He snorted. “Says you.” He threw my words back in my face. “There are other ways to bite. Even if the scientists and our government claim we’re safe, we’re not. Nothing without a soul can be presumed harmless, and this whole damned country has lost its mind, betting our lives on it. We already have hungry people because of your friendly bees.
“In addition, one keeper reported being attacked, shocked multiple times. He’s okay, but if it had been more than a handful, a swarm, he could have been electrocuted, or worse. Thus the reason we wear rubber suits. An attack is coming. Mark my words. We’ll all be dead if we don’t do something now.”
“Nobody is going to die because of the entos. Never going to happen.”
“Tell me, have you ever killed anyone?”
Why did he ask? Did I look like a murderer? My mouth opened, but I couldn’t say anything. Instead, I shook my head and swallowed, pressing into the wall.
He glanced down at his chrono and back up at me. “Well, have you?” He slammed his hand over the lock, and the lift doors opened. I eyed the gap behind him.
“You won’t make it.”
Had he seen the desperate look on enough faces to know I wanted to bolt? If so, how many had died before me? Maybe the rebels had killed the keepers. The way he spoke certainly had me questioning their denial in the deaths. If he wanted my cooperation, he’d need me to trust him. The look I gave him should’ve made it clear it wouldn’t happen any time soon. Not with him acting like an ax murderer.
“Relax. I’m not going to kill you. I’m trying to explain why I’m here.”
“That’s a funny thing to say to someone when you want them to relax.”
“We have over one hundred thousand people on these islands. All of them are dependent on your bees. If you keep fixing them, you’re going to condemn us all to extinction. Man cannot rely solely on technology for survival. People have begun to starve. There have been riots in the streets. Murders. And it’s only going to get worse when you can’t get them back online and keep them running. What if the entos turn against us and we can’t go back to the hives to reboot their programming? You’ve taught them to learn from their experiences—and they are learning. Have you thought about how the energy source we use keeps us on these islands, unable to venture out and replenish other dwindling resources? How long do you think we can keep manufacturing houses and transportation before we run out of materials to build them?”
“Impossible. They’ve been programmed to do no harm to humans. As far as traveling, it’s not safe to venture beyond our borders. Nothing is out there for us but death.”
“A beekeeper was shocked multiple times by a handful of your entos the other day when he tried to shut down a dysfunctional hive and deactivate the bees. Put him in the hospital. Melted a quarter of his skin. Ten of your supposedly harmless bees managed to cause those injuries.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You are the liar. If the bees attacked someone, I would’ve been informed. Probably would’ve been one of the first to know.”
“There’s a whole lot you don’t know. You’re blind to it because you are not aware it’s there. There’s more beyond our borders than you ever imagined. There are others, outsiders. I know you’re intelligent. How can you buy into the government’s lies so easy? We are not alone on this planet, and it’s time we reached out to other people.”
I snorted. “No one exists outside the Net. They would’ve come here by now.”
“We’ve already had outsiders on our soil, but some people stand to lose too much money if the truth gets out. Others have come here. The government killed them.”
“Do you have proof of any of what you claim?”
“Look at the burn on your shoulder.” He nodded toward my wound. “As for the outsiders, you’re just going to have to trust me.”
I glanced at it and back to him. “So? I told you they can emit a small shock. It isn’t fatal, as you can see me standing here, breathing, with a first degree burn—maybe. And trusting you is the last thing on my agenda.”
“We’ll finish talking about this inside your residence.” He pointed his tranq gun and motioned for me to step off the lift and walk. “Let’s go.”
I swept past him and down the hall, stopping in front of a barrier. Eli grabbed my wrist and pressed my hand onto the pad.
“Welcome home, Iia.” The door slid open as my processing unit spoke to me, its computer generated voice a familiar version of about every other home keeper.”
He snorted.
“What?”
“I bet you named the damned thing, as though it’s human.”
I smirked. “Hello, Walter.” And I had. Why pretend otherwise? If he didn’t like it, he could leave.
“Not a surprise with technology junkies, you know.” He eyed the panel and then proceeded to mock me. “Hello, Walter,” Eli repeated my greeting, somehow knowing it irritated me when he addressed my processor’s name. Bad manners. “You know how I know?”
“I bet you’re going to tell me.”
“You single geeks develop relationships with the soulless devices, somehow believing they give a damn and can fill the void left behind by your lack of interaction with other humans.”
“Huh.”
Walter ignored him as expected, programmed to only respond to me. That made me feel pretty good. I might have been offended if he’d engaged the intruder.
“I see you have a visitor. Would you like me to set up the guest bedroom?” Walter asked.
“No, he won’t be staying.” I glanced back and gave my captor a sharp look.
“I apologize, mistress, but it appears to be five minutes before curfew. He will be unable to leave safely. Are you sure?”
“I’m pretty damn—”
Eli pressed the barrel into my shoulder.
“Yes, please set up the spare room.” My shoulders stiffened and chest tightened.
“You might want to make room for two others.”
“What?” I started to spin around to confront him, and the rebel shoved me through the opening to my residence, following on my heels.
