Trace groaned at my words, and I shoved my shoulder against his, barely moving him. He started slapping at his neck and groaned even louder.
“You have got to get some control over Shadow. Ow! Stop her before she freezes me to death.” Trace waved his hand as if that would do anything to shoo her away.
I ignored him, continuing on as if I hadn't been interrupted. “If there's a Harvester running around, who's to say that he or she hasn't already been inside your mind? I want to take a peek and see if someone has tampered with you.”
Axton dropped his fork into his box and shook his head. “You want to have free rein in our memories? I don't think so. Besides, if we were missing gaps of time, we would know. You said whoever Harvested that Reaper wasn't very good, right?”
“Well, yes, but that doesn't mean they aren't capable. Perhaps they were in a hurry and decided being delicate didn't really matter. That guy was a throwaway that they hoped would work out. If he didn't? Who cares? And no, you might not know. I've placed seamless transitions between implanted memories and real memories. I've melded the edges around the parts I've removed to make it feel natural,” I explained.
The trio shifted in their seats while Grace stared at me hard, something I couldn't place peeking out through her eyes.
“Have you ever done that to us?” Kian looked down, his cheeks turning grey.
There it was. The question that I knew they would ask. It didn't bother me, and that little sensation of having a splinter lodged in my chest did not mean that I felt hurt. After all, that should be the logical line of thought. Shadow sent an image of someone scoffing.
“Of course, I have.”
Their movement increased, and Trace twisted in his seat, abandoning his meal.
“If you'll recall, I Harvested Trace here in the alley when we first started working together. Now, I'll admit it wasn't my best work, mostly because I didn't worry about him not knowing. You two would have told him, anyway, so why bother smoothing it out and adding the few steps that confused him. Or I could have simply removed the moment altogether and stitched up the ends of the broken fragment.” I shrugged and leaned back, crossing my legs as I finished the honesty portion of the speech. “I've already explained I've had plenty of practice.”
“And that's it? Only that minor part in the alley where you made Trace let go of you and left him confused?” Kian pressed.
“Yes, and that's not what I plan on doing here. I'm not even going to be watching at the content of the memories themselves. I just need to follow the edges, looking for anything too ragged or too smooth. Maybe a wrinkle where things aren't joined together very well. I'm certainly not planning on living through a lifetime of memories, and even if I wanted to, we don't have much time.”
Besides, if I truly wished to know everything they did, I could have already done it. The trio slept under the same roof as I did, and Grace stayed once. Not to mention, I could have wiped her clean while we stood behind the building earlier or taken her around a corner while we were in the Soulless part of the city.
I understood, though. All of them, except Kian, leaked hints of fear, uncertainty, and even shame. The latter, I attributed to Axton and his guilt over Bevan making an appearance. I closed my eyes and waited, listening to the creaking of their seats as they fidgeted.
Honestly, it would have surprised me if any of them agreed immediately. Allowing anyone into such a vulnerable area deserved substantial consideration. If they refused, then I would drop it. At least, I would until the possibility nagged me enough that I asked again. Still, I hoped they would agree because it would leave me feeling a bit safer and show that no one had gotten to them yet.
Finally, Kian broke the silence. “I want to know if anyone has been playing around in my head.”
My gaze found his, and I tried to convey my gratitude with my eyes. It must have worked because he offered me a brief smile, just a little quirk of his lips before it disappeared. He sucked in a breath when I stood and closed the distance between us. I crouched in front