“Callie.”

  Damn it.

  I was cornered. Not literally, but Leo stood between me and a clean escape from the apartment.

  For days, I’d been successfully avoiding him. And him being here, now, when he was normally already gone suggested he’d been waiting for me. I’d known this was coming—I’d be an idiot to think I could avoid him forever—but I’d hoped to get another few days at least to get my thoughts in order. After Leo kissed me, I’d avoided him at all costs, only replying to texts with single-word answers, if I even responded at all.

  I wasn’t sure how to feel about the whole thing. But I was sure that I didn’t want to have to deal with this today of all days. I had a meeting with Dr. Goodwin—he would stay Dr. Goodwin in my head, not Aaron—and some others this morning. He’d said over email that it was about starting a new training program, which I interpreted as leveling up within the Organization. I could be wrong, of course, but I didn’t think I was.

  I wanted to be mentally with it today so I could notice anything that could help boost me up the ranks. No distractions. And starting my day having to deal with Leo was the opposite of helpful.

  “Coffee?” he offered, sounding hopeful.

  I had three choices. First, continue walking out the front door and grab breakfast on the way and hope Leo didn’t follow. Second, go back to my room and hide, hoping he’d get the hint. Third, put on my big girl pants and deal with it so it wasn’t hovering over my head the rest of the day.

  I hated being an adult sometimes.

  Admitting defeat and bracing myself for what was sure to be an uncomfortable interaction, I took steady, measured steps into the communal space and towards the kitchen.

  “Sure. Thank you.” After hesitating another moment, I set my bag down and took a seat. “I don’t have much time,” I added, hoping he’d cut to the chase.

  “Oh, sure,” he answered. “Can I see your screen real quick?”

  He stayed standing on the other side of the counter, and I extended my arm as far as I could comfortably manage. He grabbed his tablet and held it near my screen until it turned off.

  “Another update, huh?” I prompted, hoping to run down the clock before I had to leave. He must have seen right through me because he didn’t respond, only turned to finish making the coffee and placing it down in front of me in my favorite mug.

  “I actually need to talk to you about something,” he said. He remained standing across from me.

  Here it was. Great.

  “Okay.” I gripped the mug with both hands, already feeling anxiety trickle into my veins. The anticipation was probably the worst part, but I held my ground and breathed through the rising nerves.

  “Though I should probably apologize first.”

  Without my permission, my eyes met his. He wore an expression riddled with guilt and maybe a bit of regret. I looked down again at the cinnamon swirling in my coffee.

  He let out a heavy sigh and in my periphery I saw him lean his forearms against the quartz countertop. “I am sorry,” he began. “I handled our last…interaction like a mindless idiot. There was no reason for me to push myself on you like I did. I got swept up in the moment and thought it would be the best way to prove to you that I wasn’t just saying all that. I should have asked, or let you respond, or any million other things than what I did. It won’t happen again.”

  Well, then.

  “I appreciate the apology,” I answered slowly, gathering my thoughts. “I understand that you want to look out for me. As much as I appreciate your opinion on a lot of things, I know what I’m doing and the risks I’m taking. You don’t need to worry about me and try to keep me safe. You need to trust me.”

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  “Callie…” his voice was strained, and I looked up again. I couldn’t pinpoint the emotion on his face, the pinched mouth and drawn brow, but I noticed the pain in his eyes.

  “I can’t trust you to look out for yourself,” he said.

  This fucking asshole.

  Before I could shove my chair back and bolt for the front door, he reached over and grabbed my wrist.

  “Wait, let me explain,” he begged. I tried pulling my arm back, but he just held on tighter.

  In a firmer tone he said, “I need to explain, Callie.”

  “We’re done here.” And I meant it. This…whatever our relationship was, it wasn’t healthy. Instead of yanking my arm out of his grip, I simply teleported myself two feet away so I could grab my bag. He watched me stalk towards the door, but something was…missing. I was forgetting something, something important that started ringing alarm bells.

  I checked my bag, but everything was accounted for, even my ear cuffs. I heard Leo move closer to me, and I turned slightly to keep an eye on him. If he tried grabbing me again—

  “I turned off your bio-screen.”

