Chapter 21

Monday

By the time I reached the top of the fire escape, I was completely out of breath. I hadn't stopped running since I had seen the real Sadie Davis. Four days. I swallowed hard and pounded on the strange window-like door of V's lair. There was no answer.

"V!" I banged on the window again. God, where was he? Was I early? I was about to pull my phone out of my pocket when I heard a clanging noise behind me. When I turned around, V was standing there. Tall. Powerful. Every bit the superhero that I needed.

I immediately dropped my backpack and duffel bag and wrapped my arms around him.

"You're shaking. What's wrong? What happened?"

"Sadie Davis..." I managed to choke out.

"Take a deep breath, okay?" He ran his hand up and down my back, somehow making me feel calm despite Sadie Davis' warning.

"She's going to kill me." I pulled my head back so I could look up at him. That's why I had been running as fast as I could to the only place that I felt safe. I had convinced myself that I only had four days to live. Four days wasn't enough time. It was like I could hear a clock ticking down in my head.

"Who?" asked V. "The other Sadie Davis?"

I nodded. The real Sadie Davis.

"No one is going to hurt you ever again. I promise."

"You shouldn't make promises that you can't keep."

"I can keep it. Let's get inside, okay?" He reached around me and pressed the code into the keypad. The window made a whirring noise as it slowly rose. He let go of my waist, grabbed my backpack and duffel, and stepped into his lair.

For some reason I stood frozen on the fire escape.

He put his hand out for me. "I promise I'll keep you safe, Sadie."

I didn't believe his words. But I did believe that he'd try. Besides, I couldn't face this alone. I put my hand in his and stepped through the window. He intertwined his fingers in mine and silently escorted me to his bedroom.

"Athena, lights on." The lights immediately turned on. He dropped my hand and placed my backpack and duffel on the bottom of the bed. "There are a few things you might need in the bathroom. Just let me know if there is anything else."

I nodded.

He didn't say anything about being glad I was going to spend the night again. It was as if he knew I'd be staying all along and it wasn't a surprise to him at all. He sat down on the edge of the bed, looking slightly uncomfortable even though it was his room. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, and clasped his hands together. "Tell me what happened," he said.

Even though he didn't specify, I knew he wasn't referring to changing my mind about my sleeping arrangements. "I saw her yesterday and..."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, cutting me off.

"There was a lot going on with Eli, if you recall. And I completely forgot about it until I saw her again. Yesterday she put her hand up like she was telling me to stop. It was odd because I wasn't trying to approach her. But today she did the same thing and then lowered her thumb. She's counting down the days until something happens. I have this awful feeling that I'm running out of time. Like you said today. We're living on borrowed time."

"I was referring to our time together. Not your life. Nothing is going to happen to you."

Why did he keep saying that? He didn't know the future. I swallowed hard.

"We'll figure it out together. The others should be showing up any minute."

"Don't you think I'm right?" I asked.

"It's a leap. We don't have any reason to believe she wants to hurt you."

"She's working for Don."

"Liza should have a better understanding of her motivations by now. She's been researching her all day. I should give you a few minutes to settle in." He looked down at his hands. Despite his words, he didn't move from the bed.

"V?"

He lifted his head and locked eyes with me. And for the first time I was able to read him. At least, I thought I could. He looked sad. I swallowed hard. Because I was pretty sure I knew why he was sad. He thought I was right. He thought I only had four days to live, even though he said my conclusion was a leap.

He grabbed the top of his hoodie and pulled it down slightly to cover his eyes. He cleared his throat and stood up. I watched him walk out of the room before I could say anything else.

I didn't need any time to settle in. It wasn't like I was going to unpack my bags. This wasn't a permanent situation. Either we'd figure it out in four days or I'd be dead anyway. Despite what V thought, there was no need to analyze Sadie Davis' motivations. I could see it in her eyes. The hollowness. Don had the same look in his eyes. They were killers. They sucked the joy and life out of everyone they met. Just like me.

"Eli Serrano is at the entrance," Athena's computerized voice said through the speaker system.

I quickly walked out of the room. It would be better if Eli didn't know I was sleeping here. Having V and him in the same room was awkward enough. I didn't need to add to the hostility.

"Access granted," V said and the window whirred open.

I wasn't sure why, but ever since finding out that Eli was 26, I could see it. He didn't carry himself the same way the other boys did in my classes. He stood up a little straighter and had more of an air of authority around him. Maybe that was why I was so easily attracted to him. His confidence was a little contagious. It made me believe in myself too.

Eli smiled as he made his way over to me. "How were the rest of your classes?"

"I had a hard time focusing."

"Why?"

"Because I was thinking about time. And the fact that I'm running out of it." Now more than ever.

"You don't have to go through with it."

"Go through with what?" V asked.

I turned toward him. For the first time, I realized that he carried himself in the same way that Eli did. Everything about him oozed confidence. He must be older than me too. Why wouldn't he just show me his face? Or give me a name more than just one letter?

"Go through with what?" V repeated.

I wasn't sure how he'd react to me wanting to kill Don, so I was relieved when Athena's voice interrupted us.

"Liza Roth is at the entrance."

"Access granted," V said. He took a step toward me. I knew he wanted to know what Eli was referring to. He wasn't just going to forget about it. Especially since I was acting so guilty.

"What the holy hell is all this?" Liza asked.

Thank you for another distraction. We all turned toward her.

"Welcome to my headquarters," V said.

She walked past us, completely ignoring V, and stepped up onto the raised platform where all his computers were. She immediately touched one of the buttons on the first monitor she approached.

"Access denied," said Athena.

Liza jumped and then turned around with a goofy smile on her face. It looked like she had just walked into her favorite dream. "You have a virtual assistant? That's freaking awesome. What's its name?"

"Her name is Athena," V said.

"What else does she do?"

"Everything I need her to. Athena, light up the base."

The floor Liza was standing on suddenly lit up blue.

Liza glanced down and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "What processor does she use? Can I take a look at her back end?"

Eli laughed.

Liza glared at him. "Eli Serrano from Grand Junction, Colorado. You graduated top of your class at the police academy and decided to work as a detective instead of a beat cop like your father." She hopped off the elevated platform and the lights on the floor automatically turned off. "You clearly have stalker tendencies and a penchant for danger. I'm Liza." She held out her hand for him. "And I wasn't referring to Athena's ass."

I was glad he had laughed at the back end comment and not me. Even though I was pretty sure I already knew what she thought of me, I didn't want everyone else to hear it.

Eli reluctantly shook her hand. "I don't have stalker tendencies."

She turned away from him instead of responding. "As the only one here without a death wish, I want to make myself perfectly clear. I work in the shadows. If even one word of me being part of...whatever this is...gets out, I'm done. And if I'm going to work efficiently, I'll need access to all of that." She pointed to the computers behind her.

"Done," V said.

She smiled. "And you need to stop hacking into my surveillance system. If you want, I'll set you up with your own. But I don't like being spied on. Especially when you don't know how to cover your trail. You're going to get us all killed."

V nodded.

"Okay then." She sat down in one of the chairs at the glass table. "If we're all going to be working together, I think we need complete transparency. So we should probably address the main question on everyone's mind before we begin, don't you think? V," she said without waiting for anyone to agree with her. "Who are you really and why are you doing this?"