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I blinked several times. “How did you figure that out?”
“You pointed me in the right direction,” he reminded me. “I just followed the evidence. I already knew about cathynol, and then I did a little digging into their ‘experimental’ operations.” He tapped the back of my free hand that rested on the bed. “You saw the chemical make-up in one of their unnamed, but weirdly profitable experimental drugs. Right?”
I nodded. “It’s cathynol, but they called it something else.”
“And they’re masking it so they can distribute it to all the,” he paused, thinking, “right channels. For them. But they’re illegal channels, regardless of how profitable for them.”
I nodded silently again. “All I did was ask why their experimental drug had the exact same makeup as cathynol. Because cathynol is dangerous, and they’re supposed to sell it in controlled, monitored amounts to labs for research.”
He winced. “And you outright asked them about it? A bit clumsy for a smarty pants like you.”
“I’m aware,” I said dryly. “But I didn’t know my parents were criminals. I just thought it was a mistake.”
“Do yourself a favor and assume everyone is a criminal.” Kael picked up the thermometer gun and aimed it at my forehead. “Most people are.”
“No, they’re not,” I frowned. “You just don’t meet nice people, Ghost.”
“And you do?” The thermometer beeped, still fast and angry, and he frowned at the result. “Is this thing broken?” He pointed it at himself. It beeped once and lit up green.
I sneezed, and he handed me a tissue. I took it, blew my nose, and leaned my head back against the supple black leather of his bed. “My body always does this. I get fevers forever. But I swear, I get over illnesses faster because of it. I’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
“Science,” he mocked gravely as he stood.
I smiled faintly. “Science.” My eyes tracked Kael as he crossed the room. I liked how his tattoos peeked out from his collar and the tugged-up sleeves on his forearms. Did they go all the way down his chest… down his abs? If I traced my finger down the ink, would my finger go all the way to—
Whoops, stop right there, stupid. I lifted the iced tea bottle to take a drink and distract myself from my dangerously wayward thoughts.
He went to the glass-framed doorway that opened up to the stairs and leaned out of it. “Tab!”
A voice drifted up from somewhere in the expansive space. “What?”
“Will you nuke one of those breakfast burritos?” I snorted mid-sip. The iced tea splashed onto my face and down my chin. Kael gave me an over-the-shoulder glance. “You good?”
Coughing, I nodded, fighting a laugh. Breakfast burritos. Funny. After swallowing another mouthful of sweet tea, I watched Kael as he grabbed his laptop and plopped himself back in the armchair. I frowned. “Are you just going to sit there all day?”
“Oh, definitely,” he confirmed without looking away from the laptop.
I squinted. “Why?”
“Because I want to.”
“Yes, but why?” I probed. “Are you seriously still guarding me? And for that matter, what did you decide? Am I still a prisoner, or what’s happening with that?”
“You are…” he answered slowly, clicking at something on his screen, “… a complication.”
I tapped my finger on my thigh in thought. “A free complication or a hostage complication?”
Kael’s eyes flicked to mine. “I don’t know yet.”
Sighing in disgust, I threw his lightweight comforter aside. It was exhausting to be continually surrounded by money-grabbing, selfish people. If my parents hadn’t tried to enslave me two years ago, I would have left their reach soon after, regardless. It was why I had graduated from high school two years early and escaped to a college campus as soon as humanly possible. I hated their world. I hated the two-faced millionaires and their pretty words laced with petty venom.
But since being away from them, I’d met just as many “normal” people with the same trait. Maybe Kael was right. Maybe I should have just expected the worst of him and assumed that no matter what he found out about my parents, it wouldn’t be enough to deter him from cashing in on his target. Two million dollars was a lot of money. I could offer him more, but if he assumed everyone was a criminal, then he wouldn’t trust me, anyway.
As I got out of bed, Kael stood, setting aside his laptop. “Where are you going?”
“Bathroom,” I muttered.
He blocked my path by cupping my elbows and gently pulling me to a halt. “Mattie, I didn’t mean—I’m not handing you over to your parents.”
