Perception (21 page)

I was wondering the same
thing.

Noah’s new problems
didn’t negate my own, older ones. I still didn’t know who killed Liam or why.
The only new information I had was the existence of Maverick Industries, a shadow
company, which had a facade office in Sleiman Towers.

I thought about
calling Grandpa V and asking him what it was all about. Would he tell me? Then I
had an uneasy thought. I let myself consider it and then shut the possibility
out. He might be an egomaniac, famous, rich presidential candidate, but even
Dr. William Vanderveen wouldn’t risk the life of his own grandson.

Would he?

No, I couldn’t accept
that. But he must know something. Maybe this trail led to the CEO, Ronald K.
Smythe. Maybe my grandfather was covering for him. Or was it possible he didn’t
know about everything that went on in his own company?

I went downstairs
just as Paul
was shutting off his ComRing. “That
was Noah Brody.”

My heart pulsed at
the sound of Noah’s name, even though I’d just gotten off the phone with him myself.
Why was he calling Paul? “What’s wrong?”

“He called to inform
us that his mother’s too ill to come to work.”

I already knew that,
but I decided it was best to play along.

“Oh. But she doesn’t
usually work on Sundays.”

“He meant ever again.
I’m afraid the poor woman’s not going to last much longer.” He swept his
feathery hair back with his hand. “Such a shame.”

“Yes.”

“And you should know
that Noah won’t be coming back to replace her either.” The statement came with
a stern look of warning.

“I assumed that.” I
let my gaze drop casually to the floor. “Like I told you before, I’m not
interested in him anymore.”

“Good.”

“I suppose this means
Mom can get that humanoid house-cleaner she’s been coveting.” I headed for the
kitchen. The cook had prepared French toast and the aroma woke up my appetite.”

“Good idea,” Paul
said, missing my sarcasm.

I sat at the table
and added butter and strawberries to my breakfast. “Where is Mom any way?”

Paul sighed as he
joined me. “She’s sleeping. Losing Liam is going to take some time to get over.”

That was right. No
clone brother for me.

“Have you learned
anything new? How did Liam die, exactly? What was he doing in LA?” I was testing
Paul. Would this be the moment my father told me the truth? I found it hard to
believe I actually knew more than he did. The question was would he share? And
if not, why not?

His crystal blue eyes
met mine, and I held my breath.

Another moment passed
before Paul swallowed. “Apparently he’d made a friend on the outside. I don’t
know why he was going out there. The kids here call it slumming. He got in with
a bad crowd.”

So that was how he
was going to play it. Fine. I took another bite and pushed my plate away.

“You don’t mind if I
go to Charlotte’s do you? She just got back from her vacation.”

Paul seemed relieved
that I didn’t ask any more questions and said quickly, “Okay. That’s a good
idea. Thank them for the kind words they transmitted to Liam’s memorial.”

“Sure thing.”

I had every intention
of visiting Charlotte. Except that Charlotte didn’t actually get back until tomorrow.

Chapter 27

I hesitated when I
got to the north gate. Maybe this was a bad idea. Noah wasn’t exactly warm on
the phone, and it was entirely possible he didn’t want to see me again. I
should give him some time.

Instead of walking
through to the outside, I bought a drink from the vending machine and sat on a bench
to people watch. Lots of tall, well-dressed blonds passed me, and it wasn’t
nearly as interesting or entertaining as people-watching in LA.

I checked my messages
again. Three from Jackson. None from Noah. I finished the last of my soda and
tossed the can into the recycling depository. I could leave Noah alone, but I just
couldn’t stand not knowing where we stood. Was he bailing on
us
? I had
to know, either way, yes or no.

And I wanted to hear
it in person.

I walked through the
gates into LA like I’d been doing it for years. My mind was on autopilot as I
hopped the pod transit to Noah’s neighborhood. Once there, I knocked softly on
the screen-frame of his front door. When no one answered, I thought maybe they
were still at the hospital or worse that maybe Saundra had...

“Oh, hi.” Skye
stepped outside, closing the door behind her. Her hair was pulled back, but a
few chestnut ringlets had escaped, falling around her neck. “Saundra’s
sleeping,” she whispered by way of explanation.

“I’m happy to hear
she’s well enough to be home again,” I said.

“Well, she’ll be
sleeping a lot now. It’s too expensive to keep her in the hospital, so I’m
going to stay with her.”

“That’s nice of you.”

“I often do home care.
So as far as they’re concerned, it’s just another job placement for me.”

“Nice for Saundra to
have you as her nurse, then.”

Skye eyed me
carefully. “Noah told me about the two of you. I have to admit, I’m surprised.”

“We’re kind of
surprised ourselves. Is he home?”

“No, he left earlier.
This whole thing with his mother is very upsetting for him. Plus, he seems
really distracted.” Skye raised an eyebrow, indicating she thought I might have
something to do with that.

“Did he say where he
was going?”

Skye shook her head. “But
if I had to guess, I’d say the church.”

I thanked her and
left, hoping that he’d still be there by the time I arrived. When I finally got
off the pod at the square, I broke into a trot down the path leading to the
back of the rugged building.

I inched the door
open and saw Noah’s profile as he sat on the pew staring at the wooden cross
above the altar. A guitar rested on his lap.

The door whined as I
pushed on it, and he turned, seeing me come in. He didn’t say anything, just
went back to staring at the cross. I wasn’t sure what I should do or if he even
wanted to see me, but I crossed the dusty sanctuary and sat next to him.

