Broken Protocols (15 page)

Levi’s mind raced from one possible problem to another.

What Johan had said was true. He belonged to a long, powerful family line. And that was one thing that the Council couldn’t squash. Although his parents were dead, his uncles had kept them relatively protected for decades. Levi tried to be as independent as possible. Milo had pushed the limit, but in a world where applications had to be made and accepted for children to exist, they were treasured. And families stood strong.

Powerful families stood for and against the government. He’d been trying to keep his brother out of any government involvement and so far that had worked, but Johan was right. The easiest way to protect Dani was to enfold her in the family.

If she lived with anyone but Levi and Milo, she’d barely be of interest and could likely live out the rest of her life without raising any flags, but being here with them…

So the easiest answer was to set her up elsewhere away from him. And that he couldn’t do. Wouldn’t do. Refused to do.

He’d done the best he could with Dani’s fake background, but how would it hold up under close scrutiny?

Therefore, there was only one option left. If he’d had two minutes to think, he’d have realized it himself. He had to marry her.

D
ani woke to
the sounds of an argument. She was deliciously warm and her body limber and relaxed. In fact, she felt pretty darn good. Even her wrist. She lifted it and rotated her hand experimentally. A low level ache set in, but it wasn’t bad. She ran her fingers across the surface and pressed gently. The ache deepened, but considering what surgery had been done, it looked and felt amazing. She rolled over and shrieked.

“Damn it, Charmin, why are you sitting there staring at me like that?”

His whiskers quivered but he stayed quiet. She frowned, reaching up to stroke his back. “Charmin, are you okay?”

“Yes.” He paused. “Are you?”

She frowned. “Yes, I’m feeling much better.” She held out her wrist. “See, I’m chipped now.” She laughed. “Stupid, huh?”

“He’s not Lawrence,” Charmin said, “but how do you know he’s not like Lawrence?”

Heat rose on her cheeks. It was stupid to be embarrassed. Charmin was a cat, what did he know about relationships?

“I know he’s not. I’m not trying to relive a dream,” she said earnestly. “By the time my relationship was over, he wasn’t the same man he’d been in the beginning.”

“Lawrence was always the same. You just finally opened your eyes and saw him.”

Wisdom from a cat. Wow. It was going to take some doing to get used to this.

“You’re right. But Levi is hardly the same type of man.”

“And yet…”

She stiffened. “What’s your problem with me having a relationship with Levi? Cat relationships last all of ten minutes.”

“Except with you.”

She smiled and reached for his chin to give him a good neck scratch. Charmin was as insecure in this new world as she was. A relationship with Levi would put his nose out even more. His eyes crossed in joy. Seconds later, his engine started up. She lay there rubbing Charmin and thinking about her convoluted relationship with Levi.

Milo raced into the pod room. “You have to get dressed. We all have to appear in front of the Council.” And he bolted away.

Fear stabbed her stomach. Oh no. She couldn’t do this. But there was no choice.

Charmin spoke up abruptly. “Remember how you always dreamed about marriage and kids one day?”

She looked at him. “Yes?”

“Well, you just might be in for a surprise.” And he hopped down and moved stiffly to the doorway. He turned to look back at her. “Remember to keep your dreams fluid.”

And he left.

Even more concerned now, she got dressed and made her way out to the kitchen. Levi was standing there, talking in a low voice to Milo.

“What’s going on?”

Levi spun, smiled at her, and took a deep breath. “The first night you were here, I took you to Johan’s pod. I tried to erase the information, but it caused some issues on the machine and sent corrupted data to the Council. Johan had some of the information still in the unit. When he was raided this morning, the Council gained access to the bulk of his place. He’s gone travelling to avoid the Council. He had his own reasons for not wanting the Council to gain access to his place.”

She shook her head. “So we’re safe?”

“No. In fact, there is only one way to make sure you are safe.” He paused, and Milo spoke up. “Make sure you know what you are doing, Levi.”

Levi spun on him, his anger turning his face red. “You brought this on. Not me. Not Dani. Yet we are the ones that are taking the hit.”

“You don’t have to. We can find another solution.”

“Really?” Levi asked, bitterness in his voice. “You’ve had time to utilize that magnificent brain of yours – what solution did you come up with?”

Milo looked downcast. “Sorry, bro, I hadn’t thought this through far enough.”

“Yes, that’s exactly right.”

“What does this have to do me?” Dani crossed her arms over her chest, wishing they’d get to the point. “Milo said something about having to appear in front of the Council?”

“Yes. The occupants of my residence have been ordered to appear. They already suspect there are three of us here, therefore the three of us will show up. It also means they’ll know that you were the one in the pod.” He paused. “The thing is, I don’t think you are ready. There are too many pitfalls that you could get into trouble over.”

