In the end none of us had an appetite. Even Denver, who at first appeared completely unmoved about our plans, could barely nibble on anything. Addison managed to eat more than the two of us, but even she only had half her sandwich.

I couldn’t shake my guilt over bringing her in on this, but I was done arguing. All that accomplished was making her angrier. She was tired of having no choices—this was her choice, and I had to accept it. She wasn’t doing this as a favor to me. She was doing this for Kayla and all the other girls. She was doing this because she believed it was the right thing to do.

“All right. Let’s go over the plan one more time.” Denver took charge. I wasn’t used to letting someone else call the shots, but I was worried out of my mind about Kayla. Keeping calm and rational weren’t going to be easy.

“The plan is simple. I pretend to be a man until we reach the entrance to Central. We all enter together. We come with a two-part deal. You say you will take me in on two conditions. One, you stay with me.” She looked at Denver. “Two, Mason gets to see Kayla.”

“Yes. It is likely they will refuse on both accounts. Which is when you start to explain you are too afraid to go in alone.” Denver adjusted his tie. He was surprisingly dressed up, but I assumed he had his reasons. I assumed he also had a reason for shaving off his beard. It had taken me a few glances to accept it was really him under there.

“Yes. They will probably tell Mason to take a walk, and then you have a plan to deal with that.” Addison pointed to Denver.

“A plan you aren’t ready to share with us yet evidently.” I was glad Denver had lent me some clothes. Although the pants were a little short, they would blend in much better than the ones I’d arrived in.

“For good reason.”

“Yes. The less we all know the better.” I understood Denver’s view, but being left in the dark didn’t sit well with me.

Denver also had a vehicle to get us to Central. There was no end to the surprises up his sleeves. He kept it hidden in an underground garage under three different tarps and a fake wall.

With all that work to hide it, I was surprised to find it had a full tank of gas and started on the first try. I’d never seen a vehicle quite like it. “What kind of car is this?”

“It’s a VW Van. They don’t make ones like this anymore. Of course I’ve had to redo the engine a few times.”

I knew very little about cars and simply nodded. I’d wanted to offer Addison the front seat, but it was safer for her to be in the back. The windows were slightly tinted—not enough to attract attention, but enough to make it harder to see passengers.

The drive was relatively uneventful. We hit a few checkpoints along the way, but Denver handled the questions with ease. It was almost as if he’d been through this before, and I began to suspect he had. Whatever misconceptions I had about him being a hermit were now long gone.

He pulled into an old gravel lot several blocks away from the large brick building surrounded by an at least fifteen-foot high fence lined with barbed wire.

“You know the Central building used to be a mental institution.” Denver turned off the van.

“A mental institution?” Addison asked from the back.

“They used to pile the mentally ill into hospitals and drug them up. Perform surgeries taking out part of their brains. Kind of reminds me of Central now.”

Addison gasped. “That’s horrible.”

“Men in power often do horrible things.” He opened the door.

I gave Addison a reassuring glance before getting out myself. I wasn’t sure what Denver’s point was with his comment, but I decided not to question him.

Addison said nothing. Her silence was probably out of fear rather than a lack of curiosity. She kept glancing over at Denver as if waiting for him to explain.

He started walking away from the van, and we followed. Addison kept her head down and her hood on. I was thankful for the light rain falling from the thick grey clouds above. They made her choice of apparel a reasonable option.

“They called the surgeries lobotomies.” Denver spoke out of nowhere. “If you ever find a copy you should read One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It will stay with you, haunt you, because even though generations have passed since it was published, some things never change.”

Addison and I exchanged glances. I decided I needed to be the one to ask him to explain the conversation. “And you are telling us all this now, because?”

“Because you can’t understand the present without understanding the past.”

“We don’t have time to read anything right now,” Addison whispered. We were closing in on the crowded streets.

“But you will have time later.” Denver picked up his pace and dove into the crowd, effectively cutting off the conversation.

We worked our way through the crowds and toward Central. I couldn’t physically keep Addison close—such an act would draw attention. I walked as close to her as possible and always kept her in my field of vision. Between Kayla and Addison, I now understood just how frightening it was to try to protect a girl in our messed up world.

I was so distracted with worry, I barely noticed our approach to the large gate until we were right up on it. It towered above us, with electric wire lining the top. No one was getting in, or out for that matter, without permission.

The guards glared at us as we reached the gate, but they said nothing.

“We have business here.” Denver stepped just beside the gate.

“What business?” one of the guards barked out.

