Stepping back from the door, Norman said, “Well, you should probably come in then. It’s a little cold out tonight, and I don’t want you catching another bout of pneumonia.”
Kaz allowed Atria to go first, then followed her inside with a hand on her lower back. A deep scowl creased his mouth. He knew it was a power play, but still, he couldn’t help but ask, “Pneumonia? When did that happen?”
“Oh, I—”
The metal door closed behind them with a heavy thud. A faint beep sounded — the telltale indicator of a security system engaging.
“Atria got a terrible case of it in undergrad.” There was a distinct note of smugness in his voice when Norman continued, “It’s bad for her to be out in cold weather for too long, since her lungs are vulnerable to reinfection and scarring. I’m surprised she didn’t tell you.”
“I do just fine,” Atria replied. Her eyes flickered to his and then back to her ex.
Kaz took a deep breath through his nose and tried, without success, to not be angry at himself for the time he’d lost with her. If he’d stopped being a stubborn asshole, she wouldn’t have been in this position, andNormanwouldn’t have been able to flaunt his superior knowledge of her life in his face.
Because that was exactly what the smug bastard was doing. Not only did he still want her, but he needed Kaz to knowexactlyhow close they were.
If Kaz wasn’t acutely aware of the situation they found themselves in, he would have thrown Atria over his shoulder and walked out by now — if only to prove to everyone involved that no matter how well Norman knew her, Atria washis.
He had what Norman never would: a lifetime with her. He had all the time in the world to pick apart her secrets, to learn her quirks, to know everything there was to know about Atria Le Roy.
And unlikeDoctor Chambers,Kaz would never, ever betray her.
Norman moved around them in the narrow hallway. His scent filled the space, mixing with Atria’s in a way that was distinctly unpleasant. He smelled like burnt coffee, unwashed clothing, and old sweat.
If desperation was a smell, it’d be that.
Perhaps sensing that he was on the cusp of doing real harm to her ex, Atria kept close to him as they followed the man down the short hallway. Kaz kept his hand on her back, anchoring them together in a way that soothed the beast raging in his mind, and took in the stark layout of the lab. No matter how confident he was in his ability to protect his mate, it was always prudent to count one’s exits.
It appeared that they’d actually come through a side entrance, most likely what was once the employee door. The walls were beige, the floor covered in linoleum tiles, and the handful of doors they passed were the flimsy fiberboard kind that were the hallmark of all employee-only spaces.
Atria cleared her throat, breaking the tension that hung in the air. “Have you settled in all right?”
“Oh yes, definitely.” He shot Atria a wide, thin-lipped smile. “I’ve been able to get so much more work done now that I don’t have administration breathing down my neck.”
“And how’s Chloe?”
He paused his swift trot for a moment to stare blankly at her. “Chloe?”
Atria blinked. “I… Yes, Chloe? The fey woman you were seeing? I thought you moved here to be closer to her and her covey.”
“Oh. Yes. Chloe.” He began walking again. “We broke up a couple months ago. I must have forgotten to tell you.”
Kaz felt a ripple of tension move through Atria. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she replied weakly.
Norman approached a swinging door. Pressing his palm against the center, he pushed it open and held it, revealing what Kaz could only assume was the former hardware store’s main floor and the lab it now housed.
Atria moved to pass him without hesitation, offering the appropriateoo-ingandahh-ingas she walked through the doorway. Kaz gritted his teeth. He didnotlike putting Norman at his back, but when they locked eyes, he knew immediately that the man wouldn’t be moving aside.
Forcing his clamoring instincts down, he hurried after Atria into the lab. Behind him, the door swung shut with abang.
Kaz pressed himself against Atria’s back. They both stood still and stared out at the lab’s cluttered floor.
Several workstations spanned the concrete floor, and wheeled racks were scattered between them. Huge coils of wire were piled in corners, and one entire wall was consumed by a bank of monitors, all of them processing what looked to be a mix of code and sigils.
None of that stopped him in his tracks, though.
No, what shocked him was thebodies.
It took him a handful of tense seconds to realize what he was looking at was not, in fact, the hanging corpses of people, but machines.M-droids.
