Page 66 of Ezra
“Law enforcement override. Welcome to Riverbright Estates.”
He activates the elevator and motions for me to step inside. “After you.”
“Thank you,” I say, but that’s too small a phrase to encompass everything rolling through my mind. Suddenly, everything overwhelming me all boils up inside, and I can’t take it anymore. When the elevator doors shut, I struggle to get the words out.
“Ezra, can we—can we talk about . . . what happened?”
Ezra’s shield of stoicism isn’t quite there anymore. His attention is wholly on me. There’s caution in his eyes. “Which part?”
“You know which part.”
“I believe so,” Ezra replies. “But I’d rather not miscalculate the trajectory of this conversation.”
I hug my arms to my chest. “That night.” I search for the words. “It was...”
Ezra waits patiently for me to continue.
“I’ve never done anything like that before with anyone, and I’ll—” Why can’t I get the words out? “I’ll never forget it for as long as I live.”
Ezra’s white eyes are backlit by a glow that makes him seem all the more ethereal when he gazes at me.
I drive on. “I should’ve talked with you about it the following day, but I was a bit of a chickenshit. I was worried I’d fuck it up.”
“I avoided the same discussion,” Ezra says. “Not out of fear, but rather understanding. You needn’t feel as though that’s entirely your responsibility.”
“Do you ever think about it?”
Ezra’s response is measured, careful. “Often.”
Hope swells in my chest, though I desperately try to fight it down. He’s being guarded. Maybe I should be too. “It’s crazy, right?”
“Because I’m an android?” Ezra suggests, gazing right through me.
“No.” Flustered, I look away. “I mean—I know that has its challenges, but that isn’t the only reason. It’s not because of you, it’s because of me. Because of my connections, my family, who I am.”
“Do you regret it?” he asks.
“No,” I answer quickly. “Not even a little bit. Do you?”
The seconds that pass make me feel like a puppet being dangled and danced over the edge of a stage, ready to fall in a tangle at any moment.
“Of course I don’t,” he replies. I relax just a little, relieved by his words and his low, gentle tone. His normally stoic face softens. “And I never will. But I think you and I refrained from speaking of it for different reasons.”
“What do you mean?”
It hurts when he tilts his head back with a rueful chuckle. “The fact is, I never had a shot with you.”
“Ezra,” I whisper, pained. “That’s not true?—”
The elevator dings when we reach my floor. The doors open, but he shuts them again. We are alone for the moment, and he continues. “I know it’s not because I’m bionic, Katrina. Trust me.”
I press my lips together as I stare at his shoes, nodding. “Then what is it?”
“Let’s forget everything else for a moment,” he continues. “I’m just a man. I’m also a detective. I have to stay where I am.”
My heart sinks. “I know.”
“That’s the reason for my silence on the matter,” he replies. “Not because of your father or Humanity First. Because of your goals, your ambitions. Your career.”