“But there isn’t an option, is there?” She studied his face even as her stomach sank. In fact, panic settled in on the edge of her consciousness. “I really don’t want to go if I don’t have to.”

Milo nodded. Levi said, “My family is wealthy, powerful, and we have members in big business across most sectors.”

She waited.

“With all the problems…past, present, and potential…” He took a deep breath. “The best way I can protect you is to give you the benefit of my name. I can stand in front of the Council on your behalf that way.” He paused, then added, “There is only one way to do that.”

Her heart stopped. What did that mean?

“Dani, will you marry me?”

*

Levi held his
breath. Inside, he wanted to wrap her up and rush her to the opposite end of the planet. Only that would just delay the same ending. They’d be found. There was no way they wouldn’t. But she looked so lost. So forlorn. It broke his heart.

He walked over and tugged her into his arms. He didn’t love her, but he knew he was well on his way to that state. But she hadn’t had a chance. To understand life here. To understand her options. To understand what any of this meant.

“I just want to go home,” she whispered, her words a dagger to his heart.

Charmin hopped up onto the table, whispered, “Me too.”

“I’m sorry,” Levi said to them both. “That’s the one thing we can’t do for you.”

“Well, at least not yet.” Milo said, “I might be able to build a new program, but they took most of my computer equipment from the office during the raid. It will take years to recreate my work.”

“Do they know what they have?” she asked, peering around Levi’s shoulder.

Milo shook his head vigorously. “No, the program was set to corrupt when anyone else accessed it. My records show it’s gone.”

She stared at him suspiciously. “And you didn’t have a backup? A half dozen backups? Some modern way to make sure you didn’t lose everything?”

He gave her a sheepish grin. “I do, but it’s not that simple. It’s in pieces and everything is encrypted.” He frowned. “Chances are I could put it together again, but knowing that it succeeded and that they are now looking at it makes me less likely to want to even try. It could take years to make it functional – even worse – there’s no way to test if it works.” He glared at Dani in a challenging manner. “Are you going to want to try it under those circumstances?”

She shifted her gaze to Levi. “I have to make a decision today?”

Levi winced. “We have to be at the Council in an hour.”

She stared at him. “And what? We’re going to tell the Council that we are engaged?”

Charmin snorted. “Engaged? You?”

Milo and Levi looked at each other. Milo grinned. “Nope. You’re going to be married.” He started to laugh.

Levi growled, “Milo, stop.”

But he laughed louder. Between his giggles, he said, “Except for the final formality, you’re already married. He just didn’t bother asking you.”

D
ani stared at
the two men. One howling with ill-placed humor, oh so typical of a teenager. And the other shuffling uneasily on his feet.

Charmin, his eyes bright and lively, stayed quiet, watchful. Smart.

“Are we married?” she asked in an ominous voice. Could something like that really have happened without her permission or her knowing? Of course it could. These two could do anything.

She studied Levi’s stance. She didn’t believe he’d done it for a bad reason. After all, he could marry anyone. Why her? Unless he cared about trying to keep her safe. Of course, keeping her safe also meant keeping his brother safe – so that made a kind of sense.

But that was the last reason she wanted to get married. All she ever wanted was to be loved. For herself. Not because she was a problem.

She gazed out the window, realizing it was uncovered. She wasn’t sure she wanted to look out. To see what was outside. She’d loved the bit from the rooftop space, but she knew there would be more out there. She’d wanted to stay inside and avoid the reality check of her new…reality. She was in hiding like a victim. And she was damn tired of feeling that way.

Ignoring the two men, she walked over to the window and stared out. Even though she’d seen little bits and pieces before, she almost turned around and ran back to the healing pod. With no frame of reference for what she could see outside, the thought of going out there terrified her. The odd-shaped buildings appeared even closer from here. More alien in shapes and color. And…the flying cars – if they were flying at all, which they weren’t – at least not in any way she understood flying. The cars had no wings. They all proceeded in an orderly fashion – at breakneck speeds!

A shiver ran through her. She’d seen this all before. Something about this time…brought the reality of her situation closer to home. It had been fun, maybe getting to the point of being exciting. But now that she’d have to appear in front of the Council…everything was suddenly magnified. This was not her world. She didn’t belong here. She spun around and closed her eyes.

There was no way she was going out there.

She could hardly breathe. She gasped for breath. Levi rushed over. “Easy, Dani. Take it easy. It’s not that bad.”

Her head shook and the words wouldn’t come out. She pointed out the window. He winced and pressed a button. Instantly, the light in the room darkened as if he’d closed the curtains. Only there’d been no whoosh of material sliding across the window or blinds being dropped.

“I’m sorry. This is just the same view that you saw on the rooftop garden.” He reached out to rub her shoulder. “The blinds have been closed for the last few days. Milo opened them this morning.”