Perception (29 page)

“Most folks come on
the weekends. Lots of business-types tired of Big Brother. Oh, you can still
log in with your ComRing, ‘cause of the global wifi.” He wiggled his bare
fingers and nodded at my ring-less hands. “I see you’re hard core, like me.”

I handed over cash.

“Ah, good. You came
prepared. You’d never guess how many folks come to an internet free place and
then expect to scan their chip.”

I asked for the
farthest and most secluded campsite. Asher pointed out the directions on a map.
“Just watch out for wildlife. Bears have been spotted near here. They’re comin’
farther down the mountains than usual, lately.”

“Thanks for the heads
up,” I said, taking the food items I’d purchased.

Zoe was yanking on
the door handle when I keyed the code into the door.

“It’s freaking hot in
here, you know.” She crossed her arms and pouted. I tried to suppress a smile.
She was cute when she got angry.

“That’s why I left
the windows cracked open.” I tossed the groceries into the back seat and hopped
in.

“I’m not a bloody
dog.”

“Don’t be mad.” Until
I was sure I’d won her over, I didn’t have a choice but to take every
precaution.

I followed the man’s
directions, slowly maneuvering my little car over the bumpy road, until I found
#36 on the lakefront.

“This is it,” I said.

“Where’s the cabin?”

“No cabin. We’re
tenting.” I chuckled. “By the look on your face, I’d say you’ve never been
camping before.”

“Camping is for
barbarians.”

I turned off the
safety locks and Zoe huffed as she got out. I lifted the gear out of the trunk,
setting it around the fire pit.

“It’s easy.” I
flicked my wrist and let the bundled up tent loose. It unfolded magically into
a two man tent. “Now, all you have to do is tether it down.”

“It’s not
very...big.” Her eyes grew wide.

“It’s big enough for
you. I’ll sleep by the fire under the stars.”

A look of uncertainty
crossed her face.

“I’m getting hungry,”
I said as I deposited the food items into the tent and zipped it up. “Let’s go
fishing so we can eat.”

“We’re going to eat
raw fish?”

“No, we’ll cook it.
Here on the fire. You really haven’t gone fishing before?”

“I’ve ocean fished.
But I’ve never had to clean the fish before and of course, we had an oven.”

“Well, you’re in for
a treat then.”

Keeping Zoe in my
sight, we walked the path to the boathouse where the canoes and rods were
stored. I dragged a canoe to the water’s edge.

In the boathouse was
a cabinet that held the rods and tackle. I placed them into the canoe then
motioned to Zoe. “Get in, I’ll hold it still.”

She tentatively
stepped in, the canoe bottom shifting under her weight. She claimed the seat in
the front before almost losing her balance. I pushed the boat farther into the
water, dragging my bare feet before jumping in.

I took the paddles,
running them through the lake surface, until we were far enough out to fish.

“It’s very peaceful
here,” she said.

“Yes. This is
fishing’s main appeal.” I closed my eyes and let the sun massage my face. The
tension in my shoulders released a bit as I paddled, soothed by the rhythmic
motion. For a little while I could stop worrying if we would be found or if Zoe
would try to get away. I could just be.

“But isn’t there
supposed to be actual fishing?” Zoe said, then she pointed. “Look, a fish
jumped.” I opened my eyes in time to see the circular ripples the fish left
behind.

“You’re right. I
think that one has your name on it.” I opened the tackle box, getting a rod
ready. I handed it to her. “You’ve done this before, you said?”

She took the rod
looking nervous. “Well, the rods were attached to our yacht. I didn’t actually
have to hold it.”

“I’ll show you. It’s
easy.” I moved from the back of the canoe to the short bench Zoe sat on,
wrapping my arms around her to grip the rod. “Is this okay?”

She hesitated for a
moment but then said, “Sure.”

I put my hands over
hers, my chest pressed against her back. I tried to ignore how my heart rate
sped up at her closeness. “We’re going to reach with the rod over your right
shoulder, then fling the hook and line in a big arc into the water.”

It went exactly as I
said it would. “There.” I moved back to my own bench. “You just have to wait
for a bite.”

Zoe held on tightly
to the rod, though I noticed she kept sneaking glances at me. I wondered what
she was thinking. I didn’t bother to hide the fact that I was staring at her.

She noticed. “That’s
unnerving, you know.”

“Sorry, occupational
hazard.” I rowed gently, horizontal to the shore. “So, did it work?”

“What?”

“The kiss.”

“Um, I’m not sure. I
can’t tell what’s real from a dream anymore.”

“That must be
frustrating.”

She blew loose
strands of hair out of her eyes. “It is.”

I scrambled for what
to say next. What was the key to unlocking her memories? More stories? More
time?

“Do you think we’re
safe... here?” Zoe said.

“Depends what you
mean by
safe
.”

“Well, do you think
someone is after us?”

“Not us. Me,” I
answered, though I knew what she really meant. Was someone coming to rescue
her. “I kind of made an agreement with Grant. I broke my end of the bargain.”

“Who’s Grant?”

“One of your
grandfather’s goons. He was supposed to kill me, but I was the one with the
gun.”

She stiffened,
gripping the rod tighter. “But you didn’t kill him, did you?”

“I’m not a killer,
Zoe.”

“You’re a lover not a
fighter.”

I stopped short. “Did
you remember that?”

“Remember what?”

“Remember me telling
you that?”

She shook her head.
“I just thought of it myself... I think.”

Then she yelped. “I
got one!”

“Start reeling it in.”
I moved back to her bench, wrapping my arms around her again. “Just pull up on
the rod a little and reel.”

