“Still okay?” she asked as he shifted until he was seated by her side. Pins and needles rushed into her newly freed leg and she gasped.
“What’s the matter?”
She gave him a weak smile. “My leg was asleep. It’s waking up now.”
“That’s kind of how my brain feels,” he said with a laugh.
“Really?” She couldn’t imagine that tingling sensation in her brain.
“No, not really. But I’m usually a bit slower right at the start.”
Portia tucked her hands between her thighs. “Do you need anything? Is your headache gone?”
“I’m fine, Portia.” He bumped his shoulder against hers. “How long was I out?”
“A few hours.” She gestured to the curtain she’d opened last night. “It’s not nearly as dark anymore.”
They contemplated the early morning in silence.
“I’ve never understood the appeal of augmentations,” Portia admitted. She kept her gaze focused straight ahead, not quite comfortable sharing something that deeply personal. She’d thought about it—the same way people contemplated tattoos or piercings—but there had never been anything that she thought would make her better than she already was.
That part she kept to herself.
“What if you were injured?”
Portia sucked in a surprised breath. Tears blurred her vision and she wiped them away violently.
“I’m sorry, Portia. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“No, I’m the one who brought it up.” She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her shins. “If it could have saved Tommy, of course I would have done it. At the hospital after the bombing, I begged. I pleaded. I would have done anything to save him. But there was nothing they could do.”
His arm wrapped around her shoulders and he pulled her close. Getting comforted by this man could become addictive. “For me? I guess, maybe? I’m not against it.” She couldn’t put it into words, so she shrugged.
“Why did you want it?” she asked.Wait, was that rude?“Sorry. That’s a super personal question. You don’t need to answer it.”
His sigh filled the air around them. “I wanted to belong. The super-soldier program seemed like the perfect opportunity. A tight-knit group of people who knew exactly what you were going through. That dream ended when the chip malfunctioned.”
Resting her head on his shoulder, she said, “Can I ask—why didn’t they take it out?”
His laugh carried an edge of bitterness. “The implant surgery was dangerous enough. According to the implant team, the risks of removing it were too great.”
That right there seemed like a good argument for not getting one, but she wasn’t going to insult his choices by saying so. Instead, she said, “I hope you sued the company that designed the implant. You should at least get some money for your troubles.”
Aleks dropped his arm. Portia twisted to look at him. He was staring at her with the strangest look on his face. “Really? You think I should have sued?”
“Of course! Companies shouldn’t be able to sell harmful products.” That was one of the many, many reasons she was so pissed about finding out Vyne came from her company.
He smiled sadly and shook his head. “No, no lawsuit.”
Portia growled, she was so offended on his behalf. “That makes me so mad! Who was it? Maybe it’s not too late.”
There was no humor in his laugh this time. “It was a Tremaine product, Portia. Your company caused my glitch.”
His words hit like a punch. She couldn’t speak. Could barely catch her breath. She tried to process what he said, but the words just didn’t make any sense.
“No.” She shook her head, denial the first emotion she was able to access. “No, that can't be right. Our products help people. They don’t do that.”
She waited for him to take it back. To admit that it was a joke, one made in very bad taste.
