“You one of those girls who slinks around and never talks?” he said with a scowl.
My head flew up, startled. Then I shrugged, deciding to go with it. Me, passing as a sullen teenager? I should probably be flattered. I doubted Three would ever be accused of that.
Ashleigh padded over to straddle an empty chair at the table. Completely unself-conscious, she draped her forearms over the chair back and rested her chin on top. “So, what brings you guys to this less-than-thrilling part of town?”
Grady frowned at her. “They’re looking for Mila’s relatives—the O’Dailys.”
Did it mean something, that he’d gotten the name wrong? Or was he feigning ignorance?
Hunter shifted position in his chair so that he could once again rest a hand on my shoulder. “Just Daily,” he corrected.
Grady’s gaze slid back and forth between Hunter and me, before he grunted. “Hope you kids like steak, because that’s what we’re having. I threw some on the grill right before you came, and I always cook a few extras. Or, if you’re one of those vegetarian people like that one,” he said, nodding at Ashleigh, “we’ve got some healthy crap—grilled eggplant.”
Ashleigh grinned. “Do you really want to get into another debate of factory farming practices in America?”
Grady held up his hands as if deflecting a punch and backed away. “I didn’t say anything.” But he winked at her, brown eyes shining. I bit my lip and had to look away, my heart aching. These two shared the kind of bond I’d never have again. Not with Mom gone.
“I’ll take steak, thank you,” Hunter said.
“Me too,” I murmured, having lost what little fake appetite I’d possessed.
Grady grunted a reply, then opened the dark oak cabinet doors and rummaged around, before pulling out an oversized platter. He headed toward the sliding glass doors that led to the backyard, opened them, and walked outside, to where a built-in grill was the centerpiece of a brick-lined patio. A huge yard, at least an acre.
A harsh ring came from somewhere down the hall. Grady appeared in the doorway. “Ashleigh, keep an eye on those steaks for a second—I’ll be right back.”
As I watched him depart, Ashleigh laughed. “Gramps doesn’t believe in cell phones—he thinks they’re too risky. Old folks.”
I shifted uneasily in my chair. She’d cemented my observation that Grady was the suspicious type. Speaking of which, who was calling him, and did we have any reason to be concerned?
I stared in the direction Grady had gone, then pushed to my feet. “Where’s the bathroom?” I asked.
Ashleigh pointed. “Around the corner and down the hall.” I saw her pull a black and maroon smartphone out of her pocket as I sped out of the room. “I don’t know how he survives without one of these. I mean, seriously, how do you keep in touch with your friends without one?”
I started down the hall, then paused outside of a closed door. From the other side, I could hear the low murmur of Grady’s voice, but still couldn’t catch what he was saying. I bit my lip in frustration. Surely there should be some kind of way to hear?
Voice amplification requested?
The new prompt just appeared, popping into my head out of nowhere like an uninvited guest. But not unwelcome.
Yes.
A pulse in response. And then:
Tap left ear three times to activate.
Hurriedly, I lifted my index finger. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Voice amplification activated.
Choose voice to apply?
A blue circle appeared, and then separated into three distinct smaller circles. Grady, Hunter, and Ashleigh? I guessed. I focused on the one on the left.
Suddenly, every other noise fell away, until all that was left was Grady’s drawl. I’d chosen correctly. The sound was merely a faint whisper at first, growing and growing in volume in time to the numbers that flashed before me.
2x
Tiny concentric rings pulsed outward from the circle, in sync with the increasing volume.
3x
5x
Each time, the rings pulsed, and the volume rose, until finally, Grady’s voice filled my head, loud enough to distinguish his every word with crisp, clear definition.
“I’ll be at the course next week, don’t you worry, John. I’m gonna kick your behind on the back nine holes.”
I couldn’t hear the voice on the other end of the phone, but I did hear an odd tapping.
GrSecureNet in use.
The update notified me with a single power surge, and I realized Grady was typing on the secure network. My gut tightened. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, I needed to find out.
“Thanks for calling me back so quickly. Yeah, I’ll keep you posted … that’s right. Three-six-three-seven.”
I took a hasty step back, my manufactured pulse pounding a crazed rhythm in my ears. That number, 3637. Too many coincidences now. I knew that number, and it was one that no one but Mom should know. That was the number in our street address from Philly. Our fictitious address, the one that only existed in my programmed memories.
Or so I’d thought. Was it a real address, and I’d somehow just alerted Grady to check it out? Or was it a code, one that Mom had shared with Grady?
I knew now that Grady was involved somehow, but I still couldn’t tell if he was friend or foe.
By the end of the night, I would find out. By whatever means necessary. But I had to be very, very cautious.
“Talk to you soon.”
I heard a click, and I scrambled away from the door, turning toward the bathroom. Meanwhile, the blue circle representing Grady quit pulsing and shrank in size. I backed out of the Grady circle in my mind and in doing so, inadvertently swept over the other two, activating them.
“I’m glad you guys decided to stay. Gramps is great, but he’s so overprotective. He wouldn’t dream of letting me live on campus, and it gets a little dull not having anyone my age around to talk to, you know? I want to travel so bad, and of course he won’t hear of it.”
“Why’s that?” Hunter’s voice this time, loud and clear.
I reached the bathroom doorway, ready to dart inside the second Grady’s door opened. Now, I just needed to figure out how to turn this sucker off.
Deactivate volume amplification?
Yes.
Tap left ear three times to deactivate.
“Not safe, too many crazies, blah blah blah. It’s so awesome that you get to travel with your girlfriend! She seems pretty cool.”
My fingers froze in midair. Girlfriend? I didn’t want to hear Hunter shoot that down … but I couldn’t seem to make my hand move.
“Yeah. She is. And we are lucky to travel together—it’s been great.”
With fingers that were suddenly less steady, I tapped a third time, then entered the bathroom and just stood there in a trance. She’d called me his girlfriend, and Hunter hadn’t argued. That was insane. Ridiculous. And utterly, completely amazing.
My phantom pulse pounded; my almost heart swelled in my chest. For that one, fractured moment, I let myself forget everything, and just feel all the giddy elation of being a real girl. I allowed myself a few moments of