Page 64 of Breakaway
"Because of your happiness, yes." Kolos shrugs, and I keep my features still. If our roles were reversed, I'd be more than a little envious of him. My bonding has been a very harsh reminder of his rejection, and the fact that it's all happening on Earth hasn't made it any easier.
Kolos groans and rubs his hand down his face. "I'll be fine. Give me a few days to wallow in my own self-pity and get us off this planet, and I'll be fine."
The elevator doors slide open, ending the conversation as Kolos plasters his smile back on his face and makes a beeline straight for the receptionist. I'm sure he's going to flirt with her while I talk to my mother. Normally, I'd use a little of my authority as his boss to tell him to cut it out, but he's in a sad place right now. If some shameless flirting makes him feel better, I'm not about to stop him. It isn't until I get to Mauve's door and Kolos is right behind me already that I really start to worry about him.
"What?" he asks, his eyes flashing as though he knows full well why I'm surprised to see him. He doesn't give me time to answer before knocking a quick tune on Mauve's door and opening it up. "Well, don't you look beautiful."
"Did Jeanette not give you the time of day?" Mauve asks as she stands from her desk.
"He didn't even flirt with her," I mutter just loud enough for the other two to hear.
Mauve looks at me like she doesn't believe me, and then back to Kolos. Her gaze narrows, and lines that she pays good money to get rid of appear in the corners of her mouth as she presses her lips tight together.
"Well, that's something to talk about another time," Mauve finally says, moving around her desk to a large plastic tub filled with letters. "This is the latest batch we've received. Everything else has been scanned and uploaded here." She holds out a small portable drive. "It's a lot, and we have it separated by digital threats and physical threats, and then by date. Xavier is in charge of all of this, and I asked him to meet you in the conference room if you had any questions for him."
"Is he there now?" I ask, pocketing the drive and grabbing the plastic tub.
"He is," Mauve says, walking past Kolos and me. She holds her office door open and waits for us to follow her the short distance to the same conference room where I first met Reese.
"Is there anything you think we need to be aware of?" I ask a little too pointedly, watching my mother for any kind of reaction.
Mauve gives me an irritated look, one that tells me that I need to watch my tone. "You already know I suspect her family had something to do with the leak. I don't know why or how, but I think they knew she wanted to be done and released her information as a way to stop her. Or maybe they were offered a lot of money."
"Stupid plan either way," Kolos mumbles.
"We're going to get through as much of this as we can while Reese is doing her photoshoot. Are we good to use the conference room?"
Mauve swipes around on her comm. "The only meeting scheduled already happened. I can't promise another won't be scheduled, but for now it's all yours."
"Thank you," I tell her. "If we find anything, I'll make sure to let you know."
Mauve gives me a quick nod before turning on her heel and leaving to head back to her office. If I know my mother, she's going to be sifting through the same threats and death notes weare, looking for someone who genuinely seems like they might come after Reese. She's probably been doing it ever since we learned about the stalker.
"Xavier?" I ask as I step into the conference room. I hold my hand out when he stands from his seat. "I'm Zill, and this is Kolos. We're here to go through everything. Is there anything in particular you think we should be aware of?"
Xavier's jaw muscle flexes once, twice, and he releases a long breath. "How long are you guys here for?"
"As long as it takes," I answer, looking to Kolos, who crosses his arms over his chest and nods. "Preferably not too long, though, so if you have something you think might be useful, we're open to it."
"Even better if you give us permission to just sift through your mind. It makes everything go by faster," Kolos says, his smile making him look unhinged instead of pleasant.
"Oh, I kind of thought you already were," Xavier starts, rubbing one hand with the other. "You hear about Sombrans and what they can do, so I just assumed. But yeah, if you need my permission, go ahead."
"I already did, but Zill here likes to follow the rules," Kolos says, smirking when I let out an irritated little growl because he knows he's not supposed to go rooting through people's minds without permission. "I'll start going through what Xavier was thinking about while you get caught up."
He pats my shoulder as he walks past me, and then plops into one of the conference room chairs, kicking his feet up on the table as he does. I take a deep breath, forcing myself not to give Kolos the fight he's so desperately looking for.
"Thank you for letting me in," I tell Xavier, and then take a deep breath, listening to what he's thinking.
I'm trying really hard not to think this was a waste of time, but it's starting to feel like it's been a huge waste of time. Not only am I becoming increasingly upset by the awful things people have tried to send to Reese, but also by the sheer multitude of them. One or two people being upset enough about her singing, dancing, and enjoying herself to tell her to kill herself seems like a number I would expect. A reasonable number would be zero, because what is she doing that is so awful as to warrant this kind of attention? But that's not the point, because the number isn't zero, it isn't just a couple, it's hundreds. Based on the number of letters, both digital and physical, the total could be in the thousands. I'm being optimistic and saying these were all sent by hundreds of unhinged people who sent multiple letters instead of facing the reality that thousands of unhinged people hate my soulbond for the audacity to… What? Wear skimpy clothing? Sing about enjoying sex? It's ridiculous, and the longer we sit at this table going through them, the angrier I'm getting.
"How about you go take a break," Kolos says, looking at me out of the corner of his eyes.
"I'm fine," I tell him through gritted teeth.
"Whatever you say. I was just offeri–" Kolos stops talking, and I look over at him, knowing he never misses his chances to give me a hard time. He's frowning as he zooms in on something, scrolling back and forth, side to side.
"I think I might have something," Kolos says, setting the comm down and sliding it down to me.
