Page 41 of Starfallen
Tilly chortles, obviously enjoying his show of defiance.This little jerk is not helping me make a good impression with my wife.
With a growl, I reach forward and clench his shirt in my fist, pulling him to his tiptoes. “If you don’t leave right now, I’m going to—”
“Hold on, Jareth.” Tilly stands and clasps one of the kid’s small hands in hers. “That’s a cool viewer. Did you bring it to record the dolphins?”
“Wow, you have such a fat belly, lady. Did you eat one of the dolphins?” He jerks from her grasp and wrinkles his nose, looking at me. “Eww. She also has a dog in here. I bet she’s got fleas.”
“What’s he saying, Jareth?” She continues to beam at the snot-nosed brat.
I don’t have the heart to translate his insults. “Nothing important, Red.” Refocusing on the pint-sized smartass, I give him my haughtiest glare and push an index finger to his chest. “Now, you listen here, you little—”
My words are drowned out by the blare of alarms. Red, flashing lights flood the corridor and someone bursts through the opposite end of the tunnel.
I reach outward and tap into the main network, willing to compromise my cyber fingerprint on the network if it means keeping Tilly safe.
Because those alarms should only be going off if there’s a major malfunction in this section of the dome.
Stark, unbridled fear pours through me.
