Page 104 of Luciano

She just... stared.

I crossed the room, coming to stand behind her.

Her posture was eerily calm.

“Ava.”

She didn’t turn.

“Ava.”

Finally, she looked over her shoulder. “Hey.”

I searched her face. Her expression was unreadable. Detached, almost.

“What are you doing down here?”

“The guards let me,” she said simply. “I asked. They looked scared to tell me no.”

“Why did you come down here?”

“I wanted to see.”

“See what?”

“This,” she said, nodding toward the screen. “I find it fascinating.”

Fascinating.

I didn’t like the way she said it.

“When I showed you this,” I said slowly, “I didn’t expect you to sit here watching it like entertainment.”

She shrugged. “Isn’t that what it is? People watching something they can’t do and don’t understand? I wanted to understand. I wanted to learn to be like you. Your equal.”

My stomach twisted.

“Don’t come down here anymore. Not without me.”

I wouldn’t bring her again—so this was the last time she’d step foot in this place. The head and recordings would be destroyed by weeks end, as a matter of fact. I didn't need any of it anymore.

“Why?”

“Because I said so.”

I stepped forward, placing my hand gently on her back. Her skin was warm. Her body wasn’t tense.

But something was off.

We needed to get away from that house.

“We’re going home.”

She looked at me. Her eyes were wide—innocent, even. But I saw the glint beneath it.

“Now?”

“In the morning.”

---