“I have friends coming. We are going to search your apartment until we find what we are looking for.”
“Of course you are.”
He came to a sudden stop and gasped. Before us stood a wall of glass. The view sprawled over the sparkling city, the first thing anyone who entered my apartment saw. His mouth dropped open, and he stared. I didn’t have to turn around to look at his face. I could see his amazement in the reflection. I couldn’t blame him. I’d been drawn to this place only because of the view. It sure wasn’t the neighborhood that brought me here, where all kinds of unsavory people lurked. Like my new rebel friend.
I took in the view, wishing I were alone to enjoy it, not being held hostage by a radical. Brilliant prisms of light danced across the horizon, triggered by the setting sun’s rays striking the force crystal volcano on a distant deserted island. Its beams bounced off the ocean and reflected back at the city. Sententia’s version of the Northern Lights and nothing short of breathtaking.
The Islanders named the volcano after the war. The extinct mountain had a fierce kind of beauty, earned from the most violent of assaults. During the final battle, a missile struck a ship traveling near enough to impact our paradise and melt the volcano’s surface to black glass on one side. It was the closest we’d come to the War, and the reason we feared contamination in the water around the islands for years after the attack.
Normally the view calmed me. Now, it only served to show me how high up I lived and how impossible escape would be.
“It’s a pity.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to ask, but blurted it out anyway. “Why?”
“The lights of the city drown the prism out. The technology beast takes yet another sacrifice to satisfy its unquenchable thirst, destroying without thought.”
“Right—the root of all evil. Computers. Don’t forget where the view came from.”
�
��It may have come from man, but I believe the beacon it sends out is from God. A warning not to forget what the lust for power will get us.” Eli pointed at the colored lights dancing on the horizon, as though I didn’t have a clue to what he referred, also making it clear he knew I watched him in the reflection. Not much slipped past him.
“I suppose.” I spun around and casually made my way toward a bookcase off to his left.
He was right. The lights dimmed the beauty. Though I could only see a portion of the beauty, he couldn’t blame me for spending a fortune to have the view. He’d have done the same thing if feasible and within his budget. I would bet on it from the way he’d stared. Awestruck.
I reached down and grabbed an iron candlestick inside a niche in the entry wall. Eli watched my fingers curl around the blackened metal from out of the corner of his eye. I took a chance I was faster. With only seconds to react, he threw his hand up as I whirled around and swung. His forearm blocked my attack, and he slid his palm down my arm, hooking my wrist. He slammed me against the wall, pressing his body against me, pinning me in place.
My chest rose and fell. Anger radiated from him, vibrating in the air between us. Each breath he exhaled washed over my lips. “There’s no reason not to be social. I haven’t harmed you.”
“You’ve forced me against my will. That’s plenty of reason.”
“To do what? Go home? You were coming up here anyway.”
My heart beat in time with his. Our gazes remained locked. I could see the passion in his eyes. He fervently believed in his crazy mission. “Get off.”
He pried the candlestick from my fingers, keeping his gaze locked on mine. “You don’t need this.” Anger clipped his words, a warning.
I didn’t say anything, but I didn’t have to. I planned to hurt him badly the moment he let his guard down.
“I know what you think you’re going to do. I can see it in your face. Read it like a familiar book. You don’t even come close to having a poker face, or hair.” The corner of his mouth quirked up. “You have a green afro.”
I wanted to look at the windows to catch my reflection, to confirm the god-awful image, but I didn’t dare break the stare down. “Good, so we’re clear if you turn your back on me, I will hurt you.”
“I promise I’m not here for an evil purpose.”
He lied. He’d gassed my neighbors, kidnapped me, and other keepers, possibly killing them, and blamed the government. I wasn’t stupid. Far from it.
“You are so unique, Iia. Surrounded by technology which offers you the chance to be anyone, you choose to be yourself, except for your hair, which is a pity. The nano-cosmetics cover your natural beauty, like the city hides the prism. But your eyes, you kept them as they are. Some would think the hue a boring olive. I think they’re lovely.
“You thumb your nose at society, even though you claim not to. You are very much an against-the-grain person, aren’t you? I don’t think you’re as devoted to our government as you’d have me believe.”
My eyes, though not vibrant like the women who cell-shifted, couldn’t be a more perfect shade for me. The creepy thing about it—he totally got me. I’d broken a few laws in my twenty-two years of existence, and I would break a few more before I breathed my last breath. I wasn’t sure if I should be flattered or scared. Scared most likely, since one other thing had red alerts flashing, and it had nothing to do with his insight. “If you mean no harm, you need to put that away.”
“Fair enough.” He tossed the candlestick over on a donut-shaped settee in the middle of a sunken area, all while keeping me pinned to the wall. His failure to back off irritated me further.
Of course, I hadn’t meant the candlestick. I didn’t like the way my body reacted to our contact. A little too excited for a girl who’d sworn to remain celibate, especially when what my body took notice of was my crazy kidnapper. My pulse had sped up. My stomach fluttered. I didn’t know if the stress had triggered the reaction or something else. Does Stockholm syndrome happen this fast?
