I call, coming to a stop. “I need to see them,” I say when I have his full attention.

He doesn’t even ask who before he says, “No.”

I square my shoulders. “I need proof you haven’t already terminated them or I won’t do a single thing you ask.”

He whirls and stomps back to where I stand with my arms crossed to hide my trembling. “Even if I have, you’ll obey for the sake of your boyfriend.” He glares at me.

“Linc would understand my sacrifice.”

Titus stills, his eyelids twitching as his gaze sharpens. I can practically see his thoughts whirring. “What sacrifice?”

“I would rather die than let you hurt any of them. If you already have, there’s nothing keeping me here.” I shrug. “There are a thousand ways I can do it. Next time I run the track, I won’t turn the corner near the edge of the building. It’s as simple as that.”