Imitation (25 page)

I’m not going downstairs.

I make my way around the curve in the
circular hallway. My feet have carried me back to my room. It’s as
good a place as any to think.

Through the cracked doorway, I catch
sight of someone else standing inside. Panic spears through me. My
throat closes at the memory of pressure applied to my windpipe. But
it isn’t Daniel. It’s Linc. I force myself to relax, concentrating
on breathing evenly. When I’m convinced I don’t look harried, I
push the door wider and enter.

Linc looks up. “Close the door,” he
says.

I lean on it until it clicks closed
behind me and wait. He crosses the room and gathers me close,
burying his face in my hair. I hug him back just as tightly, just
as desperate.

“
Hi,” he says simply when
he pulls back.

I smile. “Hi.”

“
I missed you.”

“
It’s been nine
hours.”

“
I know.”

“
I missed you
too.”

He grins.

And even though I know it’ll spoil his
smile, I say, “You allowed my phone call.”

“
Not all of them,” he
admits. “Taylor called before that and I told her you were still
sleeping.”

I’ve completely slipped in my ruse of
a friendship with her. No doubt she suspects something. Titus will
be angry if he finds out, but I can’t deal with her constant inane
questions right now.

“
Thanks,” I tell
him.

“
Before you thank me, you
should know I listened in,” he says. “It’s protocol. Someone had to
and better me than someone who will report it back to
Titus.”

I nod. “I expected as
much.”

His expression clouds. “Who is Obadiah
talking about?”

I hesitate. My eyes dart from a
useless figurine to the overhead light in sudden paranoia. “It’s
safe in here,” he says. “I swept it before you came in.”

I exhale. “It’s Anna. The one you said
died in a car accident last week. I saw her the night I overheard
Melanie and Daniel. She’s an Imitation.”

“
Obadiah found her?” I can
see his wheels turning and I am struck at how unafraid I am that
any of his thoughts have to do with rejecting me. It’s a nice
feeling in the midst of so much uncertainty.

“
I need to get out,” I
say.

“
I know. Okay, so there’s
a fashion show at Grundy’s but that’s not until eight. I think we
can convince him to let you have dinner. The paparazzi have been
hounding him as well as this charity auction thing. They want
updated photos, which isn’t anything new, but considering all of
the threats and attacks lately … I will set it up and then ask him
after the fact. He’s less likely to say no if he knows they are
already expecting you.”

I simply nod and watch him as he paces
and plans. He’s obviously talking more to himself than me since I
know nothing of this charity or auction or any of it. Nor do I
care. I just want to find Anna.

Someone knocks sharply and before we
can move the door opens and Titus is standing there. He looks back
and forth between us and I deliberately meet his gaze head-on. We
cannot look guilty right now.

My heart races and thumps double time.
I wonder if he can hear it in the silence but he zeroes in on Linc.
“Crawford. There you are. I need to go over some things with you
regarding our prisoner.”

“
Yes, sir.” Linc moves
toward the door, his movements jerky and too fast. Or maybe I am
paranoid.

“
What are you doing in
here?” Titus asks him.

I hold my breath.

“
Sir, Grundy’s called to
confirm Raven’s ticket for this evening. They had her down for a
plus one for the charity dinner but I changed it.”

Titus frowns. “I forgot all about
that. It’s a benefit for some animal shelter or another. Senator
Whitcomb’s platform, isn’t it?”

“
Yes, sir. It would be
good for appearances if she went.”

Titus stares at Linc as if he’s
looking right through him and then nods thoughtfully. “Quite. I’d
like to keep it quiet that we are detaining a senator’s
son.”

“
Yes, sir,” Linc
says.

“
Call them back and make
her dinner reservation for a plus one,” he says.

“
Sir?”

“
You must accompany her at
all times,” Titus says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the
world. “This Melanie girl is still out there and she will try
again, especially when she discovers we have Daniel. It may even
force her hand, a desperate move. We need to be ready. So far,
you’re the only one who has been there when Raven needed someone
most. Can I count on you to continue to watch out for my
daughter?”

“
Absolutely, sir,” Linc
says.

“
Good, then it’s settled.
I’m assuming you own a suit.”

“
Uh …”

“
Find Maria. She will fit
you with Gus’s. I must speak with my daughter.”

Linc excuses himself but not before
shooting me a worried glance. I ignore it. I can feel Titus
watching. When Linc is gone, I fold my hands, squeezing them
together to hide my anxiety—a trick I learned from my examiner—and
stay where I am, careful to keep my distance. This is the moment
I’ve been dreading all day.

“
We need to talk about
Daniel,” Titus begins. “I’ve spoken with him at length. He was
reluctant at first but I convinced him to confide in me.” I shudder
at the thought of what he means by “convinced.” “According to him,
Melanie does in fact exist and is hiding somewhere in this city
with a group of my products. None of which seem to having a working
kill switch.”

My pulse jumps into my throat. I
swallow it, hoping Titus doesn’t recognize my relief. “I
see.”

“
Those products are stolen
property. I want them back and you’re going to help me find
them.”

We both know I have no intention of
helping him do this. The only thing he can threaten me with is
death and I’m not even sure that holds any sting anymore.
Especially now that I know whatever Imitations have managed to hide
away are safe from remote termination.

“
What makes you think I
will do this for you?” I ask.

“
A couple of reasons,” he
says. “One, doing so will ensure your continued residence here at
Rogen Tower. In other words, you will continue to exist as Raven
Rogen and enjoy all of the luxuries that come with her identity.
And two, if you don’t, not only will you cease to be Raven Rogen,
you will cease to exist at all. Do I make myself clear?”