The quiet was
unnerving, and I set my gaze on the stream of light beaming in from the higher
glass windows. Specks of dust swirled and danced around us.

“I shouldn’t have
come.” I finally said.

“No, it’s okay.” He
shifted slightly, moving the guitar away. He rubbed his hands along his legs. “I
come here to feel closer to my dad. And to pray.”

His eyes reddened and
he pinched them closed. “I pray that God will heal my mother, and if not, that
she’ll have a peaceful existence until he takes her. And that I’ll have the
strength I need when he does.”

He faced me then and
our eyes locked with an intensity that gave me goose-bumps.

“I pray that God will
help me fight temptation,” he said.

I stared hard back at
him, my pulse racing. He still wanted me.

“And how’s that
going?”

He slid down the pew
until he was pressed against me. He nuzzled my neck with his lips, sending off
fireworks. “Not well.”

He swung his legs up,
pulling me gently down on top of him, my whole body connecting with every inch
of his. My heart raced as he cupped my face with his hands and tenderly kissed my
forehead, my eyelids, moving down my cheekbones to my chin.

He traced his fingers
down my back, sending a storm of electricity throughout my body. His lips
touched mine, soft and warm, and I felt like I was breathing pure oxygen. Our
kisses grew harder, full of hope and longing. I wanted to lose myself in him
and wondered how things had gotten so passionate so fast.

I’d been with
Jackson, but I’d never felt anything as explosive as what I was feeling now.

I reached for the
button of his jeans, but his hand stopped mine.

“Is something wrong?”

His chest rose in
short breaths. “It depends what you mean by wrong.”

In that moment I
considered that maybe he’d never been with a girl before.

I put my hand to my pounding
heart, telling myself to breathe.

“I can’t get
pregnant, you know.” One of the benefits to being a GAP was fertility could be
turned on and off genetically.

Noah went still. “You
GAPs don’t leave anything to chance.”

I sat up. “What do
you mean by that?”

“I mean... nothing.”

“What? Are we back to
that? I know I’m a GAP. I’m worse than that. I’m a clone.”

I pushed myself off
his chest and back into a sitting position. “You must really despise me.”

He sat up and reached
for my chin. “I don’t despise you. I’m falling for you. You’ve put me in an
impossible situation.”

My heart stopped at
his declaration.

“I’ll never be what
you are, Zoe. What you need. Can’t you see that?”

“I want who you are,
the way you are now.” I leaned in closer. “It’s scary, I know, but please,
don’t shut me out.”

He closed his eyes.
The way his eyelids fluttered, I could tell he was trying to think it all
through, weighing out the risks. I couldn’t bear it if he rejected me.

“I’m not asking you
to marry me, Noah. I just want to be with you. I’m falling for you, too.”

His dark eyes snapped
open and bore into mine with such intensity I lost my breath.

“Really?” he asked.

“Really.”

Then he kissed me
again.

Chapter 28

Noah was serious
about resisting temptation, and the next thing I knew, we were sitting in the
food court with him ordering us sandwiches and coffees.

“How do you like
yours?” he asked.

“Sweetened latte.”

He paid cash then
handed me my coffee.

“I could pay, you
know,” I said.

“Yeah, but I don’t
think you should be leaving a money trail right now.”

“I’m easy to find if
someone’s really looking for me. Though, I can’t see how they would think I’m a
threat.”

“You can get it next
time.” He pointed to the clock tower. “Picnic?”

I laughed and
followed him.

He guided me up the
stairs, fake coughing as the dust swirled around us. The fresh air greeted us
at the top as he pushed open the hatch.

“It’s not the Hilton,
but it does well in a pinch,” Noah said, leaning against the rail.

I stood beside him
and we unwrapped our sandwiches and began to eat. Noah pointed to the horizon
over the ocean, between the glass walls of the surrounding towers. Menacing
dark clouds rolled like big fists under the crimson sun.

“There’s a storm
brewing out on the Pacific. I heard on the news today that we’re in for more
crazy weather.”

“Damn climate change,”
I said between bites. “Are we ever going to get a handle on that?”

“I thought science
had the answers to everything?”

“I thought so, too.
But I think our great-grand-people waited too long on this one.”

In addition to
massive ice melts, the last thirty years had brought unprecedented flooding and
famines to every continent, including North America which also had seen a
second dust bowl.

“The worst is over
though?”Noah asked.

“I don’t know,” I
replied. “Maybe.”

We threw our trash
into the common bag, then leaned on the rail, sipping our coffees.

“Are you okay?” I
asked.

“I’m better now. Ma’s
not going to last much longer. I just have to accept that.”

“What will happen to
you and your brothers?”

“Jonathon and Davis
will go with Skye. It’s already been arranged. I’m eighteen. Old enough to take
care of myself.”

“Oh, Noah.”

He reached over and
stroked my arm. “I’ll be fine. Besides, I’m not alone. I have you now. And
you’re going to live forever and take care of me when I’m an old man.”

Was he joking? His
lips formed a smirk.

“That doesn’t sound
so bad to me,” I said.

He pulled me close
and started kissing me. His hands moved up and down my arms, settling on my
waist.

I pushed him away
gently, laughing. “Resist temptation.”

“Am I going to be
sorry I confessed that to you?” he said, setting his forehead on mine.

“Maybe.”

“Thought so.”

I shimmied down the
side of the rail until I was sitting.