False Memory by Meli Raine

Author:Meli Raine [Raine, Meli]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Meli Raine

Chapter 18

“Again?” I groan, playing it up on purpose as Duff sits across from me at the conference table. After hiding in my room following my conversation with Mom, and a really bad night’s sleep, I’m at the office of an unnamed company run by a guy named Andrew Foster. He’s the one who manages my security force, the team of guys (mostly Duff) who watch me twenty-four/seven. Dad and Mom know all the ins and outs, but what I know is this:

They haven’t called any of the guards off.

And Jane Borokov pays for every penny.

I stir my crappy coffee with powdered creamer in it. Duff’s drinking water and ignoring me.

“Duff? Seriously? I thought this was just a status meeting. You’re going to question me about the shooting again?”

“After that damn note yesterday? Hell, yes. It’s my job.”

“To ask me the same questions over and over when I’ve already answered them?”

“Someone tried to kill you. And–”

“No–someone tried to kill Jane.”

“My ears are burning,” says a woman’s voice, my brain working overtime to catch up and connect it to the face that appears.

“Jane?” I wasn’t expecting this. The sight of her makes my nervous system go a bit haywire. I don’t know why.

She smiles, but doesn’t come in for a hug, looking as uncertain as I feel. I try to reverse roles: how would I feel if she’d been shot because someone tried to have me killed?

Awful.

I’d feel awful.

Giving her the benefit of the doubt, I smile at her. She smiles back, visibly relieved.

And then Romeo walks into the room.

We both tense up.

We both notice each other tensing up.

We do an eyeballs-only double take at each other.

My stomach sinks.

I can’t.

I can’t.

“Jane,” Romeo says, giving her a curt nod and no expression. Eyes moving to me, he says my name softly, gently, like one would address a child. “Lily.”

“Hi,” I say, giving him a polite smile, the muscles moving back to baseline.

Silas Gentian walks in behind Romeo, all business on his face as he sits down and hands out folders. Jane sits next to him, and I panic, because that means the only empty seat is between Duff and me.

Romeo takes it.

I’m trapped.

“Drew can’t be here today, so I’m filling in for him,” Silas explains as we open the folders, the side of me facing Romeo feeling like someone’s tasing me. My fingers shake as I work the edge of my folder. Duff notices.

“Lily?” he asks, looking at my hand. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. Just a neuro quirk.”

Jane frowns. Romeo watches my hand.

“You need help?”

I hold up my weak arm. “It can’t lift more than a kilo or so, but it can flip a...” Yellow. Rectangle. Paper.

“File folder,” Duff finishes for me.

“...a file folder open,” I conclude.

He doesn’t react.

I put my shaking hand on my thigh and open the file with the other hand.

It’s words, lots and lots of words in organized patterns that are designed to make sense of the whole mess I’m stuck in. My reading ability is coming back, getting

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