Still, I say nothing as I
weigh his words. They don’t feel nearly as heavy as they once did
and I think,
I could do this. I could die
for my friends.

But before I can open my mouth and
tell him any of my gallant intentions, he is there. In my face.
Shoving me back until my shoulders bump the closet door. I see him
glancing at his reflection in the mirror as he glowers at me. It
makes me sick to know he is enjoying himself. This is all a show,
entertainment to him.

“
There is a third reason,”
he says, his voice low and steely and full of nefarious intent. “It
may very well be the most important. If you don’t help me find my
property, my new head of security will meet with an accident. And I
don’t think his poor mother could handle losing the last living
member of her family.”

I look back at him with shaking hands
and frozen lips.

He leans closer. “I. See.
Everything.”

I am paralyzed. I realize fear of
death is nothing, a welcome trade, compared to fear of seeing
someone I care about be hurt. And in that moment, I realize I’ve
lost. Because I will do anything, say anything, be anyone, if it
means saving Linc.

“
I will help you,” I
whisper.

“
What’s that? I couldn’t
quite hear you.”

I force my voice louder, clearer. “I
will help you.”

His lips curve into a twisted smile
that makes me want to kill him with my bare hands. “Good
choice.”

He steps back and makes a show of
adjusting his shirt that isn’t actually wrinkled. Then he smooths
his hair that isn’t actually rumpled. “We’ll talk soon,” he says
before he walks out.

I don’t move.

Daniel may have tried to hurt me but
Titus is and always will be the ultimate bad guy in the story of my
life.

***

Obadiah is late.

I am a mess, sweating, shifting my
weight back and forth as I wait on the balcony that overlooks the
food court. Linc is waiting out of sight somewhere behind
me.

I couldn’t bring myself to tell him
about Titus’s threat. The ease with which I am able to lie—a lie by
omission is still a lie—bothers me. Knowing I’m protecting Linc is
my consolation. I can’t afford for him to do something rash.
Chances of that are high if I relay the threat. I tell him the
other truth, the smaller version: that by agreeing to help Titus, I
can maybe find a way to help Anna and the others. I’ve bought
myself another day.

I tell myself I want to find them so I
can help them but in the back of my mind I know that by extension,
I am hoping to help myself. To remove my GPS and be out from under
Titus … The thought of being free is the next best thing to being
human.

For the first time, I feel confident
about my role. It’s becoming easier to be her. Maybe that’s because
I have a goal of my own. I am invested in playing this part for
more than just pleasing Titus. Sometimes it feels too easy. I’m not
sure what that means but I can’t focus on it now.

All I can think is that something has
happened to Obadiah. And it will have been my fault.

“
Breathe,” says Linc’s
voice in my ear. “In and out.”

On the ride over, he fitted me with a
device the size of my fingernail that he assured me would allow us
to hear each other. This way, he could keep his distance but still
know whether I was in danger. Now, his voice is soft in my ear as
he tries to talk me through my silent panic attack.

“
He isn’t here, Linc.
Something happened,” I say quietly. I stare down at the faces below
me. None of them are the one I’m looking for. I check my watch
again. Twenty minutes late. The knot in my chest
tightens.

“
I just called his house.
He’s not home so he’s probably on his way now,” Linc
says.

“
Right. Probably,” I
agree. Deep breath. In and out. “Unless he was intercepted,” I say,
thinking of Anna’s story of the carjacking.

“
We’re going to give him a
little longer before we think like that.”

“
Fine.”

Three minutes pass during which time I
check my watch no fewer than fourteen times. It feels like three
years.

I almost don’t recognize him when he
enters the atrium. His jacket collar is pulled up to his chin and
he has a dark hat tipped downward obscuring his face. But I catch a
glimpse of his delicate cheeks, his narrow chin, and I know it is
him.

“
He’s here!” I skip the
elevator and make my way down the stairs. Linc’s voice in my ear
reminds me to slow down, that I cannot draw attention.

I reach Obadiah at the edges of the
seating area. I put my hand on his and he squeals and grabs his
chest. “Do not sneak up on me like that!” he hisses.

“
Sorry. I was beginning to
worry.”

“
I had to double back a
few times and make sure I wasn’t followed.”

That reawakens my anxiety. “Why would
you be followed?”

“
Honey, I have so much to
tell you.”

He takes my hand and leads me away
from the food court. I let him, knowing Linc is close and hearing
everything. If we are being followed, he will know and warn me. But
my earpiece is silent as we push through the door to the parking
garage.

Obadiah pauses, looks right and left,
then darts forward, still pulling on my hand. He leads me in a
zigzagging pattern to the far end of the covered garage and then
opens the door to an oversized sedan the color of mint ice
cream.

“
Get in,” he
says.

I navigate over the console into the
passenger seat and wait while Obadiah climbs in behind me and slams
the door. He winces at the sound and then turns to me. I notice
dark circles under his eyes that have nothing to do with leftover
eyeliner. “I don’t think I’ve been spotted but I can’t be sure. How
much time do you have?”

“
Um, an hour?”

“
Let’s drive.”

He turns the key and the engine roars
to life. It is loud unlike any vehicle I’ve been inside and I stare
at the dashboard as it reverberates with the growl of the engine.
“Where did you get this car?” I ask.

“
My security guy’s cousin.
It’s vintage. Don’t mock.” Obadiah reverses and pulls left, down
the slanting loop that will take us out of the garage.

“
Where are we
going?”