Page 57 of Mind Maze

Calista.

My sister.

“What about her?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“Do you not care to see her again? I’m not a fool, Caius. If you think I haven’t had my watchful eye on you, watching your every move, you’re mistaken. I know everything you do is to lead you to finding her. Well, that is, until Miss Langston camealong. Then, poof, it’s like you have amnesia. Or, worse yet, you’re thinking solely with your cock. From experience, I must say that’s a terrible way to think.”

I’m trying desperately to keep the raging emotions from creeping onto my face. Everything from fear to anger and everything in between fights to breach the iced over surface. Dad, like a lion in wait, is ready to pounce the second I do.

“I’m getting through to Romy,” I say much more calmly. “End of subject. As far as your other question. You know where she is, don’t you?”

Dad chuckles and shrugs. “Perhaps.”

He’s toying with me and it’s infuriating.

“How about this,” Dad states, a wicked grin forming. “You let me take care of the Langston princess and I’ll tell you what you want to know about Calista.”

Hearing her name in his mouth sends ripples of fury racing through me. This is all a big game to him. When I’d told Solomon Dad was getting soft, it was a lie. The old man is far more advanced in playing this game than I am. Hell, he created the programs within it.

“Do you have a CUP Star on Romy?” I ask, changing the subject. “Yesterday, there was a soldier who’d followed her to breakfast with her stepmother. He didn’t stand down as he should have.”

Dad’s eyebrows furl together. It’s one of his tells. Like he’s working out a new piece of information. This can’t be good if we can’t control what we’ve created. He seems to be thinking the same as well, but we’re interrupted before we can discuss it further.

“Grandpa!” Kaitlyn says, bounding into the booth beside Dad. “We got a dress for the ball!”

If not for Theo’s quick reflexes, the dress she yanks out of the bag would have been flung right into Dad’s coffee. He plucks itfrom her to hold it up for us. It’s pink with lace. She’ll be cute in it.

“Looks like a princess dress,” Dad says to her. “Did you get some shoes to go with it? You have to be fancy to meet the president.”

She nods happily, grinning at both of us. My chest aches that Vivienne, another one of Dad’s secrets, was allowed to hurt this little girl just as she’d once hurt Romy.

I’m not sure where my life is headed, but it’s evident I can’t sit by idly, solely focused on Calista. There are others who need my help. The little girl in front of me and the fiery one I left at the hotel.

Fuck, this isn’t going to be easy.

Romy

Traffic is backed up for miles, but I don’t mind. It means at least another half hour or so of not having to put on my heels that are destined to give me blisters. I’m not exactly looking forward to this event tonight, but having this newer version of Caius by my side makes it a little more palatable.

As if he can hear my thoughts, he squeezes my thigh, not missing a beat in his conversation with his father. Theo, who sat in the passenger seat this time, keeps interrupting to joke around with Kaitlyn, who’s sitting on the middle row.

It’s times like these, I feel welcome in this family. Like I chose to be here. Whatever the feeling is, it’s a far cry from when I first met this family. The journey has been a messy one, but I like where I am at the moment.

Bastian sends me another video. I have my earbud in one ear as I watch yet another one. They’re past news broadcasts about strange things happening with Earth. He told me in his first text it’s a puzzle I can solve and maybe I’ll go ahead and save the world while I’m at it. I’d been amused by his silliness, though it felt good to be getting back to a more normal place with my brother.

The third video I watch is about cryptocurrency mining and how, because of its extensive requirement for electricity, it’s adding to the atmosphere’s greenhouse gas emission. The video before this discussed how concrete production creates significant amounts of carbon dioxide, which also adds to the global emissions.

Caius briefly glances over at what I’m watching but is pulled back into conversation. I become enthralled by how horrible this mining for something intangible is such a terrible thing for our environment. They go on to explain it’s the same for AI as well. I wonder if Caius knows every time he uses his AI program to recreate people’s voices—aka mine—that it’s harming our planet.

I’m going down a rabbit hole. It feels different than my usual obsessive pulls. This one doesn’t sharpen my senses and needle me to where I need to go. It’s like rocks tied around my ankles, tugging me deep into a mental abyss.

Caius plucks my phone out of my hand and shoves it into my pocket. I blink away my confusion.

“What did you do that for?” I demand as I take the earbud out. “I was in the middle of watching those.”

“I know,” he rumbles as he brings his mouth close to my ear. “I like it when your attention is on me.”

My mind still races with thoughts of the freaking environment of all things, but he’s quickly distracting me. His mouth on my neck drives me wild with need. It’s dark in the vehicle, so unless someone is directly looking at us, his neck kisses are private.

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