to get a peek at whatever secret lay hidden in the locked building.
And CRA? That was also the name of the network that connected the grant kids’ phones.
Lucas?
I had to talk to him, but I wasn’t sure I could initiate contact from my end.
Hi.
I smiled and filled him in on the new development, telling him I’d inform the others at breakfast.
Hang on a sec.
When a minute passed and he hadn’t returned, I tensed. Had we lost the connection?
I’m back.
His voice soothed away the frantic flutter beneath my ribs.
Go to the dean’s office in an hour. We need to fix something.
The tension crept back into my chest.
Fix something?
But his answer was unsatisfying.
Can’t explain now. Talk later.
Since I didn’t have a choice, I echoed him.
Later.
When I showed up outside the dean’s office, my “dad” and “stepbrother” were already waiting for me.
Lucas held out the small duffel bag. “Here you go. Next time, make a list so you don’t forget stuff.”
I accepted the bag. “Sorry. I’m a sucky packer. I admit it.”
My voice sounded light. My acting was impressive. Because the familiar sight of Lucas, the familiar smell, did funny things to my stomach.
“Daughters,” said Daniel, as in, “What can you do?”
The natural way he said the word packed an emotional punch of its own.
Both of them, so close, made my heart swell unexpectedly. I’d missed them these last two days.
Last two days. In my head, the words were a warning.
Today. Tomorrow. That was all the time we had left at Montford.
“Take a walk?” I asked, all too conscious of the video camera that perched on the gate.
We ambled down the path that led away from the administrative offices and toward the outer entrance to the dorms.
“What’s up?” I almost whispered.
“We just wanted to make sure you had fresh clothes. Your toothpaste. Oh, and your flash drive. And new burn phones, for the others,” Daniel said in a low voice. “Lucas made some . . . adaptations.”
Fixing something.
As we walked, Lucas pulled a tiny square from his pocket and slipped it into my hand.
“You want me to use it now?” I whispered, scanning the area. No one was in front of the building, but I detected two students around the far right corner.
Daniel lagged behind and took up the center of the path. “I’ll give you two a little privacy.” I realized what he was doing then. Blocking the view of the video camera and anyone who might happen by.
Lifting my sleeve with one hand, I slid the square beneath, fumbling around under the fabric until a seam in my skin parted, and the plastic slid inside.
“Fine, but I’m starting to feel like a human pincushion. An android pincushion,” I corrected. I sensed Lucas’s smile but the app appeared right then, capturing my attention.
Secure text app: Installing.
25%.
50%.
75%.
Complete.
I withdrew the disc and placed it in Lucas’s hand. He surprised me by closing his hand around mine, disc and all.
My skin heated up, like magic. Distracting me. “What did I just install?”
“My version of a hands-free texting app for you. One that you can command with your mind. I realized that in all the chaos of getting to Montford, we’d never given you a way to communicate with your team. I created a program to link their burn phones to this app. Why don’t you give it a try?”
Secure text app: Open.
A pause, and then:
Open.
Message recipient?
The list scrolled, showing all my partners in crime, with one notable addition.
“William Wallace?” I said. “As in Braveheart?”
He shifted his weight and toyed with the hem of his gray T-shirt. He looked good in T-shirts, actually. Really good. Lucas was lean, but in a wiry, strong way. I guessed he got out from behind his computer pretty often to do something more strenuous.
“Just a reminder, if you start to feel down.”
I quipped, “Because nothing picks you up quite like seeing a Scotsman drawn and quartered.” But I was pretty sure that something inside me had just melted.
The tips of his ears turned pink, and his eyes locked on mine. They spoke of hope and belief. Of conviction and kindness. Of support, no matter what.
His presence, his being: it was like a magnet, pulling me in. Daniel was only five feet away, but I didn’t care. Not then. I leaned into Lucas, hoping, praying he wouldn’t pull away. He didn’t. Emboldened, I bunched my hands in his shirt, my gaze going to his mouth.
That’s when an alarm blared from his pocket. I sprang back while he looked blank for a