“I don’t need to get out of my comfort zone, Miss Cece Carrington, who arrived here with her own entourage, who are still waiting downstairs for her, including her own personal driver, assistant, and bodyguard.”

Cece’s cheeks tinge pink and she looks down at her lap.

I chance a quick glance at Raine to see her response to Ian’s idea, but she remains silent, nearly frozen, like the idea terrifies her. Is that because she’s afraid she’ll run into the woman who threw her away, or because she thinks that all Non-pacts are animals?

They continue to argue and toss out more ideas until they have it down to four, including Ian’s. They agree to go on a group expedition on Friday to various sites for further research. I’ll be able to see Raine in the light of day at last. Ian suggests meeting at the PAT but Cece blushes again, saying her parents won’t allow it. We will have to take her car. For the first time Ian seems aware of Cece and her discomfort and nods. Raine says she cannot go before eleven o’clock because of her fencing practice. The others agree that eleven works best for them too.

“What about you, Locke? Is eleven all right?” Vina asks.

I resist the urge to look at Raine and keep my eyes focused on Vina instead. “I think I can move my other studies around it,” I answer. Vina flashes me a seductive smile and I wonder how I’ll avoid her clutches in Cece’s car.

In spite of Shane’s obviously watchful eye on me for the rest of the evening, I still manage to catch a moment alone with Raine in the foyer before we all leave.

“I’ll see you tonight,” she whispers.

“No, don’t take a chance,” I tell her. “Your father—”

“I’ll be there,” she says.

Her eyes are desperate and determined. There isn’t time to talk her out of it and I’m not sure I could anyway. All I know for sure is that I want to hold her, kiss her, to relive last night right this minute, but I don’t dare. Someone could walk into the foyer any second, and someone does. Shane. I offer a few cool parting comments to Raine for Shane’s benefit and step into the elevator, which has just opened.

Shane follows right behind me and voices the command for the door to close before anyone else can enter. “You did me a favor at the club the other night,” he says. “I always return my favors, so here’s a tip for you.”

I raise my eyebrows, waiting.

“Steer clear. Raine’s spoken for.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

“And now you do.”

I look at him. And look. I look at him so long his entitled weasel face twitches.

“Thanks for the tip,” I finally say. The elevator door opens and I leave. Like Father, like Son. I’m not surprised.

I stop halfway through the lobby and grab an apple from the bowl I saw as I entered and turn back to throw it to him.

“Shane. Catch. This one’s yours.” I volley it across the lobby, and as I expected, he misses. He misses a lot. It’s the twenty-fourth century. Women aren’t spoken for, especially not Raine.

Out of the Comfort Zone

I stand in the shadows of the underground lot of the Tudor Apartments waiting for Cece’s car to arrive. I’m early, eager to see Raine again, even though we parted only a few hours ago. The last few nights … I’m not sure how I’ll make it through today without touching her. And then last night—

I swallow. Get it out of your mind, Locke. Focus. But my mind jumps right back to her, the shadows of the parking garage becoming the shadows of the cathedral, the muted stained glass of midnight, the echoes, the pews we lay on, the sweet scent of candles, the sweet scent of her neck, our whispers. As dawn neared it was harder than ever for either of us to leave, to go back to our other way of living. To the pretending.

For those few hours I forgot about her being the daughter of the Secretary. Forgot about the threats, the Network. Forgot about who I was, who I had become. I was just Locke. She was just Raine. Rebecca. Someone who was sharing her most sacred place with me. A place of believing. I believed with her.

I feel a pinch at my waist and I whirl. Raine smiles. I swear she must have hidden wings she can move so silently. I glance around, looking for the nugget-head, but for the moment we’re alone and I quickly take a chance and kiss her, knowing it will likely be my last opportunity of the day.

My timing has become impeccable. Two seconds later, Hap appears at the garage stairway with Shane at his side. They walk toward us. Raine and I casually step apart like we aren’t even aware of each other’s presence.

Shane inserts himself between us. “Cece’s late as usual, I see.”

“Why didn’t you just have her pick you up at your own place?” I ask.

“Why didn’t you?” he returns.

“I was already in the area.”

He smiles. “As was I.”

It’s going to be a long day.

Cece arrives with Vina and Ian already in the car, a long black job with four rows of seats, a modern-day stretch limo that I imagine still sucks up fuel like a thirsty dragon—even if it is algae-based energy. Her family has to be loaded to get away with transportation like that. Maybe this is what the Secretary aspires to. Government pay, even when you’re raking in untold kickbacks from government contractors, still has to be limiting for someone of his ambitions. Hap doesn’t come with us. Apparently Cece’s bodyguard was deemed sufficient protection for all of us. I manage to get a seat opposite Vina, though she stretches out her foot to keep connecting with mine.