“Business.” Denver pulled back Addison’s hood just enough to reveal her face and hair.

“She may come in.” The second guard started to pull open the gate.

“I won’t go alone.” Addison’s voice quivered. It was impossible to know whether she was really that frightened or if she was following Denver’s advice.

The guard studied her, and his expression softened slightly. “One of you can accompany her in.”

“We both have business here.” Denver took Addison’s arm. “You will let us all in.”

The guard bristled. “You will not dictate what I will or will not do.”

“I assure you, I’ll do just that. Hasn’t anyone ever taught you to make sure you know who someone is before you anger them?” Denver puffed out his chest. “Do you realize who you are dealing with?”

The guard suddenly straightened. “Right this way.” He gestured for us to enter.

We walked into the opulent lobby. The floors were a sleek white marble, and the ceiling was dotted with crystal light fixtures.

“What was that?” Addison whispered.

“Tell you later.” Denver pulled Addison closer to his side as another guard dressed in an identical blue uniform led us into an elevator. He waited outside and the doors closed, separating us from him.

I wasn’t sure what had just happened. Was Denver bluffing, or was he really more than he seemed? Either way, he had gotten us inside. We were making progress.

The elevator opened, and a man dressed in a long white coat greeted us.

“Hello Dr. Nevers.” The man held out his hand to Denver. “I wish you had notified us in advance of your arrival.”

Denver didn’t miss a beat. “Unfortunately I didn’t have time.”

“Does your presence mean you’ve closed down the last of the facilities?”

I had absolutely no idea what was going on. Denver was a doctor? Was there even more about him I didn’t know?

“I am not at liberty to discuss that in our present company.” He nodded toward where two guards watched.

The man waved the guards off. “Please, give us a few moments.”

The guards nodded and headed down the dark hallway.

“Let’s move into my office.” The doctor led the way in the other direction, down a dimly lit hallway. He opened the door and gestured for us to enter.

I was wary, but as Denver went right in with Addison, I had no choice.

The man closed the door behind him. “Please, have a seat.”

We all took seats in the leather chairs in front of his large wood desk.

Denver leaned forward, laying his hands on the desk. “I am here for several reasons, Dr. Tardale. The first one is to ensure my life mate is protected and to discuss the possibility of us creating a child.”

“Your life mate?” Dr. Tardale narrowed his eyes.

“It’s a new term we developed out west in our labs. Even if creating life artificially, we found we could keep females happier if they were attached to a single male.”

“And you want use of our labs to create a child? A personal request?” Dr. Tardale furrowed his brow. “This is quite unusual.”

“We have agreed if we are successful, she can be studied under certain conditions.”

“Are you sure she is a breeder?” Dr. Tardale looked at Addison.

“I am sure it is a possibility.”

“And who is this?” Dr. Tardale pointed to me.

“This is Mason. His personal Corded property has been improperly brought in to your facility. He has graciously agreed not to remove her completely from the facility until testing can be done on her, but he must see with his own eyes that she is safe.”

Personal property? I bristled at the words. Kayla was a person. The Cording had never meant property to me, but did it mean that to the girls? I had spent the last years of my life believing I was doing the right thing, and maybe it was just so I could sleep at night, an easy way to be able to live with myself. But now everything had changed.

“And you are sure your Corded girl is in this facility?” Dr. Tardale addressed Denver rather than me. I wasn’t used to being passed over, but the doctor clearly thought Denver was important.

“Yes. Positive. It would be very easy for you to tell.” Denver leaned back in his chair. “In fact, it is impossible that you do not know. The mark is clear as day.”

“I believe I know who you are referring to.” Dr. Tardale’s expression was stony. “But she came in willingly. How did that happen? If she is so important to you, how did she get out of your sight?”

“The club burned down.” I struggled to contain my anger and annoyance. I didn’t owe this doctor any explanation.

”Oh yes, the fire.” He interlocked his fingers together. “But doesn’t that mean the Stray club doesn’t even exist anymore?”

“We will be rebuilding.” We wouldn’t be, but he had no way of knowing.

“I assume he will be allowed to see her now.” Denver’s voice was bored with a slight edge of annoyance. “We have been waiting long enough.”

Dr. Tardale nodded. “In a few moments. We should finish this discussion first.”

“Take Mason to see his Corded first.” Denver’s voice rose an octave. “We can finish our conversation once he leaves.”

“Very well.” Dr. Tardale stood. “I’ll call Dr. Morton.”