“Why?” she asks slowly… as if she’s afraid of the answer.
“The medical scanner cleared her, but I want a human doctor to check her out too. Cindy’s busy… Taking her into the city isn’t that big of a risk.”
She doesn’t want to do it. But eventually, Kimba sighs and dips her head in a quick nod. “Fine. I’ll set something up and you four can coordinate how to get there and who goes with.”
She stands and looks solely at Chrys. “You and I are going to have a conversation later… without these three around.”
Kimba wants to make sure she understands what staying would mean. She wants to knowwhichof us Chrys would choose.
I try not to look at Arc, but he doesn’t manage to keep the knowledge of her thoughts from his face.
Thank the saints she doesn’t know what the scowl he just pulled was for.
“I’m leaving now, because staying much longer would make the others ask questions. And none of us want nosey Nellys dropping by, now do we?”
“I don’t know what that means,” Shock says, “But I’m sure you’re right.”
Leaving Chrys with Shock, Arc and I follow Kimba to the door. Arc knows what I’m about to tell her. If he wanted me to stop, he would have made me already.
“The Company is involved.”
Kimba looks from me back to the others. “You’re sure?”
I can’t tell her how I know, but, “Yes. Have the CSS figured out what’s going on in Calisan?”
“No. But Drift’s contact is heading out there to see what’s going on in a few days.”
Arc puts his hand on my shoulder and tells her, “I’m going with him.”
Her brows fly up. “Is that already planned, or have you just decided?”
“Yes.”
She shakes her head and closes her eyes so she doesn’t roll them. “Fine, but you know I’m going to tell D, and you know he isn’t going to be happy.”
“None of us are happy about how she got here. He can join our bad mood.”
Glancing past us, she watches Chrys and Shock as she teaches him how to play rock, paper, scissors.
“Be careful. And I know I don’t have to tell you to take care of her. I’ve seen the shopping list.”
“Good.” I don’t tell her to stop poking. Her curiosity has been sated. “Remind your mate that he trusts us to make certain judgements on our own. This was one of them.”
“Sure.” She gets the last of her snow gear on. “And you keep telling yourself he’s the one you need to worry about.”
CHAPTER
THREE
SHOCK
Between Kimba and Mary,she has a doctor’s appointment scheduled for two hours later.
We can’t all go with her.
We never take the same day off… and if we all disappeared at once, someonewouldcome investigating.
It would be Trench. I don’t need to see the future to know that much. Since he found out about Arc’s actual mutation, he’s been more wary of all three of us. And Trench and Richter are thelastof the brothers we want poking around today.