  I froze, every limb locking into place as my fight or flight instinct rose up. That was it, the familiar buzz of my arm hadn’t gone off when I’d teleported.

  “And why the fuck would you do that?” I asked in a deceptively calm voice. Leo noticed the danger he suddenly found himself in, and quickly put himself between me and the door. Like that would actually stop me.

  “Someone tried hacking it. Two days ago, a little before lunchtime.”

  I frowned, confused. “How? No one...” I trailed off, thinking hard. Two days ago I’d been working, interviewing. Specifically, I’d been in the hospital with Amelia, who’d texted me yesterday to thank me. And after that, I’d been with Alex for lunch and gone back to work.

  “I looked into it in case I could figure out where the tech came from. Otherwise I would have told you sooner.”

  I crossed my arms, growing impatient. Just spit it out already.

  Leo took in a deep breath. “The tech is from Hubert.”

  “That sounds awfully convenient,” I scoffed. “First you try keeping me away, and then all of a sudden their tech tried hacking me? Do you think I’m stupid?”

  Leo shook his head. “No, you’re not dumb, Callie. You’re just too trusting. I have the proof, if you want to see it.”

  “You could’ve made up this proof, and I wouldn’t know,” I pointed out. It was uncomfortable admitting that, but it was the truth. “So all I really have to go on is your word. And why should I believe that?”

  “Callie, I’m sorry that I’ve made you not trust me,” he said instead of arguing. “I wish I was wrong. Truly, I’d rather not have to tell you this. But it happened. I had to turn off your screen for its protection. And since it was your employer, it makes you look suspicious.”

  “How? It wasn’t them!”

  “And now my father’s been informed, and he wants to meet with you this morning to discuss it.”

  “Absolutely the fuck not!”

  I turned to leave, and Leo darted out to stand between me and the door. He held his hands up, trying to placate me. “If you don’t go to this meeting, your bio-screen will be removed.”

  It was enough of a threat to stop me. While I didn’t need all the health statistics, the gamma ones were invaluable. Alex had said some people didn’t regulate their abilities well, and had either burned themselves out or regressed. I wasn’t confident that I could figure it out on my own yet; the screen was a temporary but necessary crutch.

  A thought occurred to me. “Fine. Just get me eye lenses like you did for Alex. I don’t need all of this anymore, anyways.” I waved a hand towards my dead screen.

  “No.”

  I blinked. “No?” I repeated, deadly calm. My hands itched to do something. Maybe slap him across the face? It wouldn’t solve anything but, damn, would it feel good. “You won’t help me?”

  “I’ll make you a deal.” He crossed his arms, mimicking my stance. “You come talk to my father. If you still decide you don’t need the screen anymore and you don’t agree with what my father proposes, then I’ll mod you some lenses.”

  “Why would I be interested in hearing what he has to say? I know how you feel about him, and my opinion really isn’t much different from yours.”

  “Because he’s willing to develop your app and launch it within a year. Granted, you need to agree to the other terms. It’s not a one-sided deal he’s got in mind.”

  Well, fuck.

  It was the only thing that could get me to even consider agreeing.

  I stared down at my feet, thinking fast. Did I really have another choice? I could fight my way through the ranks of the Organization and try to get it going. I could spend countless hours working on it by myself, learning as I go, and maybe get it out in a few years. Or I could hear what Leo’s dad had to say, and maybe get it going now. In the end, what was most important?

  I knew the answer.

  It couldn’t hurt to hear him out; I could always say no, and it wouldn’t negatively affect my progress on my app.

  Without saying anything to Leo, I pulled out my phone and shot off a quick email to Dr. Goodwin claiming I had come down with food poisoning and would need to reschedule the training meeting.

  I pointed to Leo accusingly. “You know you’re a manipulative asshole, right? Using the thing that matters most to me to get what you want.”

  He pressed his lips together to hide his smile, but poked through anyway. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t sound sorry.

  “Whatever. Let’s go. You better know you’re buying me breakfast on the way.”

  He nodded and opened the front door for me.