bouncing on the water, blown by an unnatural breeze.
“I’m still wrapping my mind around the time travel thing. It sounds like a bunch of…” Something. She couldn’t quite wrap her tongue around the word. Rubbing a hand against her face, she looked up at the sunshine. “What about Ronan? Do we know anything about where he is?”
Curtis shook his head, a solemn pall drifting over the group. “Not a peep. We searched the place in Russia, but it was abandoned. Rory hit the server farm in Canada, but the information is still decrypting.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure they’ve decrypted it, but Michael’s still trying to decide on the data before he shares.” Rory stared at the ocean, her mouth a flat, thin line.
“Why are you with him?” Amanda couldn’t take it anymore. “He’s a prick.”
“Leave it alone,” Josh advised, but Rory held up a hand.
“It’s okay. He’s not as bad as he seems and, trust me, he’s a pussycat right now compared to how he was when we met. He’s got a lot on his plate. The future weighs on him every single moment of every single day. A future he wants to stop from happening and is so freaking obsessed by that I don’t think he can appreciate the moments.” She looked at Amanda then, her blue-violet eyes so dark they went purple. “But I trust him without reservation. I don’t intentionally keep things from him to hurt him or prevent his mission. I believe in it, and I believe in him. I wish I could explain it better.”
“The possibility of him?” No one really understood Rory’s abilities. Not even their years in The Program found a way to quantify it. Most of the time, her mind just worked faster than theirs, processing all the pieces of data—from her impressions, to noticing how someone breathed, to the angle of the sun—all of it in a few seconds before she produced an answer or a plan.
Most of the time she was right.
Rory nodded once. “But enough about me. What happened to you? You haven’t said anything, and I’m assuming that’s because you don’t know how much you can reveal to them?”
“I couldn’t hide that from Simon if I tried. He’s in here, remember?” She tapped her head. It should make her uncomfortable. Even thirty yards from the Hamptons house, she could feel him—observing quietly. It was like having a personal bodyguard standing at attention, but his back was to her. Present, but not quite involved. “And I haven’t said anything because I don’t remember. I remember…fragments, procedures. Being trapped and struggling. I remember screaming.” Her voice softened. “And I remember pain. But then it fades to gray nothingness. Like my mind has this film playing on a loop, only there are holes in it. The doc says that could be the result of the metal poisoning from the chip or shoddy surgery or the fact that mercury was in retrograde the day you rescued me.”
She liked Ilsa. Her genuine frustration at being unable to just fix Amanda actually made her feel better.
“All right, then what’s our plan?” Curtis slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans. From the beginning, he had been the calmest member of their group of five. He took his time about making decisions and remained slow to anger. But once he set on a course, it was hard to deter him.
“We keep looking for Ronan. I know it may not fit with their plan and their tasks, but we don’t stop until we’re all together again. That has to be our priority.” Rory transferred her gaze to Amanda. “Your priority is to get better. If Simon can help, we go that route. But if you’re not comfortable…”
“No. I’m fine. I don’t know about the others so much, but Simon’s okay. He has a sense of humor under all that unflappableness.” Is unflappable even a word?
It is very difficult to afford you your privacy when you ask questions. Amusement tinged his response.
Then apparently I’m not all that worried about privacy. I do feel a little weird though. Her
“I’m still wrapping my mind around the time travel thing. It sounds like a bunch of…” Something. She couldn’t quite wrap her tongue around the word. Rubbing a hand against her face, she looked up at the sunshine. “What about Ronan? Do we know anything about where he is?”
Curtis shook his head, a solemn pall drifting over the group. “Not a peep. We searched the place in Russia, but it was abandoned. Rory hit the server farm in Canada, but the information is still decrypting.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure they’ve decrypted it, but Michael’s still trying to decide on the data before he shares.” Rory stared at the ocean, her mouth a flat, thin line.
“Why are you with him?” Amanda couldn’t take it anymore. “He’s a prick.”
“Leave it alone,” Josh advised, but Rory held up a hand.
“It’s okay. He’s not as bad as he seems and, trust me, he’s a pussycat right now compared to how he was when we met. He’s got a lot on his plate. The future weighs on him every single moment of every single day. A future he wants to stop from happening and is so freaking obsessed by that I don’t think he can appreciate the moments.” She looked at Amanda then, her blue-violet eyes so dark they went purple. “But I trust him without reservation. I don’t intentionally keep things from him to hurt him or prevent his mission. I believe in it, and I believe in him. I wish I could explain it better.”
“The possibility of him?” No one really understood Rory’s abilities. Not even their years in The Program found a way to quantify it. Most of the time, her mind just worked faster than theirs, processing all the pieces of data—from her impressions, to noticing how someone breathed, to the angle of the sun—all of it in a few seconds before she produced an answer or a plan.
Most of the time she was right.
Rory nodded once. “But enough about me. What happened to you? You haven’t said anything, and I’m assuming that’s because you don’t know how much you can reveal to them?”
“I couldn’t hide that from Simon if I tried. He’s in here, remember?” She tapped her head. It should make her uncomfortable. Even thirty yards from the Hamptons house, she could feel him—observing quietly. It was like having a personal bodyguard standing at attention, but his back was to her. Present, but not quite involved. “And I haven’t said anything because I don’t remember. I remember…fragments, procedures. Being trapped and struggling. I remember screaming.” Her voice softened. “And I remember pain. But then it fades to gray nothingness. Like my mind has this film playing on a loop, only there are holes in it. The doc says that could be the result of the metal poisoning from the chip or shoddy surgery or the fact that mercury was in retrograde the day you rescued me.”
She liked Ilsa. Her genuine frustration at being unable to just fix Amanda actually made her feel better.
“All right, then what’s our plan?” Curtis slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans. From the beginning, he had been the calmest member of their group of five. He took his time about making decisions and remained slow to anger. But once he set on a course, it was hard to deter him.
“We keep looking for Ronan. I know it may not fit with their plan and their tasks, but we don’t stop until we’re all together again. That has to be our priority.” Rory transferred her gaze to Amanda. “Your priority is to get better. If Simon can help, we go that route. But if you’re not comfortable…”
“No. I’m fine. I don’t know about the others so much, but Simon’s okay. He has a sense of humor under all that unflappableness.” Is unflappable even a word?
It is very difficult to afford you your privacy when you ask questions. Amusement tinged his response.
Then apparently I’m not all that worried about privacy. I do feel a little weird though. Her
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