Page 40 of Raven

He is clearly obsessed with burgers.

She shifts and disentangles her arms, slowly turning away from me and toward the kid. She smoothes his hair with her hand in soft, motherly strokes, and his impossibly big grin grows even wider. He glows at her touch.

“No, I have to work,” she says, scratching at a small stain on the front of his shirt. “Be careful, okay?”

I wonder if she says it to him all the time or just now, knowing he is with me.

She gives me a once-over before she turns around and walks away.

I know she’s waiting for more from me. She’ll get it. I’m making her wait, gloating as I feel her tension around me. I know she’s constantly wondering what’s next. And I want her to wonder, thinking about me, analyzing everything I say, replaying our conversations in her mind.

A party at Ty’s is coming up. I wonder if she will go. If she does, I might, too, though that’s not my scene. Everywhere I go, every day, my eyes search for Maddy. She is the prettiest of girls. Barely any makeup, simple summer dresses, tennis shoes, half-smiles. She has this soft caramel tan. Some tans are ashy, others are pinkish, but Maddy's is perfect, like she was licked by the sun, cast in gold, then covered with matte finishing.

Among the exotic flowers that are the pampered rich girls of Ayana, Maddy is a Mayflower. Simple. Precious. Fresh. She pulls me in like some magical spell. And I want to have this spell under my control.

Mayflower—I repeat the word in my mind, lost in my thoughts of what I can do to her as I watch her walk away.

"How 'bout we have 'em burgers now?”

Sonny’s voice snaps me back to reality. And my reality is the little dude whose eyes glint mischievously as they move from Maddy in the distance to me like he knows something’s up. Kids are uncomfortably perceptive sometimes.

“How about you say it the right way?”

He squints at me sneakily. "Burgers. Fo’ lunch?" he says, carefully picking the words that he is sure will work.

Like I said, trickster. I know dealing with him will be a pain in my ass. But it’s just this one time.

“Yeah. Burgers, then we’ll go to the Center.”

“Yeah! Same place I wen’ when you show’ me drones?”

“Say that again?”

In an instant, there’s that sneaky squint in his eyes as he realizes his mistake.

“Place with drones, yes?”

Again, he is slacking, but he’s trying.

“Good enough. Yes, you are going to teach me and the smart guys about Port Mrei and Ashlands.”

He starts talking excitedly as I help him mount my bike, then rev up the engine. And God, am I glad to hear it roar, because the kid doesn’t shut up, and I might bleed out of my ears by the end of the day if I keep him around much longer.

As we sit at the Burger Shack, he devours the burgers and, mouth full, tells me about everyone he hangs out with. About the get-together at Kai and Callie’s last week. About the yoga center, and that he tried to do yoga classes because Maddy does yoga in the mornings.

Maybe I don’t need to check on every resident of Ayana. I’ll just take this kid out for lunch every day, and he’ll spill every secret.

Next, we go to the Center, the little dude wrapping his arms around me as we ride my bike. He feels like a monkey clinging to me, making me extremely uncomfortable. Maybe I should get him a scooter so he can get around the resort faster.

At the Center, I set him at a desk with a giant computer screen and call Stewart, one of the IT guys and a drone operator. Other IT guys walk up and high-five the kid.

While he is chatting them up and they laugh at his jokes—people are happy to see a child around—I call Kai.

“I have your kid here, at the Center,” I say.

“Is he bothering you?”

“No. Actually, brought him for some help.”

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