Zoe laughed. I felt
her back vibrate against my chest and I couldn’t help but smile as I watched
her.

“Oh, there it is,”
she said with another round of laughter. I helped her reel it into the canoe.
The blue/pink scales of the fish sparkled in the sun as it flapped side to
side.

She squealed, pushing
back into me.

“Careful,” I said
lightly, “You’re going to knock us in.”

She turned and held
my eyes. Hers blue as the lake, questioning, only inches away.

Time seemed to stop.
I didn’t hear the birds chirping or feel the sun’s heat beating on my head. The
world shrunk until it was just the two of us in existence. I leaned in. “Please
remember,” I whispered as my lips touched hers.

Chapter 42

The fish cooked on
the fire, and it smelled terrific.

 I was starving, and
I was pretty sure Zoe must be, too. I flipped the fillets over on the grill and
thought about that last kiss. It was different than the one Zoe had surprised
me with that morning in the car.

I felt fairly certain
it wasn’t just a test for her anymore. We were making progress.

I placed the food on
plastic plates and offered her one before sitting down on the log near her. The
fire crackled, bright against the darkening sky. The flames cast warm light
against Zoe’s skin. I refrained from a sudden impulse to reach over and stroke
her face.

“This is really
good,” she said after taking her first bite. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Besides stay away
from you?” I shook my head while taking another bite.

I was flirting with
her and by the smile that formed on her face; I could tell she knew it.

“I have a surprise,”
I said. “Marshmallows. Not exactly crème brulé, but it works for dessert.”

I took the knife out
of the backpack and chiseled off the end of a thin tree branch. I pushed a
marshmallow onto the tip and handed it to her. Zoe placed it over the fire.

“Tell me stories,”
she said as she rotated the marshmallow. Its white skin bubbled to a sugary
bronze.

“You mean scary
campfire stories?”

“No,
the
stories.” She stared hard at me. “
Our
stories. Did we always like each
other?”

I stoked the fire
with my marshmallow stick. “Not really. We kind of grew on each other.”

“How?”

“I’m not sure how. It
happened quickly, over a week or so. Then you kissed me.”

“I kissed you first?”

“True. You’d broken
up with Jackson...”

“I don’t remember
that.”

“Well, you did. You
suspected him of holding back information about your brother. We knew that
someone had taken Liam’s chip.”

“Like you took mine.”

“Well, yeah. Except,
in this case, it was Liam’s idea. He didn’t want the authorities to catch on
about how often he was leaving Sol City. You wanted to go to the lab at the
university to talk to Jackson, but I didn’t want you to go alone.”

“Why?”

“Because I didn’t
trust him. In the end, I was right. You figured out where Jackson had put the
chip, and when you tried to get it, he wrestled you away. I heard the commotion
and saw that he had his hands on you. Honestly, my blood boiled so fast, before
I knew what I was doing, I’d punched him in the jaw. Knocked him out cold.”

“You did? What’d I
do?”

“You kissed me on the
cheek. Then I kissed you. And you kissed me back.”

She became
thoughtful. “I came to visit you in jail.”

“Yes! You remember?”

She jumped up. “I do!
I remember. We kissed between the bars.”

Her eyes flickered as
the memories came. “I remember the clock tower.” She flashed me a wide-eyed
look. “We’ve done a lot of kissing.”

I grinned. “The quota
hasn’t been used up.”

“And eating at the
food court.” She grabbed my hand, pressing the flesh where a chip would
normally be. “You’re afraid of needles.”

I laughed. “Yes! This
is great, Zoe. You’re remembering.”

She smiled weakly,
then her eyes popped opened with a new memory. “We were in Grandpa V’s office.
He confessed to setting up the experiment for Liam. And to killing Mitchell
Redding. I remember him now, too.”

A sob escaped her
throat, and in an instant, I had my arms around her.

“Get away from her.”
I jumped to attention, my eyes darting to my backpack on the other side of the
fire. Through the darkness and the light of the dwindling flames, we could see
a shadow approaching.

“Jackson?” Zoe said.

Jackson stepped
forward. His shoulders seemed broader than I recalled. He stood tall, menacing.
His face was contorted with anger and loathing.

“I said, get away
from her.” His fists clenched, the light of the fire reflecting off them, like
they were made of metal.

I moved in front of
Zoe.

“Jackson.” She peeked
around me. “What happened to your hands?”

“Just come to me.”
His eyes were dark, tormented. “Please, Zoe.”

She shook her head
slowly. “I don’t want to.”

His look changed.
Surprise? Rage? “
He’s
the bad guy here. You belong with me.”

“I don’t think I do.”

Jackson stepped
forward, his fists up. “What did you do to her, Brody? Brain-wash her?”

I laughed. “Look
who’s talking. I’m not the one who stole her memories. How’d you do that
anyway? Was it the pills?”

Jackson’s eyes
flickered back to Zoe.

“I know what Grandpa
V did to me,” she said. “I remember now. Everything. What I don’t understand is
why.”

“It was for your own
good, Zoe.” Jackson stepped closer. “Brody knows too much. He’s dangerous to
your family. Don’t you see? The senator had to do what he did to save the
family name. He had to do it to keep you away from him.”

“How did you find
us?” I said.

Jackson chuckled.
“You think you’re pretty tricky don’t you. Well, I have a few tricks of my own.
I developed a nano-tracker.”

“The pills?” I said.

“Yes, Einstein. It
was in the pills. The senator had me design them to reinforce the
memory-blocker. He knew the nano-bots would cause headaches, which would
perpetuate the consumption of the pills. As long as she took the pills for
pain, her memory would remain blocked.