Page 97 of Distortion
She has to go. Shehasto. She’s not ready to be out in the real world anyway, especially if she’s being targeted. Because of me.
My sigh is long.
When I saw her earlier messing around with her friends ... I liked it. Seeing her laughing and having a good time was amazing. She was never like that at home. I thought it was because shecouldn’tbe happy, but now I wonder if maybe it was because she justwasn’thappy.
I mean, I understand. I don’t think any of us were anywhere near content in that house, but I got to go out. I did sports after school. I went to my friends’ houses. She never got to do that stuff. My dad wouldn’t let her. He barely wanted her to go to school with the other kids. Her mom was the one who made that happen. It might have been the only time April got her way during the decade she was a Novelle.
She still has to go.
I brush away the thoughts and try to focus, only to get a message from the sophomores asking about the Halloween party thirty seconds later.
I roll my eyes. Like I give a shit.
They’re still in that world, I remind myself. They have three more years, whereas Mav, Blake, and I are almost done here.
I look down from the two-way mirror that makes up one of the office walls, watching our employees for a second.
Focus!
I turn my attention back to the numbers and start making Pivot charts so I can show the others everything with colorful visuals. Blake especially appreciates that.
The numbers surprise me. They’re not bad. Better than I expected after the shit that’s been going on anyway. We’re definitely growing.
I sit back, doing some quick calculations. If things keep going on as they are, we’ll have the seed money to set up and fund our own lab in two years. It’s longer than we’d originally planned, but maybe we can make it work. I just need to keep my father and my brother in the dark until then.
I finish up and go downstairs.
‘Shade.’
I turn to find Dom, the club’s manager and Mav’s older brother, sauntering toward me. ‘I heard some chatter. Think there’s gonna be a raid soon.’
‘Just what I need right now,’ I sigh. ‘Make sure there’s nothing for them to find.’
‘Already done. You and my baby bro any closer to a breakthrough?’
‘Getting there. I’m hoping before Christmas. No more problems with Chris and his brother’s guys?’
‘I spoke to the brother.’ Dom shrugs. ‘So long as Sark gets what was promised, he says they’ll stay out of this part of town for now, and they won’t make any problems for you at the college.’
‘Good. The last thing we need after last year is more trouble that will put us in the sights of law enforcement. Anyway,’ I turn away and start walking, ‘I gotta get back.’
‘You here tonight?’
I shake my head. ‘One of the others maybe, but call me if anything happens.’
‘Will do, boss.’
I leave through the side door and get in the Jag. It only takes twenty minutes or so to get from the club to the KIP house, and on the way I try not to think about the lab and the problems we’re having getting the levels right.
It’s only a matter of time. I know that. It’s just that I thought this would be done by now, and Sark is getting antsy. I’m conscious that someone could figure out what we’re doing and blab to my father for a pat on the head. It’s unlikely. We keep everything secured and only a handful of people are even allowed in there. We outsource nothing. Only Applegate knows the truth, and he’s all in for his own reasons, so I know he’s not going to rat us out.
But it’s been setback after setback for weeks. And then Daisy arrived and she’s been a pain in my ass since she got here.
Which reminds me, she’s due payback for almost starting a fire in the kitchen. I wouldn’t usually care, but we have too much riding on this year to have her here. She needs to be somewhere where she’ll be safe, especially if the stuff Lu said wasn’t exaggerated nonsense.
I thought she’d be long gone by now, but she’s stronger than I thought ... than I remember her being.
The original plan isn’t going to work. It was riding on her breaking quickly and publicly, and then me being able to tattle on her. But it’s been a month and we’re out of time.
