The Final Six (The Final Six #1) - Alexandra Monir Page 0,70

ever moved in my life. Neither of us says a word as we sprint toward the staircase, and for once I’m thankful for the rain and thunder, as it muffles the sound of us pounding up the steps, our panting breaths.

Within minutes we’re back on the Hab floor, running past the deserted cafeteria and library to the darkened dorm wing. My heartbeat only starts to stabilize when we reach the corridor that separates the girls’ wing from the boys’. We made it.

“You—you were amazing,” I whisper. “Thank you.”

Leo shakes his head, his expression dazed. “You’re the one who told me to grab the stun gun. I just remembered to use it.”

“The way you used it is the reason we’re standing here now.” I touch his arm. “I was wrong before, when I said I didn’t need you.”

A smile lights his face. “I’ll remember that. And . . . maybe now you can take a break from trying to get in as much trouble as possible?”

“I guess I do owe you that much,” I say wryly. “And I promise I’ll wait for a few days to go by before I even attempt to access Dot with my drive, to make sure no one’s onto us.”

“What about the utility robots?” Leo winces. “Are you sure I didn’t do any permanent damage?”

“I’m sure. And the electric shocks wiped the past three minutes of their memories, which means they’ll have no data of seeing us.” I take a step closer to him. “Once again, you were amazing. I just—I’m really sorry I almost roped you into disaster.”

“Maybe I should be mad,” he acknowledges. “But . . . before I followed you, I was back in that dark place that storms always bring me to. You distracted me. So . . . maybe it was worth it.”

My chest fills with warmth at his words. “I—I’m glad.”

“And I have to admit, I never thought I’d see the day where I’d manage to disarm three robots. I won’t forget that one.” He grins.

“You definitely have bragging rights for days,” I agree, smiling back.

“So what should we say tomorrow, when people ask why we weren’t in the tunnel? I’m guessing they noticed.”

I nod, thinking quickly. “Let’s just pretend we didn’t make it to the tunnel in time—that we were lagging behind and the door closed before we got there, so we had to wait out the storm in our rooms. I know Dr. Takumi took a head count when we were still there, but between the finalists and instructors and all the chaos, it’s not hard to believe that he could have counted an extra two.”

“Yeah. That makes sense.” He takes a breath. “Goodnight, Naomi.”

“Night, Leo.”

He inches closer to me, and then seems to think better of it, backing away again. I wish he hadn’t.

“Sleep well. And for God’s sake, hide that flash drive—somewhere no one in the world could find it but you.”

“I will. I’ve taken to keeping it right here.” I gesture to my bra, and then instantly turn bright red. Too much information, Naomi.

“Oh! Good—good thinking,” Leo stammers. “Well. I’ll see you in the morning, then.”

“See you.”

As I watch his retreating figure turn toward the boys’ wing, I can’t help smiling.

It’s nice to see him a little flustered.

I’m just managing to drift off to sleep when the sound of someone barging through my door jolts me awake. I sit upright, heart racing, as Lark slams the door behind her and looms over my bed. Her eyes flash with fury.

“What were you thinking?” she snaps. “Do you realize I risked my job covering for the two of you?”

She knows. I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out—my throat is like sandpaper. I grasp for the right words to explain, to sugarcoat what I did, but I can’t come up with anything better than a pathetic, “It’s not what you think.”

“Oh, it’s exactly what I think.” Lark’s eyes are like daggers. “I should have guessed earlier. It was obvious something was going on between the two of you—but I didn’t think you’d ever be so reckless as to risk your lives during a storm and sneak off together, right under Dr. Takumi’s nose!”

My face heats up in embarrassment as I realize what Lark’s getting at. But then . . . could her misunderstanding let us off the hook?

“So you’re saying you know . . . about me and Leo?” I ask, testing her.

“Obviously!” She throws her hands up in exasperation. “What do you have to