I licked my lips, watching his eyes track my tongue. He wanted me. Unacceptable. The man required further clarification. “Not the candlestick.” I leaned in closer, until I could smell the mint he’d plucked from the ground and chewed while I’d worked on the hive. “Put your erection away. You won’t need it.”
His grip on me tightened, but he didn’t move otherwise.
I cleared my throat. “What I meant, since that wasn’t clear enough, is you should get your dick off me.”
My words must have cut through the fog in his brain, finally bringing him back to reality. Eli blinked. “Shit.” He shoved off the wall, freeing me. “I apologize.” He backed up a couple of steps, but didn’t stop staring. The silence echoed in the sealed apartment.
“Right,” I said. My breath hitched ever so slightly as I tugged on the lower edge of my top, covering my stomach which had been exposed when he slammed me against the wall.
His gaze traveled down my body and back up. His pupils were dilated. I prayed he couldn’t smell the musk from my panties. Somewhere from point A to point B, I’d gotten a little excited myself. Why? No clue. I’d only met him moments before.
“Look, I’m not some rapist or killer. Please trust me.”
“You’re wearing a rubber suit under your uniform, spouting nonsense about the bees attacking us, and that outsiders, who our government has supposedly murdered, have visited the islands.” I began to tick off on my fingers. “You’ve taken me captive, threatened to knock me out, poisoned my neighbors with God knows what, and you’re excited to be here with me. Oh yeah, that screams I should trust you.”
“I’m not the only one excited, honey. You don’t have to have a dick for me to notice.”
I flinched. Heat rushed across my cheeks, and how thankful I was for my mocha complexion, toning down what would otherwise be an obvious blush. How could he know? Had he in fact, scented my arousal? I glanced left and right, wanting to crawl somewhere and hide.
“I want the key, Iia.”
“What?”
“The default codes or key to shut down the power grid, disconnect from the satellites. It’s the only way we can stop the entos.”
“I told you, I don’t have what you’re looking for.” I reached up and touched my throat.
“You have them. Somewhere. You’re Iia Danner. The great-great-granddaughter of the creator of the Teslan power grid, and the last member of the bloodline. Your father would’ve passed the information down, and you are going to help me recover it. Thousands of lives depend on it.” He reached up and peeled off the rubber half-mask, letting me get a good look at his entire face, and not just his eyes and mouth. “That’s why I asked you if you’ve killed anyone. Because if you don’t help me, you will be responsible for the deaths of everyone on these islands.”
I pressed my hand over my heart.
4
“You’re…” The most wanted man in Sententia. My situation had gone from bad to worse, and all I could do was blink. The room spun. I stumbled away from the wall, dropping to sit on my sofa as though I’d imbibed too much alcohol.
He moved before me and kneeled down, looking me in the eyes. I couldn’t retreat or gather my composure.
He knew he’d backed me into a corner. I could go no further, physically or emotionally. Adrenaline continued to flood my system, increasing the desire to put distance between us. I jerked my face away. Instead, I studied my door, looking anywhere but where I’d be forced to face the man before me. I wanted to pretend he didn’t exist inside my bubble.
He stood against everything I believed in. I’d seen his face on the billboards, declaring him a public enemy. The ultimate bad boy. I fallen into deep trouble, and a niggling in the back of my mind told me I only stood at the threshold to my house of pain. Things were about to get a lot worse. The next decision I made could very well change my life. I really didn’t want to think about what brought this man into my home and the domino effect his presence could trigger.
But he gave me no choice.
Eli reached up and cupped my chin, turning me back to face him. He studied me for a moment, the inspection so intense I felt nude under his scrutiny. “I need the codes, sweetheart.”
“I’m not your sweetheart.” Gravel invaded my voice as gritty words rasped past my lips. It didn’t sound like me, and for a second, it almost seemed like another woman had entered the conversation.
“Pity.” His thumb brushed my cheek, and he leaned in until our faces were inches apart. “You look like you could use a good hard toss on the mattress.”
Shove him away. The walls around us contracted, drawing closer, shrinking the space we sat in. My nipples pebbled into stones, and I didn’t dare to draw a breath for fear the fabric of my top would rub against the hard nubs. Every place our bodies made contact, my knees against his hips, his palm on my jaw, the pad of his damned thumb as he traced circles on my cheek, all of it burned. I swallowed as my throat constricted. “No.”
“No?”
My jaw pulsed against his palm, and the pounding of my heart accelerated to the point I wasn’t sure I could draw a breath. My heart slammed hard against my ribs, the force I could feel in my throat. In my belly, desire coiled, drawn tighter with each second. I would be considered a traitor to even feel an attraction to this man. And yet, I did. Something so intense it could only be declared treason. “You’re him.”
“I am.” He continued to hold my gaze—the most dangerous man in Sententia. Report on sight. I had to react, scream for Walter to call security, do anything but sit there. But I was too busy noticing his scent, the intense blue of his eyes, the way his voice moved through me like a seductive storm, saturating every inch of my body, bringing a heightened awareness of the primal masculinity he possessed in excessive quantities.
“So, you finally recognize me?” The corner of his mouth twitched, and he reached up and tugged one of my corkscrew curls.
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