Perception (28 page)

“Oh yes, he would. We
broke into to his house, also your idea, to see if we could find anything else.
You thought he’d gone back to D.C., but he was there waiting for us.”

“What happened?”

“He confessed to
financing the experiment and having Mitchell knocked off–”

“Mitchell’s dead?”

I nodded. “His two thugs
showed up then. The Senator had every intention of getting rid of me in the
same way, so I had to run. I had to leave you, Zoe, I’m so sorry.”

“I’m okay.”

I sighed. “No, you’re
not. The last thing I heard your grandfather say is that they could fix you.
They fixed you, Zoe. They erased your memory. Everything that happened during
that time is gone for you.”

She stared out the
passenger window. I worried I was giving her too much too fast, but I didn’t
have the luxury of time. Grant would be after us, and I had to convince her of
the truth. I need her working with me and not against me.

“Our grandfathers
were once friends,” I said.

“Who’s your
grandfather?”

“Dr. Matthew Brody.”

She shrugged.

“He worked with your
grandfather to develop the life extension gene manipulation procedure.”

Zoe twisted slightly
to face me. “Why isn’t he famous, then, like my grandpa?”

“Matthew Brody didn’t
want to release the procedure to the public. He and William Vanderveen argued
extensively about it. It destroyed their friendship.”

“I don’t understand.
Why would your grandfather work to develop something if he was against using
it?”

I tapped my fingers
on the wheel. “Do you know who Robert Oppenheimer is?”

“He directed the
Manhattan Project.”

“Yes, the secret
project from World War Two that gave us the atomic bomb. He said, ‘When you see
something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and argue about
what to do about it only after having had your technical success.’ It was like
that. Grandpa was excited about the science but had ethical objections to
actually performing it on humanity.”

Zoe went back to
picking her nails. “Even if he hadn’t been involved, the science would’ve
occurred eventually. He couldn’t have prevented us from becoming GAPs.”

“Perhaps.” I signaled
to enter a recharging station. “Do you need to use the facilities?”

Zoe nodded. Before
she could exit the car, I picked up my backpack and patted it. “Please don’t
talk to anyone. I’m sorry, but I’m watching you.”

I made sure the
restroom was empty before allowing her to go in. I quickly made my own pit
stop, counting on being faster than her, and managed to be waiting when she
came out.

“Are you hungry?”

“A little.”

We picked out food
for the road and I paid in cash, ignoring the clerk’s look of surprise. I
walked Zoe back to the car, and then had the attendant swap out batteries.

In fifteen minutes we
were back on the road.

We ate in silence,
and I wondered what I should tell her next.

“You and I, we’re
friends. You like me.”

Zoe pursed her lips
together in a way that made me tingle. “Might I ask,” she said, “how friendly?”

I laughed. “Maybe
later.”

She reached for the
media center and turned on the music. Apparently she had tired of talking. That
was fine with me.

After a couple of
hours I spotted the motel I'd mapped out earlier. It had grown dark, and the
red, neon arrow flashed to beckon us in.

I signaled and took
the exit off the highway.

She sat up straight.
“What are you doing?”

“It’s a motel. We’re
staying here for the night.”

Chapter 39

Zoe eyed the two twin
beds in the tiny motel room and let out a breath. Even so, she was trembling.
If she thought I would force her to do anything, then she
really
didn’t
remember me.

“You can have that
one,” I said, motioning to the bed closest to the bathroom. I pushed against
the second one until it pressed against the door.

She wrinkled her nose
and for good reason. The room smelled moldy and dusty. The faded carpet was
dotted with stains, and the light fixture above her head twitched. She
disappeared into the bathroom, and let out a shriek.

I rushed to the door,
imagining a dead body in the bathtub. “Are you all right?”

Zoe opened it and
blushed sheepishly. “Just a spider.”

She took another
Tylenol and then prepared the toothbrush I’d bought for her.

“Do you mind?”

I left her and
settled in on the second bed, my back against the door, backpack at my side. I
flicked the TV on and then wished I hadn’t. A news story played and an image of
Zoe’s face appeared on the screen. I muted it when she climbed into her bed.

“They’re looking for
me,” she said.

The next image was
one of me—
a person of interest
.

“They suspect you’re
with me, but they have no proof,” I said. “That’s good.”

“How do you know they
have no proof?”

“If they did, I
wouldn’t simply be a person of interest. Plus, the Coast Guard wouldn’t be
searching for your body.”

I turned the TV off.

“My mom and dad will
be very worried,” she said.

“You always used to
call them Alison and Paul.”

“I did? Why would I
do that?”

“You didn’t to their
faces, but you did to me. I don’t think you had a very good relationship with
them.”

“Oh.”

I turned out the
lights.

“What are you doing?”
she said in a tight voice. “I know self-defense.”

I let out a
frustrated sigh. “Have I ever been anything less than a gentleman?”

My eyes adjusted to
the dark and I watched her, fully clothed with shoes still on, slip between the
covers.

“I just don’t get why
you’re doing this,” she said. “If your story about me is true, why don’t you
just leave me to my delusions and move on?”

“Because I fell in
love with you.”

There was a long
silence before she asked, “Did I fall in love with you?”

“I think so.”

