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The guy turns the robot on, and his eyes and cheek lines light up the same way they did in Henrik’s office.

“Greetings, Emma Crane. I’m called A-B-E-3-9,” he says again. “I was designed to keep you safe. It’s my supreme honor to guard you.”

“Yup, we’ve met already,” I tell him, holding out my hand. “Welcome to my home. I have a cat named Ziggy,” I say, pointing to where he’s still laying on the back of the couch. “It’s his house too. Listen, can we ditch the numbers and letters now that we’re acquainted? I don’t want to rattle off your full model number each time I need to introduce you. Is that okay with you?”

The robot tilts his head to the side as he listens, almost like a dog. Then he steps out of the pod, turning his body and moving his limbs in surprisingly graceful motions. It’s not like he’s stretching, exactly, more like evaluating himself and his range of motion from the top down.

“Emma Crane,” he says as he turns to face me. “Yes, this is okay with me.”

“Great,” I say, clapping my hands together. “What would you prefer to be called?”

He stands there, blinking his golden snake eyes slowly. “You may call me Abe.”

“Fantastic. Okay, Abe. Make yourself at home.”

I help Henrik’s developer tidy the mess he left in the living room with the wooden box and help him toss the pieces into the back of the truck.

“Hey,” I say to the guy, looking back at the house. Abe and Ziggy are both staring at me through the window. Abe looks like he’s ready to launch himself through the glass if I give him a signal. Ziggy looks ready to do the same out of annoyance. “What’s up with the eyes? Why does Abe look human everywhere except there?”

“Oh,” he says, nodding knowingly. “There was an issue with the second line of female pleasure bots. Beta testing revealed the eyes looked too human, and there was a glitch where staring into the bot’s eyes for too long created a state of hypnosis.” He pauses, looking over his shoulder at the driver of the truck. “I really can’t say more due to my NDA, but the bots discovered the power they held.”

Female sex robots hypnotizing their lonely incel masters and exploiting them? Oh yes, I would watch the hell out of that movie.

Abe greets me in the driveway. “Emma Crane,” he begins.

“Just call me Emma,” I tell him.

“Emma, will you be leaving the house today? What is our main objective for this Sunday afternoon?”

I blow out a breath as I close the front door behind us. I’m already exhausted.

“It’s Sunday, Abe, so we’re going to do a whole lot of nothing.”

He keeps pace at my side. “What does that entail?”

Do I really have to explain couch rotting to him? Doesn’t he have access to the internet through his brain? “For right now, I’m going to use the restroom. Excuse me.”

“Certainly,” he says, but I can feel him following on my heels.

I stop at the door to the bathroom and shoot him a narrowed gaze over my shoulder. “Are you planning to wait here? Right outside the door? Listening to me pee?”

He straightens to his full, massive height. “No. That would go against standard human boundaries.”

“Ok, whew,” I say with a chuckle, closing the door behind me. But before I can lock the handle, Abe pushes his way into the small bathroom behind me. His wide shoulders practically bumping against opposite walls. “What the hell?”

“Standard human boundaries don’t apply here, Emma, since my primary objective is to keep you safe.”

“What exactly do you think the threat is in here?” I shout impatiently, because no. This isn’t happening. Absolutely the fuck not. “The blueberry-scented hand soap? The whimsical mint-colored wallpaper with adorable zebras? Or is it the matching towels neatly arranged by size?”

He goes to open his mouth, and I lose it. “If you utter a single disparaging word about my wallpaper, I swear to god, Abe, your little charging bed will be rolled out to the curb with the trash tomorrow.”

His mouth hangs open as his eyes scan the walls. “I have no objection to the wallpaper.”

I put my hands on my hips, staring up at him defiantly. “Correct. You do not.”

“I also won’t be leaving this room as long as you’re in it. This is how I was designed––to be where you are so I can thwart any attack that may arise. I understand human bodily functions, and they don’t faze me.” He gestures at the toilet. “Do what you must. I shall be here should you require assistance.”

“Abe,” I say in a seething whisper. “I need you to get the fuck out of the bathroom. Right. Now.”