Page 70 of Jump or Fall
Lukas didn’t get it. He thought it was a weird place for a girl to work. They had grown up together in the children’s home, but he had taken a job at the port when they aged out. Boring. Sure, he got to see the ocean up close, but that was the only real perk.
They’d lost touch for a while, but a few months ago he’d surprised her with her favorite tea and asked her out. It was like they picked up rightwhere they’d left off. Now she got to run her fingers through his soft auburn hair and see his cute dimples almost every day.
If he didn’t ask to move in together soon, she would. She spent most nights at his place anyway. Her current roommate, Poppy, was all right—but they weren’t friends. At least she didn’t leave dishes everywhere.
Mara sighed, swiping through the list again. The system tracked all of this stuff. Stupid busywork.
A deep voice interrupted her thoughts. “Hello there.”
She jumped and turned with wide eyes. “Um. Hello.”
A man strode over with a casual smile. He looked to be late thirties, with short dark hair and piercing gray eyes that traveled down her body.
She shifted uncomfortably, wishing she could somehow cover more of herself. “What can I help you with, sir?”
“Oh, I’m just looking. What’s your name?”
She hesitated before replying quietly, “Mara.”
“Mara. Lovely name for a lovely girl.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“A polite girl, too.” He extended his hand, revealing titanium fingertips. “I’m Dawson Knight. Secretary of State Security.”
Her heart pounded. She took his hand and almost recoiled at the feel of metal against her skin, but knew better than to react. Offending a Silver—even one without the implants—would be a big enough mistake.
“Nice to meet you, sir.”
His hand lingered with hers for a moment before he finally released her. “I’ll be seeing you. Mara.”
***
A week went by and Secretary Knight hadn’t returned. Maybe he’d gotten bored. She was focused on her new tasks anyway. Geller had finallylet her use the joiner and start troubleshooting broken suits. Her fingers still tingled from the vibrations, but she didn’t mind. It felt like progress.
She left work, replaying the last suit she’d worked on—a faulty wire in one of the connectors. Maybe she could convince Geller to let her fix it tomorrow.
The street hummed with traffic as she walked. She checked her tablet and found a message from a few hours ago.
Lukas
Meet you at Carmella’s for lunch tomorrow?
Mara grinned. She’d wanted to go there for a while. Everyone said they had great coffee and you got to sit in a maze of flowers.
While typing her response, a strange sensation trickled down her spine. She slowed and glanced back. A car was following too close.
She stuffed the tablet into her pocket and picked up her pace. Any second now there would be a catcall. She was too tired for whatever stupid, gross thing was about to be directed at her.
Mara turned down a side street in an attempt to lose them—and ran straight into a solid figure standing in her path.
“I think you’re going the wrong way, doll.”
She looked up into the amused face of Secretary Knight.
“How do you know where I’m going?”
“That’s not the polite girl I spoke to before.”