Chapter 40

Zoe was dreaming. Her
eyes moved rapidly under her lids, and by the way she groaned, I couldn’t tell
if it was a bad dream or a good one.

I nudged her
shoulder. “Zoe?”

Her eyes cracked
open.

“Wake up. We have to
get an early start.”

She clasped a hand
over her mouth.

“Zoe, are you okay? I
didn’t mean to startle you.”

Her eyes had a
strange glaze to them, like she didn’t know if she was awake or dreaming.

“Were you having a
bad dream?”

She shook her head.
“It wasn’t bad,” she said, hoarsely.

“We need to get
going.”

“Okay. I’ll get
ready.”

I heard the toilet
flush and then the water run in the sink.

I offered her a breakfast
bar when she got out.

 “Picked these up
yesterday.”

“I just brushed my
teeth,” she said but took it anyway.

I moved the bed to
its original position away from the door then led her out of the motel room. I
guided her with my hand on the small of her back, a familiar gesture of
intimacy for us, but she wouldn’t remember that. I expected her to jerk away,
but she didn’t.

I opened the
passenger door for her and she got in. I slid into the driver’s seat, but
before I could turn the car on, she leaned over and pulled my head to hers and
kissed me.

I was too stunned to
respond at first. Her mouth moved in a soft, gentle motion that caused my blood
to rush and my lips suddenly knew what to do. I took her head with both hands
and kissed her deeply.

She pulled back and
looked me in the eyes. To say I was confused about what was going on would be
an understatement. I swallowed hard as she slid back into her seat and put on
the seat belt.

“So, where are we
going?” she said with a smile.

I pulled at the
collar of my t-shirt and laughed. “I’ll go anywhere with you, baby.”

I started the car and
drove onto the highway, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel, a grin
plastered firmly on my face.

“Okay,” I said. “What
was that about?”

“It was a test.”

“A test?”

“I dreamed about you
this morning.”

That’s what she was
dreaming about? “A make out dream?”

“I think my dreams
are unlocking my memories.”

“So you believe me
now?”

She touched her
bottom lip with her finger. “Your kiss kind of convinced me.”

I scratched my head,
smirking. “Whatever works.”

“Did we really make
out in a church?”

“You dreamed about
the church?”

“
The
church?”

“My dad’s church.
It’s mine now. The one you were staring at when I ran into you in the square.”

“You didn’t answer my
question. Did we really make out in a church?”

“Does it matter that
it was in a church? God invented kissing and all the rest that goes with it,
you know. Haven’t you read the Song of Solomon?”

She shook her head.
“I’ve read a lot of books, but never that one.” She grinned. “Maybe I should?”

“Most definitely.”

The forest thickened,
and after a few hours, I signaled off of the main road. The sunlight through
the trees cast a mystical glow. The trees opened up to a meadow and a small
lake that sparkled like diamonds.

“It’s beautiful,” Zoe
said. “I’ve never actually been anywhere that wasn’t a GAP city.”

“There’s still some
natural beauty left on the earth. We’re headed for a fishing camp down this
road.”

“We’re going
fishing?”

“Well, we’re camping.
We could go fishing if you want to.”

We hit a gravel road
and passed a sign that said
Two Miles
and then another set of worn
signs.

No TV or Internet
beyond this point
, and
Next recharging station
50 miles.

We pulled up to a
rustic cabin with a crooked Check In sign. A cloud of dust swirled behind us.

“Nice place,” Zoe
said. I caught the sarcasm, and I didn’t trust her. She was coming on to me,
but that was her MO. She knew how to use her beauty and charm to get what she
wanted, and right now, I knew she wanted to get away from me.

“It’ll do the trick,”
I said, before getting out of the car. “You saw the signs?”

“Yeah. No Internet or
TV. You think we can’t be found or recognized here?”

I shook my head. “We
can be found anywhere. What I don’t know is if I need to lock you in the car
again like at the motel or if I can trust you to come inside and not create a
scene.”

“What do you think?”
she said, offering a careful smile.

I opened my door,
getting out quickly. “I think I’m not fooled by your kiss.”

Keeping the backpack
with me, I closed my door and locked her in the car.

Chapter 41

I removed a ball cap
from my backpack and kept my sunglasses on when I checked in with the clerk
behind the cluttered wooden counter. The middle aged man wore a white muscle
shirt pulled tight over a generous beer belly. His long grey streaked hair hung
down his back in a loose pony-tail and he had a matching beard that wiggled as
he chewed gum. A sign on the back wall said
I’d Rather Be Fishing
. His
name tag said Asher.

“Tent or cabin?”
Asher asked with a big, carefree smile.

“Tent.”

“How many persons?”

“Two.”

I collected other
items while we spoke. “We’d like to go fishing this afternoon, so add a canoe
and fishing rod rental to our bill.”

“Will do. Beautiful
day for it. Just restocked the lake with non-modified trout this spring. The
canoes are docked at the lake. You’ll find rods in the shop. Just help
yourself.”

“Sounds good.”

“Quiet mid-week, so
it’ll be nice for you and your friend?”

I nodded at the
implication, not giving anything away. It was better if he didn’t put me with a
blond girl just in case Asher was sneaking in the news on the sly. I registered
with two fake names.