she sneered.
“She asked me to stay until she fell asleep, so I did.” He held her gaze to make sure she believed him.
“Why would I care? You needed the points and if she got laid one last time, good for her.”
“She was wasted, Rena. Even if I wanted anything as ridiculous as sex points, that would be the last thing she needed. Again, would you like company?” He sounded so patient, so calm. He kept looking at her that way .
“You and I are not screwing, Gage. So forget it.”
“The offer still stands. If you’d rather not be alone.”
She couldn’t seem to piss him off no matter how mean she got, so she just gave up. “I don’t want company.”
“You sure?” He studied her. He did that way too much.
“I’m sure.” She didn’t deserve comfort anyway, not after what she’d done. She owed Cassie all the sorrow she could feel.
“Where will they take her?”
“Her mom lives in Surprise, but Cassie hates her. When I recruited her she was living on the streets, hanging with some really scary guys.”
“So you rescued her.”
“The Life rescued her. It rescues us all.” And now Rena had forced Cassie out. Her eyes burned. She could see Cassie’s face drained of color, as though her life was leaking away, grabbing at the doorjamb, fighting to stay.
“Hey…” Gage reached to hold her, but she backed off.
“I did what had to be done. It’s for the best.” She should not let a new Lifer see any doubts she might have.
“You’re worried, that’s obvious. So make sure she’s okay. Look her up in the phone book. Her name’s Fletcher, right? What’s her mom’s name?”
“Ida.” She answered automatically, then shook her head. “Maya will check on her. She helps the Lost Lives get settled. She’ll get her into rehab.”
“You could see for yourself.”
“I don’t need that.” She had faith. She hoped it was enough.
As Gage disappeared into the elevator, she remembered she’d forgotten to grab Cassie’s room key and drop it off at the Watchers’ station. The Roomers would find it in the morning. At least Cassie’s room would look neat.
Chapter Six
Using Cassie’s key, which he’d swiped during the cleanup, Gage took the elevator back to her floor. Hoping to God the guards were tucked safely in bed as Rena had promised, he slid down the empty hall and keyed open Cassie’s room.
Inside, he headed to the wall beside the bed, where he’d been copying Beth’s code when Rena and the goons busted in. The cell phone shots he’d taken once Cassie drifted off hadn’t been clear enough.
The important thing was that Beth had lived here. The mural of EverLife characters was in the brick-red ink she favored and in her quirky, cartoon style. The coded letters were in dated blocks of text, one every week for six weeks—possibly a diary as Cassie thought. To know for sure, he had to decode it. The wings and x ’s told him how far up or down the alphabet to go, but he had to know which letter was first in the code. Without a key, he’d be stuck with trial and error.
He set to work, scrawling as fast as he could in case anyone came by to check on the room. The entries could say what Beth was up to, hint at where she’d gone, or they could be a complete waste of time.
As he copied the letters and shapes, he pictured Beth chewing her bottom lip the way she did when she wrote or drew. She used to use the code whenever their mother went on a rampage as a way to soothe herself. Had Beth been scared here? Worried? About what? She’d made Level Four in what seemed a short time, based on what Rena had told him. Level Four had a decent catalog and the rooms were bigger than that cubicle floor that reeked of cheap noodle soup. How had she climbed so fast?
To fall for the cult, something had to have been going wrong. Beth put her heart on the line too easily and took the kicks too hard. He’d tried to warn her, to teach her, to help her get some perspective from any troubles she
“She asked me to stay until she fell asleep, so I did.” He held her gaze to make sure she believed him.
“Why would I care? You needed the points and if she got laid one last time, good for her.”
“She was wasted, Rena. Even if I wanted anything as ridiculous as sex points, that would be the last thing she needed. Again, would you like company?” He sounded so patient, so calm. He kept looking at her that way .
“You and I are not screwing, Gage. So forget it.”
“The offer still stands. If you’d rather not be alone.”
She couldn’t seem to piss him off no matter how mean she got, so she just gave up. “I don’t want company.”
“You sure?” He studied her. He did that way too much.
“I’m sure.” She didn’t deserve comfort anyway, not after what she’d done. She owed Cassie all the sorrow she could feel.
“Where will they take her?”
“Her mom lives in Surprise, but Cassie hates her. When I recruited her she was living on the streets, hanging with some really scary guys.”
“So you rescued her.”
“The Life rescued her. It rescues us all.” And now Rena had forced Cassie out. Her eyes burned. She could see Cassie’s face drained of color, as though her life was leaking away, grabbing at the doorjamb, fighting to stay.
“Hey…” Gage reached to hold her, but she backed off.
“I did what had to be done. It’s for the best.” She should not let a new Lifer see any doubts she might have.
“You’re worried, that’s obvious. So make sure she’s okay. Look her up in the phone book. Her name’s Fletcher, right? What’s her mom’s name?”
“Ida.” She answered automatically, then shook her head. “Maya will check on her. She helps the Lost Lives get settled. She’ll get her into rehab.”
“You could see for yourself.”
“I don’t need that.” She had faith. She hoped it was enough.
As Gage disappeared into the elevator, she remembered she’d forgotten to grab Cassie’s room key and drop it off at the Watchers’ station. The Roomers would find it in the morning. At least Cassie’s room would look neat.
Chapter Six
Using Cassie’s key, which he’d swiped during the cleanup, Gage took the elevator back to her floor. Hoping to God the guards were tucked safely in bed as Rena had promised, he slid down the empty hall and keyed open Cassie’s room.
Inside, he headed to the wall beside the bed, where he’d been copying Beth’s code when Rena and the goons busted in. The cell phone shots he’d taken once Cassie drifted off hadn’t been clear enough.
The important thing was that Beth had lived here. The mural of EverLife characters was in the brick-red ink she favored and in her quirky, cartoon style. The coded letters were in dated blocks of text, one every week for six weeks—possibly a diary as Cassie thought. To know for sure, he had to decode it. The wings and x ’s told him how far up or down the alphabet to go, but he had to know which letter was first in the code. Without a key, he’d be stuck with trial and error.
He set to work, scrawling as fast as he could in case anyone came by to check on the room. The entries could say what Beth was up to, hint at where she’d gone, or they could be a complete waste of time.
As he copied the letters and shapes, he pictured Beth chewing her bottom lip the way she did when she wrote or drew. She used to use the code whenever their mother went on a rampage as a way to soothe herself. Had Beth been scared here? Worried? About what? She’d made Level Four in what seemed a short time, based on what Rena had told him. Level Four had a decent catalog and the rooms were bigger than that cubicle floor that reeked of cheap noodle soup. How had she climbed so fast?
To fall for the cult, something had to have been going wrong. Beth put her heart on the line too easily and took the kicks too hard. He’d tried to warn her, to teach her, to help her get some perspective from any troubles she
Similar Books
