Dangerous Promise (The Protector) Read online

  “The dog could,” Vanslyke said. “It had been fitted with a voice simulator.”

  Through this conversation, Nina had made no comments but kept her attention on her plate and of course on Ewan. She glanced at him now, but if he was at all concerned about Vanslyke’s not-so-subtle inference that Nina could be equated with a talking dog, he wasn’t showing it.

  Although she wanted to tell this jerk to shut his yammer hole, she carefully cut a bite of synthsalmon and let that fill her mouth instead of the words that had risen to her tongue. She followed it with a bite of charred vegetables. One of creamy risotto. She washed it down with a swig of cool, clear water and met Vanslyke’s gaze head-on without so much as a flinch until he was the one who looked away first.

  Dima said, “I thought those were illegal.”

  Vanslyke shrugged and smiled. “He bought it before those laws were passed.”

  “They were supposed to put them all down,” said the woman wearing blue. “At least, that’s what I thought.”

  “He paid thousands of credits to fit that dog with a voicesim box. It was Bennington Woods, wasn’t it? I know him.” Ewan sipped some wine, his tone neutral, without so much as a glance toward Nina.

  The other woman, wearing a green caftan with gold thread designs, had so far been mostly quiet but spoke up now. Her makeup, a pattern of painted lines, had been expertly applied, but unlike the other female guest, this woman didn’t seem to have more than a few cosmetic upgrades. “I don’t think it matters how much money he spent. He loved that dog. Should he have been forced to murder it simply because someone decided it was some kind of affront to society?”

  “You’re missing the point, Aura.” This came from the woman in blue.

  Aura lifted both brows. “What is the point, Seri?”

  Seri looked toward Nina but quickly cut her glance away. “The point is that any time you mess around with the natural order of things—”

  “The natural order?” Aura cut in with a harsh laugh. “Please. You’ve spent more money on electives than any person I know. Those rotating glitter discs are new, aren’t they? Tell me, dear, what it’s like to bump into things in the dark because you’ve sacrificed clear night vision for a cosmetic process?”

  Seri’s chin tipped up and her full lips thinned. “Cosmetic electives are very different from messing with brains and nerves. I’ve chosen my electives to enhance my appearance. I didn’t do anything permanent. I’m still me!”

  “One could argue that a dog fitted with an artificial voice box that simulates speech based on a complicated system of neural impulses, all of which was based on faulty science, by the way, was still the dog it was before the surgery.” Aura sipped from her glass of wine, her tone calm but the liquid visibly rippling from the tremors in her hand.

  Dima yawned. “A dog can’t consent to being altered.”

  “Neither can a soldier, right?” Vanslyke retorted.

  Nina looked at Vanslyke, expecting him to wear an expression of smug confidence. Instead, his eyes held anger and fear and something else she couldn’t put her finger on, but definitely negative. The trouble was, she couldn’t discern between emotions just by the subtle physical changes she could sense in him. It was enough for her to fix him with her attention, though. If he was going to go off, she’d be ready to handle him. More than ready.

  Delighted.

  “Nina consented,” Ewan told Vanslyke. “She signed the agreement when she took her orders. She knew all along there was the possibility that she might be subject to experimental procedures.”

  Aura set her glass down hard enough to spill some wine onto the white tablecloth. The crimson stain spread rapidly around the bottom of the glass. “If she’d known exactly what was going to be done to her, maybe she’d have made a different choice.”

  “Maybe,” Nina said mildly, “you could all remember that I’m sitting right here and can hear everything you’re saying.”

  Silence greeted her at that. Aura had the grace to look away. Seri and Vanslyke shot her challenging glares. Dima had been concentrating on his food and didn’t bother to look up. That left Ewan, and Nina turned slightly in her chair to look at him.

  “You could all remember that I’m an actual person and not an experiment,” Nina said, loud enough for everyone to hear, although her words were meant solely for Ewan’s benefit.

  His eyes locked on hers. He wasn’t smiling. “I don’t think anyone could forget that you’re a person, Nina Bronson.”

  His words felt more like an insult than an assurance. Nobody else said anything, and moments later the servers arrived with the next course. The conversation changed to another topic, and although Vanslyke’s narrow-eyed gaze kept finding Nina’s face, she ignored him and focused on the plate in front of her. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she was not actually hungry but ate anyway. Her duty was to remain in the best physical condition she could so she’d be able to do her job. By the time dessert arrived, though, she’d satisfied herself with synthetic protein and had no desire for sweets.

  She’d been to many dinner parties, and this one wasn’t much different. The guests chatted over their pastries and coffee, then followed Ewan into the media room for after-dinner cocktails and vaping while they continued their gossiping. Nina stayed quiet, taking a seat in the corner and keeping her eyes on Ewan as he played host. He could be so charming, she thought as he smiled and flirted and flattered his guests. Even Vanslyke seemed mollified into laughter by Ewan’s pleasantries.

  At least until a few cocktails had been consumed and the night had started wearing on to the hour when anyone with good manners would be setting off for home. Instead, Ewan’s guests had all gotten a little louder, more raucous, venting opinions and arguing while Nina looked on from her unobtrusive spot in the corner.

  She hadn’t been paying much attention to the content of the conversations—the talk at dinner had convinced her she didn’t really care what any of these people were saying. She was attuned to the tones of their voices, however, and the way they moved, so when Vanslyke stood suddenly, gesturing, Nina was on her feet at once to assess the situation.

  “I’m just saying,” Vanslyke slurred. “Considering how much of my money has gone toward your campaigns, Donahue, I should think that entitles me to a demonstration of what, exactly, I’m helping you fight against.”

  “That’s not, ‘exactly,’ how it works,” Ewan said calmly with a hint of teasing in his emphasis. If he was intoxicated, he didn’t sound it, and although Nina hadn’t been counting his cocktails, she didn’t think he’d had enough to be drunk. “You should know that.”

  Vanslyke gesticulated with both hands, causing Nina to take a step closer. “Well, I want to see it anyway. Have her demonstrate.”

  “She’s not a remote-controlled toy.” This came from Aura, who’d been watching Vanslyke with a look on her face as though she’d stepped in something rotten.

  Seri’s lip curled. For a group of people who were supposed to be friends, none of them seemed to like each other very much. Only Dima had kept mostly to himself and now lolled on the couch looking as though he had already passed out. Aura drew in a breath of vapor and let it sift out of her nostrils.

  “I want to see what she can do. Sure, we’ve all watched them on the media reports, but how can we be sure that it’s all true? Any of it could have been fabricated.” Vanslyke poked an aggressive finger toward Seri.

  “What do you think was made up?” Nina spoke up at last. “Sure, there have been a lot of media reports that were spun in the wrong direction. Why don’t you tell me what, exactly, you’re worried about, though, and maybe I can help you out.”

  She glanced at Ewan, expecting to see a frown or a warning look, but he was smiling a little. He didn’t like Vanslyke, she realized. He’d take the derp’s money, but he didn’t actually enjoy his company.

  “Come at me.” Vanslyke smacked his hands on his chest, then leaped toward her as though she was su